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Welcome to ‘e-Refuge’ the online learning resource that details information and personal stories about refugee’s and migrants in Australia. The site is divided into a number of sections, each looking at an important aspect of the refugee journey. The material on this site supports the ‘Roads to Refuge’ learning resource supplied to all NSW high schools.

Introduction

Refugees Have the Right to Seek Protection in Australia.

Australia was one of the first countries to sign the Refugee Convention in 1951. The Refugee Convention is the international law that sets out the rights of refugees across the world. The Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights make it very clear that people have the right to seek asylum if they have “a well founded fear of persecution”. All governments, such as Australia, who have signed the Convention, must make sure that asylum seekers are treated with dignity and respect when they arrive.

Who are Asylum Seekers?

People who apply for recognition as refugees are called Asylum Seekers. About 5000 people waiting in refugee camps are accepted each year by Australia. Others arrive by plane and boat. Some come with proper documentation arriving as tourists or students. Others come without documentation or with false papers. Some come with their families, others all alone. All are looking for safety and for the hope of a new life. They are called Asylum Seekers while their claims for protection as refugees are being assessed. Once a claim is accepted they are described as refugees and given visas allowing them to stay in Australia. If it is not they are deported.

Are asylum seekers illegal immigrants?

Asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants. Some arrive here without proper travel papers or with false documents or no documents at all and claim asylum as refugees. Others enter Australia with student or visitors’ visas and then claim asylum. People who cannot live in safety in their own country are entitled to arrive by boat or air and apply for refugee asylum under Australian law. This means that boat people can legally seek asylum when they arrive in Australia just as someone who has arrived on a tourist visa. They are not criminals or illegal immigrants.

Asylum seekers have a right to explain their fears of persecution and to remain in Australia legally while their claim is considered. Australian government officials check asylum claims very carefully. Many claims are found to be genuine.

Boat people only become ‘illegal’ if their claim for asylum fails. When that happens they are sent back to their home or to another country.

More than 80% of all asylum seekers who arrive by boat in Australia have been assessed as genuine refugees.

There ARE people who are illegal immigrants. They are people who overstay their visas. Most of these are from western countries such as Great Britain and the USA. They are not seeking asylum in Australia.

 

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