Ranting...
Nov. 21st, 2013 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reynardoIt seems that one of my cousins is somewhat on the "listens to talkback radio" side of things. He re-posted a rant (in all caps) on Facebook about "all the things the illegal immigrants get"... I'm afraid I just couldn't let it go...
Ok, the original post was by a woman whose ID I won't put here, but I'll call her "Mum Joanne".
LET'S SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT!!! IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOUR. IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY. IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT. IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU WILL BE JAILED. IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN. IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED. IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT. IF YOU CROSS THE AUSTRALIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET? A JOB, A DRIVERS LICENSE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS, CREDIT CARDS, SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE, FREE EDUCATION, FREE HEALTH CARE, A LOBBYIST IN CANBERRA BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT AND, IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN VOTE. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION !!! PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING. IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP AUSTRALIA!!!!
The following is my reply:
Refugees seeking asylum in Australia don't get any of those, and people actually arriving illegally (such as overstaying Irish backpackers) get thrown out, fined, and banned from coming back to the country.
By the way, over 95% of people seeking refugee status are found to be genuine refugees, fleeing from persecution in countries like the ones you've listed above.
Asylum seekers and refugees get long times in detention while their cases are looked at, aren't allowed to work or accept benefits until their status has been confirmed (a process that takes years), and are dependent on help from charities for furniture, clothing and food.
Mind you, once they are accepted, they can work and pay taxes like any other immigrant to Australia, their children are entitled to an education like any other resident in Australia, and they have the right after some years to apply for permanent residency and the right to vote, like other immigrants to Australia. They don't get subsidised rent or cheap loans for houses.
Or are you saying that Australia should instead aim to be the brutal dictatorship with few human rights such as Saudi Arabia (where you wouldn't be allowed to drive if you're female), China (where you aren't allowed to have more than one child unless you meet a lot of very stringent requirements, and pay a lot of bribes), and North Korea (where the everyday person is starving to death once more as they go through another famine, while the people at the top get fat)?
I can only assume that when you talk about people crossing our border illegally, you are talking about the ones who come by plane on holiday visas in an attempt to stay here and work, who also don't get any of the things you've listed above because they spend most of their time here keeping their heads down, working in substandard conditions in fruit-picking farms and chicken processing plants...
OK, now I'm confused. None of the people coming to Australia meet the conditions you've listed. Not the asylum seekers, not the illegal immigrants, not the genuine visitors - who *are* you talking about?
Edited to add: Two things have come up. Firstly, as suspected by a number of people, this is actually a US rant - we don't do the Lobbyist thing here either.
Secondly, on the Facebook discussion, the true cause for my cousin's ire has emerged. His widowed father remarried a couple of years ago to a lady from the Philippines, and against the wishes of his children. This has, of course, led my cousin to a great deal of xenophobic discussion, assisted by his already-strong right wing views. But I still had to disagree.
Ok, the original post was by a woman whose ID I won't put here, but I'll call her "Mum Joanne".
LET'S SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT!!! IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOUR. IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY. IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT. IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU WILL BE JAILED. IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN. IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED. IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT. IF YOU CROSS THE AUSTRALIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET? A JOB, A DRIVERS LICENSE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS, CREDIT CARDS, SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE, FREE EDUCATION, FREE HEALTH CARE, A LOBBYIST IN CANBERRA BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT AND, IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN VOTE. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION !!! PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING. IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP AUSTRALIA!!!!
The following is my reply:
Refugees seeking asylum in Australia don't get any of those, and people actually arriving illegally (such as overstaying Irish backpackers) get thrown out, fined, and banned from coming back to the country.
By the way, over 95% of people seeking refugee status are found to be genuine refugees, fleeing from persecution in countries like the ones you've listed above.
Asylum seekers and refugees get long times in detention while their cases are looked at, aren't allowed to work or accept benefits until their status has been confirmed (a process that takes years), and are dependent on help from charities for furniture, clothing and food.
Mind you, once they are accepted, they can work and pay taxes like any other immigrant to Australia, their children are entitled to an education like any other resident in Australia, and they have the right after some years to apply for permanent residency and the right to vote, like other immigrants to Australia. They don't get subsidised rent or cheap loans for houses.
Or are you saying that Australia should instead aim to be the brutal dictatorship with few human rights such as Saudi Arabia (where you wouldn't be allowed to drive if you're female), China (where you aren't allowed to have more than one child unless you meet a lot of very stringent requirements, and pay a lot of bribes), and North Korea (where the everyday person is starving to death once more as they go through another famine, while the people at the top get fat)?
I can only assume that when you talk about people crossing our border illegally, you are talking about the ones who come by plane on holiday visas in an attempt to stay here and work, who also don't get any of the things you've listed above because they spend most of their time here keeping their heads down, working in substandard conditions in fruit-picking farms and chicken processing plants...
OK, now I'm confused. None of the people coming to Australia meet the conditions you've listed. Not the asylum seekers, not the illegal immigrants, not the genuine visitors - who *are* you talking about?
Edited to add: Two things have come up. Firstly, as suspected by a number of people, this is actually a US rant - we don't do the Lobbyist thing here either.
Secondly, on the Facebook discussion, the true cause for my cousin's ire has emerged. His widowed father remarried a couple of years ago to a lady from the Philippines, and against the wishes of his children. This has, of course, led my cousin to a great deal of xenophobic discussion, assisted by his already-strong right wing views. But I still had to disagree.
