It is hard to see after yesterday’s beheadings why we would send anyone back to Afghanistan, but Amanda Vanstone did it to my friends the Bakhtiyaris and I hear they are dead now, and I ask that she be charged with murder if indeed they are dead. The two boys Alamdar and Montezar did well in the one year at an Adelaide Catholic school they were allowed in their lives, both winning medals, Montezar excelling at soccer (there is film of them kicking a ball with Mike Rann) and the outrage I feel at their deaths, if dead they are, is swollen by my suspicion that my publicising of them hastened and worsened their fates.
How dare we do this? How dare we not take people in who flee decapitation? How dare we send them back penniless, confiscating their toys, to seek work and schooling in a tyranny that hates them for deserting it?
How dare we? Where do we get the idea some Hazaras are not ‘genuine’ refugees? And some Tamils? And some Syrians? And some Ba’hai from Iran and Iraq? How dare we lock up children already disrupted by change of land and language, and wreck their education? How dare we do that? How dare we send them back to be killed?
I ask for a Royal Commission into Amanda Vanstone’s assistance of the Taliban in the murder of the Bakhtiyaris.
The boys beheaded, were they? We shall see.
Name:
How do we tell Afghans fleeing persecution from Afghans who come to the West with their jihad in order to persecute us?
The same way Afghans must distinguish between foreign soldiers sent to Afghanistan sent to help with reconstruction and those sent to kill them, or those that patrol an area or a street giving the children sweets and those that go off base on a civilian killing spree. Hard isn’t it?
Any vaguely organised jihadist (assuming they actually exist and aren’t just a figment of your imagination) is not going to come over by boat. They will have money, they will have an official passport, they will be on a plane.
You don’t spread holy war by squeezing poor people on a boat. And you don’t help the fight against holy war by telling poor people they’re criminals and throwing them to the wolves either.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-soldiers-plotted-to-kill-obama-20120829-24zfu.html
The Jihadists, unlike their victims, much prefer to do stay home and do their Jihading there, where the Unholy Invaders are.
Pakistan seems to be acting to send refugees home to Afghanistan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/return-to-a-war-thousands-of-afghan-refugees-in-pakistan-under-pressure-to-return/2012/08/23/e2c310b6-ed44-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html
Does that mean the Bakhtiyaris too?
You bring tears to my eyes Bob. Are we savages? Blessed with a country that should be sharing and not the mean spirited mentality that infects our nation. God help us if we decide to let the politicians and hate media to pander to the ignorant simple minded prejudices of the Howard,Abbott followers. How sick have we become to put up with these injustices. Are we a nice people anymore or are we just an insular xenophopicic rabble who doesn’t deserve to be part of the civilized world
It’s not Bob it is we as a nation and for goog reason Marilyn
Anyone watch “Go Back to Where you Came From” on SBS-TV? Part 2 is on tonight at 8.30pm. I would have thought bloggers here would be salivating about Peter Reith and the nasty right-wingers by now. Its very good and will galvanize opinions. Worth viewing.
They really are nasty Frank. That Smith guy, whoever the hell he is, showed himself to be the complete buffoon you’d expect a right-wing shockjock to be. Angry Anderson’s relatively human reaction to his experiences redeemed him somewhat, but it also served to highlight the inexcusable ignorance on which his previous opinions had been based. Reith was humanised a little, much to my chagrin, but he also showed himself to be utterly clueless about the realities of life outside the leafy suburbs of Australian cities, and he is clearly still uncomfortable about his role in Children Overboard. Catherine Deveny was passionate but dopey, Allan Asher was worthy, and Imogen Bailey was remarkably dignified, compassionate and intelligent.
Reith is a feather duster, but it might be interesting to see if he has a ‘road to Damascus’ moment.
Even old dogs can learn new tricks.
I heard Reith interviewed by Jon Faine this morning, there was no revelation. Remember this guy wants to be the Liberal Party President. What would you expect?
His obvious defensiveness about Children Overboard is very revealing.
Peter Reith played the electorate for suckers in the children overboard scandal. Why would anyone want to give this lowlife airtime.
You need to watch the program; it’s not a free kick for the participants.
Basically from the small bit I watched before chickening out, what Bloods 05 said, although glad I missed the shock jock.
I’d already seem him mouthing off in the trailer for the show, so maybe I did myself a bigger favour than I thought.
Poor Allen Jones. He has lost most of his audience. His raving pink tie was all that stood out at his town hall non event