I'm
uncertain why people object with such vigour to new arrivals, but oddly
understand it perfectly.
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| We need to work together and share. |
Humans,
that is you and me, are tribal by nature and inherently suspicious of any
newcomer who treads upon our territory.
The
complications of new arrivals have lately filled our media leaving the world
with the impression that we are jingoistic and hostile and so reluctant to
share our largesse with anyone not of our "tribe".
The
time is past, if it ever existed, when we could shunt people off to some remote
island, rather than reconsider our societal structure and make these desperate
people useful members of our community.
Obviously
someone from a different culture will see life in a way with which we are unfamiliar,
but rather than sidestep our responsibilities and humanity, and turn to the
Australian tradition to give them a "fair go".
Most,
it is known fear not so much a new idea, in this case asylum seekers, rather
letting go of a known and understood tradition with which they are familiar and
comfortable.
Those
seeking asylum are obviously of a different culture and so view life through a
markedly dissimilar prism than those already here and who are embedded in the
traditional Australian way.
Declarations
that we should “turn back the boats” or decisions that those same people should
never make it to the Australian mainland and so be redirected to Papua New
Guinea are simplistic political responses from a now dead era that pamper to a
misinformed and shallow electorate.
The
world is full, and will become even tighter until our number begins to plateau
this century at about nine or 10 billion and so if we consider ourselves
responsible world citizens then we should be prepared to make room on the bus.
Writing
in his 2013 book, “Population 10 Billion”, Professor Danny Dorling said: “Humans
can be at their most inhumane when they use geographical borders to define how
other humans can be treated”.
We
enjoy something of a privileged life in Australia as it is safe, economically
secure and those traits engender a sense of hope and if nothing else we should
be flattered that others in the world see it as somewhere worth fleeing to.
It
is simply mean-spirited and child-like to want to keep it all for ourselves for
as humanity is catapulted into a wholly different paradigm with the finitude of
our finite world tightening its choker-hold and the certainties of our
uncertain climate evolving to become pressing realities, survival will mean
sharing.
Asylum
seekers should not be sent to Papua New Guinea, rather we should be integrating
them in our society, managing their arrival with intelligence and compassion, and
sharing what we have.
