Be a Fucking Human Will You

A Land of Riches & Inhumanity 

We've made human life pretty damn complex but it's not that hard. Strip back the crap, sell some of your shit, get to know yourself real good and be kind and compassionate. And drink water.

I actually looked up the definition of a human being just to be sure it included all of us :

a member of any of the races of Homo sapiens; person; man, woman, or child

Yup that seems to encapsulate all of us irrespective of hue and origin (even if I'd prefer not to admit some of our politicians are party to this species).

So when there's people in need, jumping on boats, sending their children across the big deep blue and risking their lives to flee their country they're in, how about your open your arms and give them a hug? I'm talking to you Australia.

Generally we bitch and whinge when we're stuck in traffic or the cashier is frustrating the crap out of us. Well these people have just come across hell and high water, crazy conditions, shark infested oceans, with total lack of security, food, drinking water and warmth. And they're not moaning - they just want a little acceptance, a good nights sleep and opportunity.

Yup, opportunity. Because they barely have any (or none at all) in their country. And you and I? We're insanely lucky. We had a little random luck with our sperm and egg and voila we landed in a world full of opportunity.

I won the birth lottery and my mother give birth to me in the Netherlands.

I/we may work our asses off but we still have access to WAY more opportunities than those in the developing world simply through the luxury of our birth and social/family networks. In Australia the median wealth of adults is the highest level in the world (the average wealth is 2nd behind Switzerland). None of us are walking 6km to fetch clean water every day or sitting under a tree in stifling heat attempting to work through primary school let alone the dangers faced in their towns. We're not little kids scrambling under a makeshift bed at night in utter fear. With no four walls, electricity or any other basics.

We need to give other countries these incredible head starts in life too. There are billions missing access to basic privileges we take for granted.

With the mental politics on at the moment, a foreigner would be forgiven for assuming Australia was surrounded by tens of thousands of teeny boats, filled with rich people (who stupidly didn't buy a nice, safe boat) looking to steal high level jobs around the country because they're just so damn mean.

Come on, let's get real! This is utterly not the case. And the only reason it's being focused and twisted is because it detracts from EVERY OTHER real issue in the country.

In numerous surveys of the top 10 things Australian people are worried about refugees never made it to the list. It's a media tactic. It's vote winner, because the nation that was once deemed as the welcoming g'day land has been manipulated over the past couple of decades with a whole lot of fear mongering thrown in for good measure.

Here are the numbers. Crystal clear.

In 2011 Pakistan hosted 1.7million refugees. In 2010, Australia hosted just 0.21% of the world’s refugees and 0.45% of the world’s asylum seekers, and received just 1.04% of the world’s asylum applications.

Seem a surprising little amount? Yup, that's because it is. Refugees should not be used as political pawn, they are not "boat people" and they should not be treated without adherence to fundamental human rights.

Of course we have to discuss borders - Australia is an isolated country and not attached to any other one. But the solution isn't to throw a bunch of people back out into the ocean.

And yes we should be discussing solutions because nobody wants people to die at sea (seriously, if you do, get off this website). And if the government truly, and I mean truly, wanted to fix the problem they would use foreign aid to invest significantly in the countries from which they are receiving the most refugees. The aid would not be tied and it would be used to build infrastructure, health care and schooling for education. Improving the country greatly reduces the need to flee in the first place. Plus it'll be way more cost effective, with a far higher return on investment, then flying a heap of people in private planes back to crappy conditions or paying countries undisclosed amounts to "settle them". And lock them up in detention centers.

Worried about an overflow of people to the cities? Believe me, you've got the thinking wrong I'm afraid (and it's not your fault). More people from the UK and the likes over stay their visas every year and are illegal immigrants than those coming in on boats.

And even then, Australia is a pretty big piece of land, they have incredibly inefficient housing around cities (seriously, huge wide flat houses are doing nobody a favor) and they also have plenty of abandoned towns along with a whole heap of red dirt everywhere outside of the coast. Let's talk about revitalizing and refreshing communities. Let's talk about setting up new ones. How about populating really rural areas? And what about the jobs that general Australians consider themselves too good for? Somebody still has to do them - who do you think is doing them now? Yep, you got it, don't fool yourself.

The argument that they are rich, economic refugees? It's bullshit. Close to 90% of all asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat are found to be genuine refugees. Australia is a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention - there is an obligation to offer these people refuge.

And what about refugees causing trouble? Yeah so do Australians. I've sat on plenty of public transport with a group of white, ego fueled, drunk white guys abusing the begeebees out of everyone around them. In fact I was in Perth just recently where someone innocently stepped out the train and got punched straight in the face by a white guy. They didn't know each other and the attack was entirely unprovoked.

Of course we should talk about integration. Of course unacceptable behaviour is unacceptable. But that's the case no matter what color or country you come from. If I lived in an Islamic state I'd have to adhere to their codes of conduct too.

Aside from this, there are hundreds of positive benefits from embracing other cultures and accepting refugees. I have received the love, warmth and generosity of people abroad who having nothing material in their lives. Mixing cultures is what makes the world beautiful.

I'm all for keeping our cultural identity - I'd be horrified if countries in Europe stopped speaking their natural languages and if the Dutch lost the quirks that make them Dutch. But that doesn't mean the two have to exist mutually exclusive.

Australia had a white policy until the 70's. It was despicable particular given the history of the country. But it was abolished and yet it feels eerily like they are returning to that. And I'm sure this in entirely inappropriate but there was once upon a time a little man in Germany who tried to create the perfect race of white people. Remember how that turned out?

The Australian spirit is supposed to be about compassion. Human beings are supposed to be this. So how come we lock up asylum seekers in offshore detention centers, let them commit harm to themselves and want to die, refuse journalists the right to speak to them, redefine our borders to send them to other countries people are still fleeing from and don't process them in a humane and efficient way?

We are all just people. People. All the same. All deserving of the same opportunities in life. We all breathe, love and laugh and we need food, safety, water and shelter.

And a big group hug.

So be a fucking human will you?