Refugees2

== =Refugees=

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Boat people, asylum seekers and mandatory detention.
Behind the News http://www.abc.net.au/news/btn/story/s2551598.htm reported on 28/04/2009

Over the past couple of weeks you might have heard a lot about asylum seekers - they've been in the headlines almost every day. It's a strange sounding name but they're a group of people at the centre of one of the most emotional debates in Australian politics. So who are asylum seekers and why do people argue about them so much? Here's Sarah to explain.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Can you imagine travelling overseas in a boat like this? You'd have to leave your home and all your stuff behind and spend days even weeks with not much food or water. Then there's the risk of sinking or getting attacked by pirates.

REPORTER: It's an extremely dangerous journey but some people pay thousands of dollars to do it just for the chance to get to Australia. Why?

Turn on your telly at night and you'll see there are lots of terrible things happening in the world. People are sometimes attacked because people don't like their race or their religion or their political views. For many, the only way to survive is to leave their country and become a refugee. There are international laws which protect refugees. They say countries have a responsibility to look after these people if their life is in danger. Many end up in refugee camps like this some try to come to Australia.

REPORTER: Every year the government lets a certain number of refugees come to Australia ..but they have to prove they're true refugees. The people who want to become refugees are called asylum seekers.

The word asylum means a safe place and that's what these people say they're looking for. Most asylum seekers get permission to come to Australia as refugees before they arrive but some come first and apply when they get here. That's what these guys are doing. They don't have permission to be here but they're not here illegally because under international law anyone has the right to ask to be treated as a refugee. Even so the government catches them and interviews them. If it decides an asylum seeker is not a genuine refugee, they can be sent home. It's the way they're arriving that been causing a lot of controversy. A few weeks ago there was an explosion on a boat carrying asylum seekers into Australia. Five people were killed and many more were injured. In the past there have been terrible accidents where asylum seekers on rickety boats have drowned. A big worry is, people are making money by selling tickets on unsafe boats and sneaking people into Australia. That's called people smuggling, and it's illegal

KEVIN RUDD, PRIME MINISTER: People smugglers are the vilest form of human life. They trade on the tragedy of others and that's why they should rot in jail and in my view, rot in hell.

Most pollies agree they want to stop people smuggling but they disagree how to do it. But with the economic crisis and lots of wars at the moment there are warnings there could be even more people prepared to risk their lives to come to Australia.


 * Questions**


 * 1) What was the main point of the BtN story?
 * 2) Who is a refugee?
 * 3) What is the Australian Government’s policy on refugees?
 * 4) Who is an asylum seeker?
 * 5) What does `asylum’ mean?
 * 6) How are asylum seekers protected by international law?
 * 7) What can happen if the Government decides an asylum seeker is not a genuine refugee?
 * 8) What are people smugglers?
 * 9) Describe recent events in Australia involving people smugglers and asylum seekers.
 * 10) What do you think should happen next?