Yeah,those pesky refugees... yes, it's a problem, however...
In the case of refugees from Syria and Iraq I think the neighbouring countries are doing more than their fair share.
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
Also:
http://www.factsfightback.org.au/does-a ... the-facts/

Now, in the present situation, Australia plans to [sell] resettle refugees in Cambodia in exchange for $35-40m.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/australi ... 1411630788

Seriously, does anyone on this forum who lives/has lived in Cambodia think this is a good idea ? Where do you think the money from Australian taxpayers is going to end up ?
A. To help the refugees start a new life in Cambodia
B. In the pockets of the usual corrupt officials
C. As a means of restarting the Cambodian economy for the good of the whole population, including the refugees.

If you do think this is a good idea which could benefit anyone (apart from Australian politicians), I would like to hear your reasoning.

This whole thing smells to me. Anyone who has lived here for a day or two would have a pretty fair inking as to where the money will go.

I find it hard to believe that the Australian government are being this bloody stupid.

As has been stated a couple of times on the thread, you go to the first place of refuge. You don't pick out Australia. Well, maybe they have it figured out, the stupid lefties will make sure that the county changes to accommodate them.

What jacks me the most is the Aussie government is about to stop broadcasting the Australia Network into Asia as it's too expensive - how little of this refugee money would be required to keep the network up? And, you know, supporting the taxpaying Australians that are in the region, with those taxes paying for the refugee program? I know, I'm being naive and simplistic.

Username Taken wrote:

Anchor Moy wrote:Where do you think the money from Australian taxpayers is going to end up ?

A. To help the refugees start a new life in Cambodia
B. In the pockets of the usual corrupt officials
C. As a means of restarting the Cambodian economy for the good of the whole population, including the refugees.

D. - A new brick veneer home.
- A new Holden Cruze.
- Free language classes.
- Free health care.
- Social security benefits.
- Child endowment.
- Priority in job placements.

Ok, let's start again: Where will the $ go ?

A. A Lexus and a brand-new bright pink 3-storey house for each refugee.
B. 2 Lexus and a brand-new 4-storey mansion with shiny balustrades (but painted a tasteful lime-green) for each of those hard-working govt officials.
C. A brand-new garment factory where the refugees can work to earn local wages and become millionaire success stories over-night.
D. B, but with a helicopter, because of the extra money saved by not implementing A.

or E. It disappears into thin air, and nobody has any idea what on earth has happened to all that money ...
(Funny about all those new helicopters though )

Nauru refugees protest ‘Cambodia solution’

Continuous protests in the Nauru refugee detention camp peaked with up to 600 people breaking out of the family compound just after midnight on October 10.

An asylum seeker told Sydney’s Refugee Action Coalition (RAC): “Day to day, night to night, the situation on Nauru is getting more serious for us.”

The protests have been accompanied by self-harm and suicide attempts, including one person hanging themselves, a 15-year-old girl swallowing detergent, others ingesting washing powder, lip-stitching and a hunger strike.

The protests began on August 25 over the uncertainty and lack of processing for refugees. Men, women and children have been struggling in deplorable conditions for months on end. RAC said the escalation on October 10 followed an Australian immigration officer telling asylum seekers: “You can’t go to Australia, you must go to Cambodia.”

Photos from the camp, obtained by the Perth-based Refugee Rights Action Network, show children holding signs that read: “Only our corpse might go to Cambodia” and “it is not fair”.

The anxiety over possibly being sent to a country where refugees have barely any rights or protection is worsened by immigration minister Scott Morrison’s moves to reintroduce temporary protection visas thorugh a deal with the Palmer United Party. Morrison informed Nauru detainees that they would not be eligible for the visas in a video screened in the compounds, worsening unrest.

The bill could mean refugees who were on the same boat as those now exiled on Nauru could receive at least temporary protection in Australia.

RAC spokesperson Ian Rintoul said if the TPV bill becomes law, “it will also permanently separate refugees on Nauru and Manus Island from their close families in Australia. One Egyptian man on Manus Island would be permanently separated from his daughter and sister who already have permanent residency in Australia. It is arbitrary and unfair.”

