The media's done a good job of letting us know how "disruptive" detainees in Woomera have been over the past few years. The Australian government has stumbled upon charming approaches to inform us about just how well they"re looking after Australians while dealing with the "boat people situation". But no one has successfully enlightened most Australians about just how inhumanely their government's been looking after asylum seekers who come to Australia's shores for refuge, nor how high the cost. .
There are myths circulating regarding the refugee situation, as well as images and messages all over the press intended to influence us into believing that asylum seekers are terrorists. "Solutions" have been implemented by the Australian government which simply shift the problem to other countries, and policies have been created to deal with asylum seekers that aren't actually helping anybody - including Australians. .
Among the many myths regarding the refugee situation, two of the most inaccurate are that boat people are queue jumpers and that asylum seekers are illegal. Not only are both statements incorrect, they are unjust. .
In regards to boat people being queue jumpers, for some countries there aren't even queues to jump. For instance, Iraq and Afghanistan don't have Australian diplomatic representatives in their countries and furthermore, Australia continues to support sanctions against them. Hence there is no standard refugee process for these people to go through to have their applications considered. Also, under Australian and International Law, a person is allowed to make a pledge for asylum when they maintain that they are fleeing from persecution. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy other countries" asylum from persecution.
As for asylum seekers being illegal, those people who arrive on our shores without prior consent from the Australian government (or with false documents) aren't actually considered illegal.