DAVID ADAMS reports on the Australian Government’s response to the crisis in Syria while in Europe, leaders continue to grapple with the largest mass migration of people since World War II…
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced Australia will accept 12,000 Syrian refugees from persecuted minority groups on top of the 13,750 refugees already part of the country’s annual refugee intake.
In an announcement today, Mr Abbott described the decision as a “generous response” to the emergency taking place in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.
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“It is a generous, prudent, and proportionate response by a decent and compassionate nation.”- Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in reference to his government’s decision to take an additional 12,000 Syrian refugees.
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He said the new 12,000 permanent resettlement places will be for “those most in need of permanent protection – women, children, families from persecuted minorities who have sought temporary refuge in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey”.
In addition, Mr Abbott said Australia would provide an estimated $44 million in humanitarian aid to more than 240,000 Syrian and Iraqi people forced to flee their homes into neighbouring countries. This would take to around $230 million the total amount Australia has contributed to help address the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria since 2011.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant contribution to the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East,” he said. “It is a generous, prudent, and proportionate response by a decent and compassionate nation.”
Mr Abbott also announced that the government would be extending its airstrikes against followers of the so-called Islamic State – already been taking place in Iraq – into Syria, noting that Australia remained committed to international efforts to counter the “Daesh death cult”.
Following comments by some government members that Australia should only accept Christians from Syria, Mr Abbott told reporters that, with both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities facing persecution, the government was non-discriminating and would be “prioritising all of them”.
The decision has been broadly welcomed by a range of Christian groups in Australia. Sister Brigid Arthur, acting chairperson of the Australian Churches’ Refugee Taskforce, said she had prayed “that Australia would open its hearts and its doors to people facing the greatest need for protection, as did so many others from churches and homes all across Australia.”
She said while it wasn’t yet clear what Mr Abbott meant by prioritising people from persecuted minorities, “we need to remember than people of all faiths have suffered enormous loss and that’s why they fled.”
Sr Arthur said she was relieved Syrian refugees would be offered permanent places in Australia, noting that there were still many thousands of people “languishing in detention or even in the community with no certainty about their lives”.
The taskforce has, however, expressed disappointment at the government’s decision to participate in a bombing campaign in Syria with Sr Arthur asking how Mr Abbott will ensure innocent people won’t be killed in airstrikes. And, while welcoming the news of more humanitarian aid, it has also called on the government to release estimates for the cost of the bombing campaign.
Lyle Shelton, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, said that while the announcement was an “appropriate initial response”, “we hope more can be done in the future given the scale of the disaster”.
Mr Shelton said the government was right to focus on persecuted religious minorities, noting that Christians are “bearing the brunt of persecution in the Middle East with a form of religious genocide occurring in Syria where Christians have lived for 2,000 years”.
“ACL believes that assistance should be based on human suffering,” he said. “Naturally, the most needy groups are religious minorities like Christians, Yazidis, Mandeans and others. We support including these groups in the allocation, not merely because of their religion, but because of their need.”
Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier, Anglican Primate of Australia, congratulated the government on the decision to allow 12,000 Syrian refugees into the country above the expected humanitarian intake, saying it was “surprising but welcome” and showed how the plight of Syrian refugees has touched Australians. |
Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier, Anglican Primate of Australia, congratulated the government on the decision to allow 12,000 Syrian refugees into the country above the expected humanitarian intake, saying it was “surprising but welcome” and showed how the plight of Syrian refugees has touched Australians.
“I also welcome the decision to focus on persecuted religious and ethnic minorities, because their position will remain desperate no matter which side has the advantage in Syria’s civil war.”
The move has also been welcomed by the Refugee Council of Australia with President Phil Glendenning saying he applauded Mr Abbott “on acting so promptly once community concern became apparent, for the people fleeing conflict and persecution in Syria”.
He said the council welcomed the Australian Government’s decision to continue the long-held practice of choosing those who are in greatest need for urgent protection.
Meanwhile, as the crisis in Europe continues with thousands of migrants and refugees still making their way into and across the continent, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has underlined the need for compassion and solidarity in dealing with the issue in talks with European leaders. A spokesman said he had stressed that the “large majority” of those arriving in Europe “are refugees fleeing war and violence, who have a right to seek asylum without any form of discrimination”.
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, puts at 381,000 the number of refugees who have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year with more than half coming from Syria and more than two-thirds of them men. As many as 2,850 have died in attempting the crossing or are missing.
The BBC has reported that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is soon to announce a plan that would see 120,000 asylum seekers being taken in by EU countries with binding quotas imposed upon them.
Earlier this week, Pope Francis urged Catholic parishes and religious communities across Europe to take in at least one refugee family to help with the refugee crisis.
“May every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe take in one family”, Vatican Radio reported him as saying to crowds in St Peter’s Square.
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, secretary-general of the World Council of Churches, earlier said the crisis facing Europe was a test of the strength of its commitment to human dignity and rights. “This is a test of our human values and Christian legacy,” he said in a statement.
“Taking responsibility for human beings in desperate need must be done without discrimination on any criteria other than their needs. We are shocked to hear of some countries rejecting refugees on the basis of their religion.”
