‘I would get on a boat’
FORMER prime minister Malcolm Fraser has challenged Tony Abbott’s border protection policy in an evocative video created by Jewish Aid Australia (JAA), as part of the organisation’s campaign to promote empathy for the plight of asylum seekers arriving on Australia’s shores.
In the video, launched last Tuesday, the former Liberal Party leader is asked what he would do if he and his family were faced with armed conflict, repression and political instability in war-torn countries such as Syria or Afghanistan.
“I would do everything I could to escape from Afghanistan under those circumstances; especially if my family included young daughters. I would want them to have a future, I would want them to be able to be educated and participate and have a normal life, as we all want normal lives,” Fraser said.
“I would do anything I could, including getting on a boat.”
The campaign is gathering momentum online, garnering nearly 14,000 views in less than a week, with more than 1750 people sharing it via social media. Launched by refugee lawyer David Manne, former Age editor Michael Gawenda, and founder and CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Kon Karapanagiotidis last year, the JAA “What would you do?” campaign is, according to the website, the organisation’s bid to “engage in a discussion about what it means to be an Australian and what we would do if we needed to seek asylum”
Figures appearing on the video include QC and asylum seeker advocate Julian Burnside, leading figure in the Australian music industry Michael Gudinski, member of Melbourne band The Cat Empire Harry James Angus and singer from Tinpan Orange Emily Lubitz. Others include Nahji Chu, owner of successful Vietnamese food chain Miss Chu, and radio broadcaster Lehmo (Anthony Lehmann).
JAA CEO Gary Samowitz said, “We need to inject a dose of humanity back into the conversation surrounding our treatment of asylum seekers.”
He said it is especially incumbent upon the Jewish community to defend the case of asylum seekers, given that many of Australia’s Jews are themselves refugees, having fled Europe and other parts of the world during and after the Holocaust
“The Jewish community remembers a time when we were fleeing persecution and many nations closed their borders to us. We cannot stand idly by today while this is happening to so many people fleeing tyrannical regimes and seeking refuge in Australia.”
TIMNA JACKS
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser
comments