Bronwyn and others,
Just a couple of links that may interest you.

First is a bit of history and commentory on conditions in Sri Lanka.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26301207-7583,00.html

Second is about the sabotage of the vessel the 78 Tamils were on.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/asylum-boat-had-holes-drilled-in-hull-20091021-h911.html

Banjo,

Firstly, what an interesting article that first link is. I hope you read the comments as well. I took away a few impressions:

- It appears Sri Lanka's civil war continues, in the comments section of the Australian at least. Both sides lobbing huge globs of propaganda. Someone should explain to them propaganda's rule 101: it order to work, it has to be believable.

- Several pointed out that foreigners were thrown out of the camps when the government took control, and wondered how the good professor was so certain he knew what conditions were like in there now. Since this went unchallenged, so do I.

- A quote from a comment: The truth about the Tamil boat people and their fate are being contested not on their own merits, but, like every other group that has sought refuge in Australia in recent times, as a proxies for the deeper, dare I say tribal, conflict between Left and Right wing in Australian culture and politics.

- Another quote: Sri Lankan Chief of Defence Staff Sarath Fonseka said few days ago that "We must deploy enough troops to provide security for these "resettled" areas. We must in these areas, this virus [former civlian and combatant LTTE members], there are still 1000's of terrorists in IDP camps. We must identify these terrorist and destroy them. [origin appears to be: http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30552 ]

I'd take that last quote with a grain of salt. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1934060,00.html reported the same speech as "He warned that there might still be thousands of Tigers among them and that they needed to be weeded out".

And finally Banjo, regarding your comments on hijacking and such. No one doubts they are desperate people willing to take desperate measures. Just how desperate is obvious from your example really - unarmed civilians trying to dictate terms to a well armed and superbly trained Navy vessel is movie plot stuff. But to suggest people comfortable in their homeland would do this just in the hope of getting rich is beyond belief. Remember propaganda 101 old boy: it must be believable.

Further to RobP‘s query:
----“ tell me what's stopping [druggies] coming on planes.”
Ya bloomin border security mun –thats what!
Dinya see the ruddy doogs they have noow – cannae even bring a haggis in wi’out them findin it.Cannae ya noooh give The Simpsons a miss, for a wee time, and watch Border Security… it’ll blow ya mind mun!

---“How do you know we haven't already got quite a few drug pushers already in our country?”
Aye Rob lad, we have indeed – but by the same token mun we already have people by the fine old double-malted Tamil name of Moduthagam .
Are ya sayin laddie that, Noahs Ark like, we only need two of each?

Open ya heart mun. Are ye not aware that drug pushers & barons are persecuted all over the world – aaaaaaalllll over the blooomin world mun -and bloomin be the appropriate word since some of their stuff be bloomin like tatties in Afghanystan, right about now.

But more to the point mun, practically everywhere they go, the pushers & barons are hounded, humiliated, harangued, harried, heaped-on, harassed, hounded (jobbie! I be repeatin myself)

I tellin ya now mun. If ye honest to God be lookin fur EN-TRE-PREN-EURS , and those who ken think outside the square.Then I’m here to tell ya mun ya cannae go past them. Talkin about thinkin out the box –how many ways do they come up with to hide the stuff.
Noooh …I tell yah mun, they be the type you want in ya thinkin tanks ,and fucha funds, forget Peta bloomin Costella he be yestdays mun.

Our mantra gotta be, give us ya pedlers & smugglers , ya barons & lab Johnnies, and ya hydroponic Marihuana growers.Here’s our chance to clean-up big time mun!

Let emmm aaall cum in I say.
As that wee bonnie lassie Sally might have expressed it if she had been meetin Harry in Scotland: aaaye, aaaye ,aaaaaaye

Aye Horus, all ye have to do is add a few references to murrr-der, Glaasgow, the bo-oss, Ro-obbie and the po-liss and yud b' a scriptwriter for Taggart me wee laddie. So, why do-on'tchya go there and keep the reffos from leavin' the do-ock. Ye b' inclooded.

*By your logic they should still be risking their lives in unseaworthy boats to get there*

Not so Rstuart, the Vietamese are not fools who give away money
without a reward. Vietnamese would hardly qualify under the
Convention, so why would they be so foolish?
You clearly don't understand my logic or my points of reason.

*Thus my lament above about the standard of your posts*

Hehe, so when you agree with me, then I make good points,
when you disagree with me, my standards are slipping :)

*This is so at odds with normal human behaviour it doesn't require further comment.*

Rstuart, I remind you that every country kid who heads for the big
smoke, seemingly prefers to be a small fish in a big pond, rather
then a big fish in a small pond. Your understanding of the world
and life, is showing here. Those millions of economic migrants
streaming from Africa and Mexico, prove my point.

*Yet no, when the unrest in their local area settled down, so did they.*

Very true, because the rules of the 1951 Convention cannot be
screwed anymore, so the odds go against them. So why should they
risk their money?

Just stop and take a look as to who is arriving on boats. By far
the majority are young males. And what does every parent wish for
their kids? That they have it easier then the parents had it,
better education, better opportunities etc. Families with resources
bankroll these young males for exactly that reason, whilst the women
and children are stuck in refugee camps. Next thing you'll claim
this is humane! My arse its humane, its feelgood stuff.

Bronwyn doesn't know it, but I actually have a soft spot for her :)

She reminds me so much of Miss Taylor, my boarding school teacher.
We boys would have drinking and smoking competitions, with the odd
joint thrown in. We'd tell Miss Taylor that we were "feeling a bit
sick" for things that should have had us expelled. She unquestioningly
swallowed every word, she was so nice.

Today I can only put all this down to some recent studies which
show that high oxytocin females, who also make great mothers,
tend to be more gullible the average, due to the oxytocin effect.

Bronnie has freely admitted on OLO, that her heart rules her head.
She also realises, that I am exactly the opposite. Reality does
not go away, when we close our eyes and wish it would.

When it suits Bronnie's emotions, the 1951 Convention matters,
when it doesn't, like with the 78 Sri Lankans, the Convention
is tossed out the window, in the name of emotion. So who here
is in fact, making it up, as they go along?

*To argue they leave their homes for no other reason than money is both crass and ignorant.*

No Bronwyn, you need to inform yourself a bit more, switch off
Radio National and switch on SBS or even the BBC. People from
Ghana, Nigeria and other countries, are swarming to Europe for the
money, they openly admit it. Nearly every African country has signed
the 1951 Convention, so they could go to lots of places, if they
chose, only they are not rich places, so the greedy ones head for
Europe.

*that its government is no longer able to provide jobs for its citizens. They cross the border to survive, Yabby.*

Tens of millions of Mexicans survive every day Bronwyn. They
just commonly don't survive as rich as those who headed north.

Besides, it is not the role of Govts to provide jobs, that is
extreme left thinking. Enterprising people create jobs. Buy
a broom, bucket and cheap vacuum for instance, hey presto,
"Bronwyn's Cleaning Service" is in business