Yesterday it was the three year anniversary of the SIEV X, I was unaware of this until I searched for articles, it was in the Age so I had to find it online, but this opinion piece horrifies me even more than the sketchy details I have been given by others. For those who don't know what happened, the Australian authorities guarding the coast of Northern Australia would not let a boatload of Asylum seekers into Australian waters as to keep them out of Australia's responsibility, but they fail to realize even though the International 'Law of the Sea' is not binding it still matters in the caring hearts of those who have a humane conscience. The boat sunk, 353 people drowned, and the government covered it up.
It is still barely known today as the majority of Australians refuse to remember that in a supposedly multi-cultural society, our government does this sort of thing and even worse gets away with it. As soon as an Islamic country does something everyone jumps on the media bandwagon and criticizes, but as soon as Australia is guilty of something as horrendous as this, the media is silent, or too quiet for anyone to hear and take notice.
I will leave you with a quote because quotes are powerful things, this quote is from the Age's opinion article.
"On October 19, 2001, a woman gave birth on a sinking boat en route from
Indonesia to Christmas Island...Like many of our ancestors, she was in search of
that precious gift called freedom. She was last seen drifting with her baby
attached by the umbilical cord."
