Miserable, angry, uncomfortable and annoyed… This is how I felt when I heard about this topic.
Sierra Leone, Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. They suffer civil war, terrorist activities and some horrible religious activities such as excision, also called female genital mutilation (FGM) or mutilation. This is a very painful and unnecessary procedure, which can cause death. I feel uncomfortable talking about excision, but you can find out more about it by searching the topic on Google. This poor country suffers a lot of horrible things, and I don’t blame them for wanting to come to a different country where they can live without having the chance of being killed every day. A country where they have more rights and freedom.
At the Melbourne, Australia, 2006 Commonwealth Games, some Sierra Leone athletes came to Australia. People assumed that they were here to compete in the Games, but the Sierra Leone athletes had different plans. During the Games, some of the Sierra Leone athletes were reported missing. They were found, but they then admited that they were going to stay in Australia and abandon their home country. “I want to seek asylum here and I won’t want to go back to my country. The people come- the government comes- and they kill my sister.” Musa Kamara said. “They catch me and beat me up and shot me on my leg.” Mohamed Sesi said. “I would prefer to die than to go back to that country,” Lamin Tucker said, “I would die instead of going back to that country.”
The government of Australia locked them up in one of 7 detention centres in Australia. Detention centres are like prisons, and people get sent there when they do not have permission to be in Australia. “I was locked up like a caged animal,” Cornilia Rau said about Baxter detention centre.
This is a difficult situation. Some people would say, “It’s unfair to let them stay in Australia because they’re athletes, and not let other people from that country stay here.” Well, that is a point…
When I heard about this, I said that these refugees don’t deserve to be punished like this. They are humans just like us! We happened to be born in Australia, and they happened to be born in Sierra Leone. What have they done wrong? They don’t deserve this. Think about it. What if it was you who was trying to enter Australia? If I lived in Sierra Leone, I would be trying everything I could to get out of that country. All I wanted was to live in another country, and I was told that I could not live in another country.
We have luxuries here in Australia. We have fresh drinking water, computers, houses, jobs, education and television. We have more than we could expect, more than the basics. A family has extra cash. What do they do with it? They don’t think about those poor people like in Sierra Leone who a lot of them don’t have a house to live in or even enough food to eat! So what does that wealthy family do with their extra money? The go out and buy ANOTHER T.V. “One with a bigger screen,” they say. “Or a computer with a flat screen, or a lap-top that I can carry around with me.” That wealthy family doesn’t stop and think about those poor people dying because they have no food, or fresh water. That wealthy family doesn’t think, “What about improving someone elses life so they can have a slightly better life style.” And the government doesn’t think, “Why don’t I donate some of my money to helping those people who need it more than I do.” So what can we do? We can donate some money to an organisation who will try and help the poor, such as Oxfam.
So what do you think is right? Should the athletes be sent back to Sierra Leone, should they be allowed to stay and live in Australia, or should they be locked up in the detention centres? I think maybe Australia should try and help Sierra Leone become a better country. Australia has the money.
Well this is a topic that my English class have been discussing recently. We have decided to make a cake stall this week to help raise money. This money will go towards helping the detention centres in Australia become better places for the refugees. It’s a start. If we all work at this together, we can make a difference!