Australia’s Immigration System Leaves Visa Applicants in Limbo for Years
By Loz Lawrey
In late 2021 Afghanistan’s capital Kabul fell to the Taliban. These religious zealots had swept through the country following the withdrawal of American forces from the country.
At the time I, along with other Australian citizens, assisted Afghans whose very existence was threatened by the new regime to complete and lodge applications for humanitarian rescue visas to Australia.
It can be hard for Australians, cocooned as we are in a democratic first world nation where our freedoms and human rights are taken for granted, to fully comprehend the stress, anxiety and fear which rules the lives of minorities living in societies controlled by toxic regimes, particularly religious ones such as that of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Islamic republican government in Iran.
The very concept of religious extremists holding the levers of government power in any nation is abhorrent to all of us who favour science, critical thinking and reason over blind belief in whatever the high priests of religious dogma dish up.
Blind Freddie knows that government should always be secular and separate from the mythologies and doctrines of religion and belief.
Whilst those who label themselves “people of faith” tend to claim the moral high ground on all issues, there can be no doubt that most religions create deep division in societies around the world.
Once any religious group is allowed to take power and govern any nation there will always be ”non-believers” who will suffer at their hands. Inquisitions would become a constant evil once again.
During the Spanish Inquisition (1478-1834… nearly 400 years!), those who refused to follow and champion the often-absurd dictates of the high priests of Catholicism were labelled “heretics” and hunted down and often tortured and executed.
In theocracies, as in fascist/authoritarian regimes, minorities are often targeted for repression, and ultimately genocide and elimination.
Under Hitler’s Fascist regime in Germany communists, unionists, gypsies and Jews as well as the disabled were “othered” and cast aside, targeted for repression and abuse.
Under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, women and Afghans of Hazara ethnicity as well as secular non-religious citizens are also demonised and hunted down.
Religion? Let’s face it. Religion ruins the world.
These (usually patriarchal) organisations that claim to offer “salvation” and “redemption” offer nothing more to humanity than fear, corruption, confusion, doubt, hatred, division and warmongering.
The world has witnessed the religious repression of women in Iran, where the “Morality Police” patrol the streets and harass women for not wearing bags on their heads.
One has to wonder: what drives men (and let’s face it, it’s always men) to inflict such suffering upon others?
Globally, we are witnessing thousands of desperate people annually fleeing impossible situations in their countries of birth in search of a better life – all they want is a chance to live, to learn and grow, to work, support their families and raise their children in safety and decency.
All they seek is the normalcy we here in Australia take for granted.
Sadly, so many nations around the world seem unable to meet the basic humanitarian needs of their own citizens.
The few bad apples always ruin things for the many…
And yet, once desperate people respond to their own situations by attempting to relocate to more humane societies, whether by paying “people smugglers” exorbitant prices for a place on overcrowded and often leaky boats or by crossing borders illegally to seek refuge as aliens in neighbouring nations with slightly less repressive governments, they find further demonisation and rejection.
Sometimes I myself, as an Australian who has enjoyed all the benefits of living in the “lucky country”, the “land of the fair go”, find myself cringing in disgust at the attitudes of some of my fellow citizens towards those of different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Ewe can be so selfish.
Are we not, in this Lucky Nation, well positioned to assist those in need?
We are world leaders in the establishment and maintenance of multiculturalism, and we continue, daily, to learn more as a people about inclusion and acceptance.
It hasn’t been easy and there remains much fear and bigotry to overcome, but our Australian melting pot of ethnicities and cultures is truly a wonder to behold.
People praise to the so-called “American Experiment” of democracy (which is sadly in great danger of foundering upon the rocks of right wing lies and propaganda) but the Australian Experiment of multiculturalism and inclusion is something to be proud of. It’s still a work in progress, but I believe we’re making headway.
And let’s be clear: desperate people all around the world see hope and opportunity here in our nation and look to us for refuge.
Yet how do we respond?
I write this piece in an attempt to put a human face to the suffering our own Australian government inflicts upon so many of those who approach us asking for our assistance.
In October 2021, within months of the Taliban takeover, I lodged a humanitarian visa application for a young Hazara woman and her family of nine.
I do not wish to endanger her, so I won’t name her, and I won’t disclose her family’s current location. Suffice to say, she is a sportsperson whose promising career ended when the misogynists of the Taliban took over the government of her nation.
To the Taliban she is a threat: a woman of Hazara ethnicity doing well in her chosen occupation. A woman who was set to thrive in the new emerging Afghan state which was destroyed overnight by U.S. President Joe Biden’s clumsy withdrawal of American forces and the subsequent Taliban takeover.
I have great admiration for this young woman because most members of her team are now resident here in Australia.
