Refugees, immigrants and ‘illegals’

By Loukas Mexis

There is a fine line which separates these three noteworthy words, and the last couple of weeks in Australia have brought various issues regarding them to my attention.

It was some days ago that, in one of my tutorials for a unit of my MA of Arts, we were asked to discuss ways of solving an issue which recently presented itself in the state of Victoria regarding the East Timorese refugees which sought asylum from Australia in 1999 and were going to have that revoked. A case familiar to many natives of Melbourne, this perhaps was not common knowledge for the young students of Perth, Western Australia.

One of them expressed his obvious negativity towards the refugees. ‘Why should they be accepted here? They should go home!’

Looking past the fact that these were in fact war refugees, he did not understand that these people have been legally in the country for the past decade, have their families here and have been 100% accumulated by the Australian society. This means that they are paying taxes just like the rest, and through these taxes they are supporting welfare, the national health care system etcetera. But I could still see in his eyes that he knew nothing about all this, and deep down he still could not care less about the refugees. In his mind, they were ‘illegals’.

Illegal is another word that should not be justifiably used in such context. Journalists love it, and politics remember it whenever election is at hand. I felt unfortunate not to have read Julian Burnside’s work prior to that debate in my university, since I myself am not an Australian native, but am in Australia for studies, originating from Athens, Greece. As such I was unaware of the Human Rights situation in the country and Australia’s Refugee policy. I did not know that it was harsh, but at the same time I had no valid arguments in countering her use of the word ‘illegals’. Today I can though, since I know that the word illegal is unjust. ‘Asylum seekers do not break any law by arriving without papers and seeking protection’. That is true, since these people have been oppressed, starved and hunted for their beliefs back in their country of origin, they had the will power to jump in a boat and travel the dangerous seas in order to reach their haven, that being Australia in this case. They do not stop loving their country, obviously, but i.e. these Timorese are now part of a new society, with their kids speaking English and studying in Australian schools. They are in fact part of this society.

And then there are the immigrants. I recently interacted with someone from my neighbourhood, and when saying that I am from Athens, he said ‘so, another immigrant’. It is hard to put that word next to my status, since I am a student with my eyes fixed on a goal: to further my studies to the highest point possible. But then I realise what an immigrant really is. And today, because of the economic recession which devastates Athens and in fact the rest of Europe, a lot of these immigrants are coming this way.

Stories of people being denied their tourist visa reach my ears, others are here for a year-long study program and suddenly are asked to present a dozen documents and at the end of the day are revoked of their rightful visa. These are only a few cases which strike the immigration nerve. But once again, these people are here and have paid good money to be here. Visas are in fact one of the main assets of the Australian economy. An immigrant can always be an asset, an investor, a bright mind that will bring something valuable to the community. But unfortunately, xenophobia is a valid issue in many places. It is valid to my friend who was brought here with a working visa to work at a mine in Mackay, and was the first to be fired after being ridiculed by his co-workers and faced weird acts of racism. It is the same to those who are afraid to put their real last name in their CVs when applying for jobs. And I myself faced such prejudice, when even my recruitment office advised me to erase every hint of being an outlander in my CV and cover letter. Surely I am not treated like those asylum seekers, but I do see the same result: feeling unwanted without having done anything wrong.

Still, there are people everywhere that understand these issues and welcome diversity.

Places like Melbourne are full of Human Rights offices and projects that help people who need that help. Multicultural diversity is seen as a positive thing in many places, and surely educated people will never think twice before recognizing why it is important to respect the right of everyone to a better future. For every job interview lost by a company because of their lack of faith in an international applicant, for every one out there who faced prejudice one way of the other, like those French girls in the bus a few nights ago in Melbourne, there is always a dozen more who will understand and try not to push one away, but bring him closer. At least, one can only hope.

*Loukas Mexis was born and raised in Athens, Greece, where he has published two novels and a comic book. He is currently trying to find a way to split time between his hometown and Perth, Australia, where he is doing a Master of Arts on an international scholarship.