13
Apr
Australia’s current refugee policies and obligations under international refugee law
The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Act 2014 (Cth) (MMPLA) significantly changed how Australia treats asylum seekers, especially those who arrive by boat. The Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (Migration Act) as amended by the MMPLA introduced new key statutory changes, which included the removal of references to the 1951... Read More
9
Mar
Echoes of the Past in Europe’s Two-Tier Approach to Refugees
They are the lucky ones. A group of female journalists, legislators and judges from Afghanistan who have found a temporary safe haven in Greece and await visas to resettle in Europe. These women were the focus of a recent New York Times piece highlighting Europe’s two-tier system for people seeking asylum. European Union nations strongly... Read More
23
Feb
Book Review: Refugee Journeys – ed. Jordana Silverstein and Rachel Stevens
‘Refugee Journeys: Histories of Resettlement, Representation and Resistance’, ed. Jordana Silverstein and Rachel Stevens, ANU Press, 2021, 244 pages The growth in Australian refugee research over recent decades has provided wider and critical perspectives, often from compelling first person accounts of post-refugee and subsequent generation experience. Originating from a Melbourne University conference on ‘Global Histories’,... Read More
10
Feb
Book Review: After the Tampa – Abbas Nazari
‘After the Tampa: From Afghanistan to New Zealand’ by Abbas Nazari, Allen and Unwin, 2021, 367 pages This is a well-written account by a young Afghan refugee (now 27 years old) of his remarkable life, and the insights he’s gained on how the world works, and could work better. Abbas Nazari is modest enough to... Read More
24
Nov
Book Review: ‘Smuggled: An Illegal History of Journeys to Australia’ – Ruth Balint and Julie Kalman
‘Smuggled: An illegal history of Journeys to Australia’, by Ruth Balint and Julie Kalman, NewSouth Publishing, 2021, 204 pages As the European Union moves further towards Fortress Europe with migrant pushbacks and performative disdain for human dignity, ‘people smugglers’ also are in the frame. They now include parents “endangering the life of (their) child”, who can be... Read More
10
Nov
Book Review: ‘Escape from Manus’ – Jaivet Ealom
“Escape from Manus”, Jaivet Ealom, Penguin Viking, 2021, 347 pages I expected this book to be like Henri Charriere’s 1969 memoir Papillon, about his escape from life imprisonment in French Guiana. Its popular appeal came from his racy and exciting adventures in South America, rather than its expose of the French justice system. Much of... Read More
27
Oct
Book Review: ‘White Russians, Red Peril: A Cold War History of Migration to Australia – Sheila Fitzpatrick
“White Russians, Red Peril, a Cold War History of Migration to Australia”, Sheila Fitzpatrick, La Trobe University Press, 2021, 368 pages Sheila Fitzpatrick, from a famous family of Australian historians, is an internationally-recognised expert on Stalinist Russia, but her interest in Russian emigration came through researching her late husband, Michael, the Latvian-born son of a... Read More
6
Oct
The EU-Turkey deal breakdown: how securitisation narratives are reproduced through externalisation
When Turkey opened its borders in February 2020, the responses from EU states clearly illustrated the fact that externalisation is a tool used to exacerbate securitisation narratives within the international refugee regime. Such narratives have harmful impacts upon displaced people across the globe.[i] The EU-Turkey deal breakdown Turkey has hosted the majority of individuals who... Read More
21
Sep
Are Tibetan refugee schools in India creating gender disparity?
Thousands of Tibetans have settled in India since 1959. Resettlement in India has given the Tibetan community an opportunity for mass education. However, the journey has not been easy, especially for the female Tibetan refugees. Studies have indicated a subtle gender disparity exists in the Tibetan Children Village Schools in India. According to Sewell (1992)... Read More
7
Sep
Creating Social Cohesion Through a Common Language
Introduction Positioned at the border between the Middle East and Europe, Turkey has become a country of transit for refugees on their way to the West. As the number of forcibly displaced people continues to increase globally, Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world, including 3.6 million Syrians. The United Nations... Read More