She had the opportunity to relocate with them but chose instead to remain in Afghanistan to support her family of nine.
Now they have relocated to another country where that must try to subsist as refugees in a society that does not welcome them.
I also lodged an application at the same time for a young Hazara man living in Kabul. His life and future were destroyed by the Taliban’s accession to power.
I shall keep his current location confidential as well.
He also lives in hiding as an illegal refugee in a nation which does not want him and whose authorities would repatriate him if he came to their attention, effectively sentencing him to likely death at Taliban hands.
Prior to fleeing his country of birth he was twice detained and tortured by Taliban members in Kabul. Other members of his family had been previously murdered in the regions during the Taliban’s march on Kabul in August 2021.
His crime? Simply being of Hazara ethnicity, being a 27-year-old non-religious graduate of Kabul University, holding progressive non-Islamist views, with a track record of championing women’s rights and the importance of voting and actively participating in democracy.
This young man, whom I have come to know quite well, would make a fine Australian citizen. Of this I have no doubt. I know that he already shares our values and humanitarian aspirations.
So, these young people, whose lives are currently on hold due to the circumstances in which they find themselves, waited over a year to learn that their applications had been accepted as valid.
Both were allocated case/file numbers. This meant that their applications were now in the queue for assessment and further action…
But WHEN???
Let’s remember that we are talking about humanitarian rescue visas here… how long should a “rescue” take?
The application form is 34 pages long! It’s labelled “humanitarian” but the process it engenders is totally cruel and inhumane.
Over two years have passed since these visa applications were lodged but under the current Home Affairs regime these desperate people can wait years to learn whether their visa applications have been successful.
The Department refuses all requests for updates and information from applicants. Letters and emails are left unanswered and all those who attempt to contact Home Affairs are effectively showered with contempt.
I do try very hard to maintain my faith in the basic goodness in the heart of our nation…
I must admit though… as a lifelong Labor voter I am disgusted to see our current government treating asylum seekers as cruelly as the previous one.
Like what we do at The AIMN?
You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.
Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!
Your contribution to help with the running costs of this site will be gratefully accepted.
You can donate through PayPal or credit card via the button below, or donate via bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969
10 comments
Login here Register here-
Phil Pryor -
-
JulianP -
Phil Pryor -
John C -
Stable Genius -
Canguro -
Andrew Smith -
Clakka -
Abdul Latif Badii
Return to home pageWe here, are not much, barely aware, educated, enlightened, sympathetic, open and progressive. It’s probably why the recent referendum was lost, to the weight of the “Not Gunna” vote. We have generously helped ourselves to a whole continent, by intrusive force, and yet we do not easily extend our generosity. But, when we have intruded into other places, we have taken up a charge of controlling the destiny and direction of other people, whether they want that or not. Recently, we have intruded into the actual lands of Vietnam and regional attachments, into Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, etc. And remember, some Vietnamese who became Frenchified, preferred, acculturated, soon went from top to bottom status with political overthrow and regime change. Many have been left behind in the history of French, British and other rises and falls. Consider former “friends” of Hitler and Stalin regimes, as things went bad. Even Walter Raleigh lost his head to the whims of a silly petulant greedy disappointed queen, such a sweety. So, we should be thoughtful, prudent, generous, honest…
Pingback: Australia’s Immigration System Leaves Visa Applicants in Limbo for Years - independent news and commentary Australia
It was apparent at the time that the Dutton/Pezzullo regime was more concerned with empire-building than with essential immigration functions such as visa processing.
The incoming Labor Government did inherit a mess.
At a National Press Club address in April, 2023 the Labor Immigration Minister declared the system broken.
While it was clear that a run-down system required time and resources, it now seems we are short on both.
Julian P is correct to offer his points about Putrid Dutton and Rancid Pezzullo, the festering failures of recent lazy incompetent non work in this area. We are still Poxed, Polluted, Pressured, Pillocked, Pained, by the utter stupidity of having P Duckwit-Futton stuck in office, paid by us, victims. And Pezzullo should be rotting in a deep dark damp dangerous dungeon.
“Religion? Let’s face it. Religion ruins the world.”
Truer words have never been spoken. Though I hesitate to blame religion specifically, the fault lies more squarely with those that ‘interpret’ beliefs to their own benefit and try their utmost to force those beliefs on others, whether they want them or not. Religion may have been useful back in the dark ages but now in the 21st century when we all know better it is more of an embarrassment than anything that should be taken seriously. God botherers will destroy our world to achieve their aims if we let them.
There are two possibilities here, but they can’t both be true at the same time.
The first is the familiar O’Neil narrative, that of course it’s all bad old Dutton (and Pezzullo’s) fault, that she (playing Boadicea) is valiantly striving to “fix a broken system”, and “tighten” regulation, via her “reforming” migration “strategy”.
