The 250 asylum seekers are bound to be sent back to South Pacific island of Nauru. This decision was given after the Australian court found that the offshore processing of refugee is legal.
The government agreed with the court's decision as it is a threat to its immigration and asylum policy that tends to maintain the right to lock up refuge seekers outside of its territory. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sternly said that people smugglers will not win over sovereignty and that the line has been drawn somewhere out of their borders.
Because of this decision, refugee advocates showed their disappointments to the government. Daniel Webb, director of legal advocacy, said that legality is one thing, morality is another. He said that 267 asylum seekers including 33 babies were likely to be sent back to the poverty stricken island of Nauru. He added that removing kids out of primary school and sending them back on a tiny remote island is very wrong.
The arrival of illegal migrants, on the shore of Australia has been reduced since the policy on detaining asylum seekers has been imposed. This move also pressed Europe to follow their lead. But this policy has been criticized by the United Nations, health professionals and the refugee themselves. They said that putting people in jail for fleeing persecution in their land is also tantamount to torture.
A raised in the mental and medical problems of children has alarmed health workers. Karen Zwi, a pediatrician said that some of these children are extremely traumatized. They are depressed and loses hope easily and signs of physically, emotional and developmental deterioration are showing.
The High Court, however, relies only on the amendments to the Migration Act, which was rushed through parliament with bipartisan support. These, in turn, gave the government greater powers to detain asylum seekers. For more than two years, more than 1000 asylum seekers are detained on Nauru and Manus Island and only more than a handful were resettled in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.
