The object of the “asylum seeker” game is to get residency in an affluent Western country .And the people playing the game will exploit any means,
any loop-hole to attain their ends.

*The poor unaccompanied children* tactic is just one of many employed .Using children to gain citizenship has long been a tactic used in the US –and a soft touch has costs the US dearly:
“The Urban Institute estimates the cost of educating alien children in the nation’s seven states with the highest concentration of illegal aliens was $3.1 billion in 1993 (which, with the growth of their population to 1.3 million, would be more like $5 billion in 2000).”
http://www.14thamendment.us/birthright_citizenship/consequences.html

And the players are often not even “children”:
“Child refugees coming alone to Sweden aren’t always children. According to workers at several different refugee housing facilities, many people say that they are younger than they actually are in order to get better treatment and avoid deportation…Asha, a refugee from Somalia, told migration officials that she was 19 years old when she arrived. But her real age was 30”
http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2010/mar/refugees_lie_about_age_to_avoid_deportation_but_at_a_price.aspx

And even when they are children, they are often far from the naïve waifs they are made out to be:
“A teenage asylum seeker, who won the support of thousands of people in Wales as he battled deportation, has admitted lying…His earlier claims that he had no family in Pakistan and feared his missing parents were dead won huge public sympathy.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/02/22/mp-makes-plea-but-liar-orphan-refugee-told-to-go-home-91466-28209875/

So, my suggest to people who have big hearts and absolutely must commit to a cause is that they, grow a bonsai, adopt an abandoned pet, or even befriend an unloved granny –anything, but steer clear of the asylum seeker scam – it’s not the noble cause it is made out to be.

Who's using me Belly?

Kerryanne,

Why am I not surprised that you've gravitated to the odious wisdom of Gentleman Col Rouge.....

Are you suggesting that we don't have a duty of care to children who arrive here seeking asylum?

Regarding your on-going stoush with other posters - I'm with Lexi in that I don't know what you're on about. You keep mentioning past interactions that we have no knowledge of.

Poirot

Apologies for appearing a bit harsh vis a vis Abbott/Nauru - I am well aware of your thoughts on the Libs. Given that some people can see no wrong with the Liberal party, I could not stop myself from posting.

I know you are aware, but some people need reminding:

Fact is boat refugees could more cheaply and humanely be assessed here in Australia than any of the Labor or Liberal current policies. But they have to be "seen to be tough". Bloody hell. Australia's dealing with boat refugees is one of our biggest shames, along with the separation of indigenous children from their families and also the Brits nasty contribution to this practice with their own children.

Seems no-one is concerned about children at all. Let alone adults, who did not choose in which country they were to be born - something too many smug well-fed Aussies forget.

We assess thousands more refugees who arrive by plane within Australia, why aren't the tiny percentage of boat refugees accorded the same?

And it makes better financial sense..... the entire debacle leaves me speechless.

Ammonite,

No problem, I understood the point you were making.

Like you say, it's all constructed in order to appear tough - a form of pork-barrelling, but instead of offering the electorate some form of largesse, they offer instead to mollify the innate insularity rife amongst Australians.

It's fascinating that these refugee "children" are apparently all 19-30 years old with an AK-47 in their back pockets - just goes to show, you learn something new everyday.

Poirot

Don't you know that refugee babies are trained with Uzi's while still breastfeeding?

And every boat person packs a gun rather than food.

To those who don't get above statements - I AM BEING IRONIC.

What really annoys me is that there is a solution, assess boat people in Australia. We won't stop the boats until the issues blighting these third world countries are solved. Surely by now, those in power would realise that peace does not materialise using a big stick.

< It's fascinating that these refugee "children" are apparently all 19-30 years old with an AK-47 in their back pockets - just goes to show, you learn something new everyday.>>

I am sure that even if they turned up carry AK-47’s , or Uzis, many advocates would find a way to excuse it –or leastways not see it

Just as they didn’t see them carry Molotov cocktails and iron bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xjyqh8mURk

and didn’t see ( or question why) these poor papers-less refugees had mobile phones:
http://www.news.com.au/national/asylum-seekers-call-for-help-on-mobiles/story-e6frfkvr-1225795364009

and speaking of AK-47’s & Uzi’s –I’ll bet this group of validated and settled “asylum seekers” had their hands on a few!
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/somalia-jihad-drive-probed/story-e6frg6of-1111115033793
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2693680.htm