Authorised Travellers
Contrary to the images sometimes projected by government and the media, most asylum seekers arrive in Australia by air as authorised travellers.
Ordinary Human Beings
Asylum seekers are ordinary human beings with the same emotions and reactions that most of us would have in similar circumstances.
Persecution
They have been involved in persecution in their own countries that we find hard to imagine from the safety of this country.
- Asylum seekers are people just like us, responding in similar ways to most of us when confronted with the circumstances they are fleeing.
- Contrary to the images sometimes projected by government and the media, most asylum seekers arrive in Australia by air as authorised visitors.
- Some have arrived by boat which is not illegal. People are eligible to seek asylum regardless of their means of arrival.
- Those seeking asylum in Australia have been threatened or persecuted in their own countries in ways that we find hard to imagine from the safety of this country.
- They seek fair and timely assessment of their application for protection so they can start rebuilding their lives and contribute to their new country.
- The current long delays in processing applications, lack of security, withdrawal of income support or work rights add further trauma to people already vulnerable.
- Those left in limbo in offshore and onshore detention suffer further at what has been internationally described as inhumane treatment of people in need.
- People seeking asylum want Australian people to know their stories which demonstrate they are not criminals or terrorists.
- They have families – mothers and fathers, wives and husbands and children and they both grieve for them and worry about them.
- While the government’s response is increasingly harsh, people seeking asylum appreciate the support and encouragement given by many in the Australian community.