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#54498 01/31/02 05:47 AM
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Keep your head up, Bingley...we're pulling for you!

http://www.thejakartapost.com/headlines.asp

[edit: sorry, forgot about all our brand new members...Jakarta is experiencing some terrible flooding right now, and one of our board-friends lives there]


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Head up being the operative word, while swimming, eh?
Thank you, Sweet WO'N. Thinking of you, Bingley. Wish you were here.


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Bingley! Let us know - as soon as is reasonably possible - that you are OK. I send my best wishes and good thoughts -- hoping you and all friends and family are fine. Aloha


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old hand
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It took me 2 days to pluck up the courage to open this thread....You see, in Australia we are a bit sensitive about people and boats. Especially when they are leaky old tubs with one trip left in them - namely the transport of people from the Middle East and SE Asia onto our doorstep.

Whilst I was pleased to find that this thrad had nothing to do with boat people, I felt the need to get something off my chest - mainly because I recently spoke to an Aussie (who now resides overseas) that intends to relinquish his citizenship because of the way we treat refugees.

The attempts to establish just who and who isn't worthy of staying in this country (from the Dept of Immigration's perspective anyway) seem to have brought us kicking and screaming into the spotlight of the world's press and no doubt to you all as well.

I think I speak on behalf of many Australians (wink e-) when I say that we DO feel sorry for these people but resent them "queue jumping" and, now that they are here, simply just don't know what to with them. I think that the fact it takes 3 years or more to process some people's applications whilst they languish in detention camps is NOT a demonstration of xenophobia, but moreso a demonstration of compassion made moribund by bureaucracy.

Anyway, in case you've been inclined to, please don't judge us by the bayings of a hungry press in the slow news season. In my experience, overseas visitors all seem to go away with the friendliness of the local folk high on their list of why this is such a great country.

almostbutnotquitebackyet stales (give me another 12 hours!!)


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Hiya, stales-in-almost-absentia. Do you include John Howard in your list of people to excuse? He made no bones at all about what he thought of refugees, and I don't really remember the milk of human kindness flowing from his lips ... in fact he was being neither bureaucratic nor moribund.

I think there must be something freudian about the detention camp being sited at Woomera. 1. It was the site of the British space programme (sic) where they tried to get things out of Australia straight up and failed; and 2. Woomera is one aboriginal word for a spear throwing stick, presumably for projecting things out of Australia ... less than straight up.

Just commenting, like.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#54503 01/31/02 09:03 PM
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Actually, I have no really strong feelings about Australia's approach to refugees one way or another. Paternalistic or not, Australia, like Zild, has finite resources and must be free to assign them as it wishes.

I was just taking issue with stales' statement about there being no xenophobia involved, which I thought was just overdoing it a [i[little bit ...



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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I am gratified to know of two miracles:
1) Max and Kiwi can be on the same side of a political issue; [/wink] and
2) The word "chutzpah" has traveled has far as NZ!

Mirabile dictu!


#54506 01/31/02 09:28 PM
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even if Australia apparently thinks that it is Australia's business what NZ does with its refugees.

Oh, yus, indeedy. The Strine has always felt free to tell Zild what to do. And Zild has always felt free to tell the Strine where to go ... they're just taking their time over getting there!



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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