sEEKiNG AsYLUM 22 A Long Journey Home By micHAeL neiLson
e’ve all been in situations where we don’t feel safe and need to escape. Maybe it was a sober night at Monkey Bar, a slightly-too-ruckus Castle St party, or being confronted by a stranger in a dark alley. I was chased down Arthur Street by a drugged-out lunatic at 2am just last week. But luckily for us, such conflict is usually quite easy to avoid. A short taxi ride (or a long run) and we are home safe and sound. But imagine that instead of ultra-ghetto North Dunedin, you are in Afghanistan. And instead of lusty first-years chasing you, the Taliban are after you and <strong>your</strong> family simply because you’re different. You are literally fleeing for <strong>your</strong> life. You have no choice but to leave <strong>your</strong> family behind to escape and build a new life, clinging to the slim hope that one day you’ll be reunited. You fork out all <strong>your</strong> savings and more, leaving <strong>your</strong> fate in the hands of vicious loan sharks. The journey is horrific. Instead of a taxi, you are huddled in the back of a truck, then crammed into the hold of a boat that looks like it would never float, especially <strong>not</strong> with several hundred other desperate people on it. The conditions are treacherous, but really there is no choice. You die where you are or you hold onto the slim chance you may reach somewhere hospitable, and <strong>not</strong> die on the way there. Mohammad Amiri is now a New Zealand citizen and the President of the Afghan Association in Wellington. He was once an asylum seeker, and this story closely resembles his. Speaking from his new home in Wellington, he told me the dramatic story of his flight from Afghanistan in 2001, while fearing for his life. “For decades we have had war in Afghanistan. Sometimes you have to leave the country if you want to live. If I had stayed I would have been killed, as so many others had been killed back in my city.” Like many asylum seekers, Amiri had no chance to go through a refugee camp. He made the arduous journey through Pakistan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia to Indonesia, where he contacted people smugglers who he paid US$4000 - 5000 to take him to Australia. WHo Are AsyLum seekers? Before getting started, it is important to clarify a few points, as I am sure <strong>not</strong> all of you are law or politics majors. The United Nations (UN) defines an asylum seeker as someone “who has applied for protection as a refugee and is waiting for his or her status determination”. Amanda Brydon, of Amnesty International New Zealand, says: “Asylum seekers have a legal right to seek protection under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Refugee Convention, and the 1967 Protocol, [all of] which New Zealand is a signatory to.” Michael White, of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, explains: “Asylum seekers flee their home country because they face persecution. They seek safety and refuge in either an adjoining country or a third country.” Brydon adds, “It can be extremely difficult to flee, as countries are often in chaos as a result of the violence and instability. To make ones way to a UN refugee camp to be processed can often be near impossible for individuals and their families to do.” Many countries are also <strong>not</strong> signatories to the international agreements, which make countries who are, like New Zealand and Australia, more attractive. While there is no “normal” way to become a refugee, the danger such people face in fleeing their country often means they have to take desperate measures. Gary Poole, of the Refugee Council of New Zealand, explains: “Asylum seekers usually have no choice. They have frequently fled their home countries because of immediate danger of persecution, detention, torture, or execution.” sEEKiNG AsYLUM 23