Stopping People Smugglers Won’t Stop The Refugees Tony!

Dear Tony,

We’ve all been shocked by the images of kids washed up on the shores of Turkey.

What is equally shocking is your response!

You think that somehow stopping the trade in people smuggling will somehow result in less deaths at sea. You said that “If you want to stop the deaths, if you want to stop the drownings, you’ve got to stop the boats,” The ignorance of this statement defies belief!

You think that refugees will stop coming if only we stop the trade in people smuggling. That’s the crazy part of your argument. Refugees are fleeing war, poverty and persecution within their own borders. They are desperate to get out, and they will use any means necessary to do so. They are willing to crowd into train stations, lay down on tracks, and jump barbed wire fences to escape. Do you really think that the absence of people smugglers will stop them?

Blaming the death of Aylan Kurdi and his brother on an “illegal migration” is the height of callousness. It demonstrates the kind of heartlessness that has become synonymous with you and your government. They were refugees! They had nowhere else to go.

Australia used to be a great nation. We used to open our doors to strangers. We used to welcome them, and they in turn helped to make this country a wonderful place. Not anymore! No longer do we have ‘boundless plains to share’ with those who come across the sea. Now its detention centres, offshore processing, and bumper stickers saying “F__k off, we’re full!” This is what we have become. You and your government have made a contribution to this with your policies, your rhetoric, your dumbed down 3-word slogans, and your lies about “illegal immigrants” and “border protection”.

There is nowhere for you to hide. You can’t run from images like this. Images like this happen because of policies like yours. Defend yourself all you want, images like this tell the stark, terrible truth.

May God have mercy on us.