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Section: International

  • INTERNATIONAL

    Thirty years of Jesuit Refugee Service

    • Mark Raper
    • 17 November 2010
    3 Comments

    May I tell you about one refugee whom I met during the 20 years I lived and worked JRS? The story has no happy outcome, indeed far from it. But it may help to communicate some of the feelings that inspire many who accompany the refugees.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Asylum seeker decision tests Government sportsmanship

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 12 November 2010
    6 Comments

    A litmus test for the health of a democracy is what a Government does when it loses cases in the highest court in the land. The first consequence of yesterday's High Court decision regarding the cases of two Tamil asylum seekers is that many cases will need to be reconsidered.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Getting to know Indonesia

    • Stephen Minas
    • 10 November 2010
    10 Comments

    How many foreign heads of state could be depicted in a cartoon in an Australian newspaper, as Indonesian President Yudhoyono was, in an act of sodomy? Despite widespread negative perceptions, Australia's neighbour is achieving many positive changes, quickly.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    South Africa shows compassion to Zimbabwean refugees

    • David Holdcroft
    • 05 November 2010
    9 Comments

    Zimbabweans have been coming to South Africa for reasons such as political violence, displacement due to land reform, and the collapse of the economy. After initially turning them back at the border, South Africa moved towards a pragmatic 'special dispensation' that was more compassionate, even if the future of the country's refugee rules now remains uncertain.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Social welfare good news stories

    • Tony Vinson
    • 25 October 2010
    3 Comments

    The new Jesuit Social Services study Moving from the Edge is not a tale of welfare woe. It is a celebration of lives that have 'come good'. Individuals and families have spoken in a basically human way about their transition from being 'outsiders' to social 'insiders'.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Understanding Afghanistan's complexities

    • Jan Forrester
    • 22 October 2010
    11 Comments

    The situation in Afghanistan is far more complex than the Australian parliamentary debate seems to credit. The international community and the Afghan government should be starting a bigger conversation about how a more transparent and accountable political culture can be encouraged. 

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Refugees jammed in ASIO bottleneck

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 20 October 2010
    7 Comments

    'Karim' is calling every second day now. His protection visa application was lodged six months ago and he was interviewed four months later. He was brutally tortured in his home country and has lived with debilitating trauma ever since. He now thinks his case will be refused because of the long delays in processing.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    The problem with prosperous Australia

    • John Falzon
    • 18 October 2010
    5 Comments

    There's something disquieting about quietness imposed from above in the heart of a democracy. Anti-Poverty Week is a good time to reflect on how, as a nation, can hear the revolutionary stories of the oppressed and abandoned in our midst.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Defending Rudd's aid agenda

    • Jack de Groot
    • 14 October 2010
    12 Comments

    Associate Professor of Public Policy at Australian Catholic University, Gary Johns, has challenged the Government's growing support of African nations. In so doing, Johns blatantly dismisses the fundamental principles of solidarity, human dignity, common good and option for the poor.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Empathy for the buried as Chilean miners emerge

    • Catherine Marshall
    • 13 October 2010
    3 Comments

    Raw earth passed by, centimetres from my eyes. Light seeped away, and all that was left was the sound of my breathing. Then a beam of light from a miner's hat reached towards me. A voice greeted me and a hand helped me to climb out. I did an interview, there in the dark, with the faceless person before me.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Trade troops for refugees as Afghanistan worsens

    • Greg Foyster
    • 08 October 2010
    15 Comments

    The situation in Afghanistan isn't getting better. It is getting much, much worse. If we are thinking about sending more troops to counter the Taliban, we must also think about accepting more Afghani asylum seekers fleeing the regime. 

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Kids in custody

    • Graham West
    • 06 October 2010
    9 Comments

    Young people should be held accountable for their actions. But that does not explain how almost 80 per cent of those on remand in a detention centre in NSW will not end up with a custodial sentence. If custody is a last resort, how can we get the balance wrong 80 per cent of the time?

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