“We want to send a very clear message to Scott Morrison and the Palmer United Party, that the refugee campaign is resolutely opposed to the re-introduction of temporary protection visas. They will condemn refugees to permanent separation from their families and permanent insecurity.”

Nauru refugees are struggling for their rights in an atmosphere of desperation and powerlessness. A 24-year-old Iranian woman who has been held on Nauru for more than a year called the camp “God’s own hell”. She told ABC Online that after Morrison’s video was screened, two women tried to kill themselves and another hunger strike broke out.

Allegations of sexual abuse against women and children by security staff, made by Save the Children, raise the urgency of asylum seekers’ protest.

The ABC reported: “Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said women inside the centre were regularly required to strip and exchange sexual favours with guards so they could have access to the showers.

“She said there were also allegations children had been forced to have sex in front of guards at the centre.”

The government responded by accusing Save the Children of fabricating the claims and removed staff from the island.

Refugee advocates in Australia joined protesting refugees on October 11 in solidarity protests in Sydney and Melbourne.

Rintoul said the government was moving quickly on crushing refugee rights: “Morrison’s temporary protection bill also proposes sweeping new changes to the migration (and other) acts, such as the Maritime Powers Act to dramatically curtail the rights of asylum seekers.

“Morrison is desperate to change the law to put the government out of reach of court decisions, as it faces legal challenges in the coming week; one to its kidnapping of 157 Tamil asylum seekers on the high seas in July and the second to deny asylum rights to babies born in Australia to mothers who arrived by boat after 19 July last year.

“Morrison’s offshore processing regime is untenable and morally bankrupt. He is paying $40 million to the Cambodian government for perhaps four or five refugees to be resettled, while there are 200 refugees on Nauru who have nowhere to go.

“The government is spending $500 million a year to bomb Iraq. While hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers.....

...click link to continue reading...

https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/57512

I'm not engaging with this debate (if it develops) but the kids all seem to have developed beautiful penmanship while detained.

Photos from the camp, obtained by the Perth-based Refugee Rights Action Network, show children holding signs that read: “Only our corpse might go to Cambodia” and “it is not fair”.

Also, if the following is disproven or found to be spurious, the Senator should be stood down - too many Somaly Mams out there. The NGO behind the claim should also be delisted.

The ABC reported: “Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said women inside the centre were regularly required to strip and exchange sexual favours with guards so they could have access to the showers.

If it is upheld, however, the guards should face the full brunt of the law and then some long-term one-on-one time with Bubba.

StroppyChops wrote:... the kids all seem to have developed beautiful penmanship while detained.

Ha! No NGO involvement, for sure.

Nauru’s downfall from rich nation to poverty


IT’S a deeply troubled nation that has been plunged into a nightmare scenario, struggling with a failed economy, health crisis and the destruction of its natural beauty. But life wasn’t always like this in Nauru.

At just 21 square kilometres, it’s the smallest island nation in the world and has a population of just over 10,000. Yet this former British colony, which lies approximately 4000km from Sydney in the Pacific Ocean, was once so prosperous that it was the envy of the entire world.

And it was all thanks to bird poo.

We’re not kidding. The discovery of huge deposits of fossilised bird poo that had accumulated for over 1000 years changed this nation forever. It made for an excellent fertiliser and sparked a huge mining effort, first by foreign companies, then by the islanders themselves in 1968 when they achieved independence from Britain.

By 1980 Nauru had become the wealthiest nation on the planet, per capita. A monumental achievement for such a tiny, remote island.

Read more here... http://www.news.com.au/travel/world-tra ... 7071702024

The Australian Greens Senator (Sarah Hanson-Young) is paying a visit to Cambodia next week to find facts...
A statement from the Senator's office: "Australia's cruelty towards refugees is bringing international shame on our country, and now the government is trying to spread that to Cambodia. I'm going to get to the bottom of this dirty deal."

Recent updates regarding the Island of Nauru and refugees there...

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/r ... eted-nauru