Time to embrace the potential refugees offer Australia

Written by ASRC CEO and Founder, Kon Karapanagiotidis.

Illustration: Michael Leunig

My own story begins with my grandmother. When I think of her, I first think of her calloused hands. They carried a lifetime of struggle and grief and were heavy with sacrifice. But they were strong and resilient. My grandma survived as a refugee, fleeing both the Pontian genocide and Nazi occupation during World War II. Six children rose from her love. My father Leo was one of them.

My dad had to leave school aged nine, my mum 12. My father’s dream of being a lawyer or doctor had to be sacrificed to the fields for the future of his three sisters. My “uneducated” parents would come to Australia without a word of English and go on to raise two children, who between them would hold eight university degrees, an Order of Australia Medal and receive acclaim and recognition in their legal professions and human rights work.

My parents worked on farms and in factories until their bodies could take it no more. They worked hard and sacrificed for more than 40 years so that their children could dream of something better. My parents had something no formal education could teach you. Resilience, love of community, principles, sacrifice, entrepreneurship, selflessness and courage. That’s in my DNA, and it’s in the blood of every single migrant and refugee who sets foot on this land.
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In speaking of refugees being out to steal our jobs, languishing on welfare, illiterate and innumerate, Mr Dutton insults us all. In the 15 years since I founded the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, I have been continually in awe of the spirit, ingenuity and entrepreneurship of refugees. They don’t want welfare. They just want safety and the opportunity to give back and create a better life for their families, like our parents did.

When I read Mr Dutton’s repugnant words, I wondered exactly who he was speaking of? The refugees I meet at the ASRC are not some racist’s caricature. They are the doctor I know who speaks nine languages, and the young man who is studying a double degree in law and business after arriving by boat as an unaccompanied child without a word of English. They are everyday mums and dads willing to do anything, often the jobs no Australians will touch, just to put food and dignity on the table for their families. They are my heroes, my role models and this nation’s future.

Mr Dutton was tasked with championing my parent’s legacy and the future of the refugees I work with at the ASRC. Instead, he sold them out. In fact he sold us all out; your parents or grandparents and all their sacrifices for a few cheap, nasty votes.

This from a minister whose government for two years denied 24,500 asylum seekers the right to work (including volunteer work). A Turnbull Government that will spend around $500,000 to dismantle the hope of just one refugee on Manus (as many as 1.2 billion taxpayers’ dollars are spent on offshore mandatory detention a year), while our Innovation Hub at the ASRC would place that same person into work – paying taxes, integrating and thriving – for just $500.
I could quote a long list of exceptional refugees from the Governor of South Australia, His Excellency Hieu Van Le AO, to world-leading surgeons such as Dr Munjed Al Muderis who make it possible for our amputee diggers to walk again. But refugees shouldn’t have to be exceptional to get our protection. No one expects that of you in return for your freedom and safety.

We can build the Snowy Mountain Scheme, represent Australia at cricket or lead the state of Queensland, but Mr Dutton is telling us we don’t belong; we’re a burden and blight on a country that we love so much.
The truth though is that the blight is the racist fearmongering of the Turnbull Government, of Mr Dutton using a narrative that belongs to the days of White Australia policy or a Reclaim Australia placard. A man who doesn’t understand the contribution and value of refugees and migrants isn’t fit to be the Immigration Minister and I call on him today to immediately stand down.

Imagine if we saw the opportunity refugees offer our country and saw their legacy instead of some imaginary crisis. Imagine if we saw the potential rather than bought the lie of burden and threat. Imagine if we unleashed our moral indignation, instead of being held hostage by predatory politicians. What are we waiting for?

Article shared from The Age: http://bit.ly/1RlACf5