Australia's slave trade
Dear Prime Minister,
On 12 March the sixth group of refugees was flown from Nauru to the US: seven men. Of the 2000+ refugees in offshore detention, only 146 have been sent to the US. These few have a chance to restart their lives, despite isolation and the financial burden of having to repay their airfares. But as Ai Wei Wei says the refugee swap with the US is
“a complete insult to the understanding of refugees. It’s exactly like slave trading. You cannot deal with human beings by violating their [rights].”
He goes on to say:
“If it’s not solved, it’s simply because we don’t want to solve it, because we benefit from the situation. Other people’s suffering and desperation is beneficial, so if those questions are not being answered, we will never solve the problem.”