The second is that, with $40m thrown at the “visa backlog”, and 2.2m live visas, and 0.85m student/graduate visas, and an astonishing 0.9m in net migration over 2022-24, it is rather O’Neil herself who is responsible for what’s going on.
With regard to religion, a quick google challenge to furnish the numbers comes up with the following:
Only around 16% of the global population identify as non-religious.
Christianity sits at the top of the pile of believers, with around 2.4 billion adherents, followed by Islam at 1.9B, then Hinduism at 1.2B, Buddhism at 0.5B and so-called Folk Religion at 0.4B.
There are apparently around 45,000 varieties of Christian denomination!
Given the historical evidence of conflict between religious groups, along with the seemingly hard-wired tendency of humans to ignore the lessons of the past, one could perhaps assume that tension between religious groups will persist into the future.
With the possible exception of Buddhism, which at its core is not a religion but a philosophical/metaphysical/psychological teaching designed to bring adherents to full consciousness and awakening, the other religions all provide ample evidence of the willingness of their respective flocks to believe in the utterly weird and whacky; witness snake handling, speaking in tongues aka glossolalia aka infantile babbling, refusal to admit modern scientific practices such as blood transfusions, refutation of abortion under any circumstance, magical beliefs such as the Mormon religion being based on words inscribed on a set of golden plates found buried by a boy called Joseph Smith, words which apparently endorsed the practice of polygamy amongst believers, tithing that 10% of one’s income to one’s chosen (Christian) church, sexual abuse within Amish & Mennonite communities, the utterly repugnant mercantilism of Pentecostalism with its willingness to merchandise and market their creed for sheer profit… all of these facets being found within the major religion, Christianity.
Hinduism and Islam too, have been utterly misinterpreted by adherents current and former, and have been root cause for countless instances of internecine conflict.
Let’s face it… albeit that there are many people who have benefited greatly by dint of an intelligent and nuanced relationship to religious belief, and that many churches have done social good, history would seem to demonstrate that the majority of human activity associate with these beliefs is of little to no value and to the contrary, actively harmful to individuals and society at large.
What is most alarming is the power & influence religions continue to bear upon political organisations. Separation between church & state ought to be, must be, a foundational aspect of any ‘enlightened society,’ should such a state of enlightenment ever come to be. Religions of all stripes are a bit like the volcanoes that continue to spew lava; they are the never-ending crucibles which foster hypocrisy, intolerance & hatred, lies, abuse, mistruths, idiocies, along with maintenance of abuse of power, gulling of the flocks with smoke & mirrors, and never-ending supplication for extended benefits from wider communities.
The current disaster unfolding in the Middle East is a classic example of where religious intolerance ends up.
On a personal note, on being told by a newly minted priest when I was 21 that I was unfit to be admitted to ‘God’s church’ because I drank & smoked, and with my immediate reaction being one of ‘fuck off, you idiot’, I’ve comfortably lived a secular non-aligned life since.
Not just Australia, but similar happens in the UK, US and parts of Europe, informed by the same Tanton Network of NGOs, influencers and lobbyists via media, migration committees and policy advisors.
Includes memnomic devices or virtual, inc. focus on borders, walls, NOM net OS migration, population growth, criminals, ‘the great replacement’ etc., while defunding agencies, the slowing of processing or making it a military issue.
In the case of Trump, being advised by Steven Miller, Steve Bannon etc. (with Farage exemplifying similar in UK) and encouraged by Fox News etc., the ‘border wall’ is used to keep Trump focused on their desire for far broader, deeper and permanent ‘immigration’ restrictions, following eugenics.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/trumps-wall-reportedly-a-gimmick-campaign-aides-came-up-with-so-hed-remember-to-talk-immigration.html
Not unlike UK Tories promoting hostile environment by telling refugees to go home, offshore processing or the local word of mouth euphemism, ‘f off, we’re full’
Seems folk always press to form gangs of ‘faith’. Sadly they are often led by charismatic luminaries that claim to be in communication with inaudible and invisible god(s).
So called governments and politicians cannot then resist tampering in that field of hocus-pocus, perhaps with the exception of modern China that approaches it in a fearful totalitarian manner. The two-way leverage then progresses to a process of divide and conquer and ‘othering’.
Of course it always rises up when insecurity abounds, like now when big changes are afoot.
Seems that nowhere on the planet is immune.
For me, its perhaps best to watch out for eye-contact, be slow and unaligned as if moving through a mob of competing mad dogs.
Thanks dear friend for you sympathy. When I see individuals with humanity and goodness, I get hope that there is still someone who cares about other’s life. Thanks again for sharing my miserable story!