The topic of "boat people" in the latest federal election definitely rubbed me the wrong way. There was an obvious sense of alarmist fear mongering from both the Liberal and Labor party, pandering to the fear of being over-run by these boat people and the resources of Australia being drained. I like many people, found this ridiculous and pathetic. But even people I considered reasonable and intelligent began talking about how people were jumping the queues illegally and how they were going to break down the moral fiber of the nation.
While people might call me a left wing hippie, I don't understand how people can be so inhumane to fellow human beings. These are just people who have fled persecution and civil unrest; people who just want the opportunity to live a safe and healthy life, for themselves and their families.
To say these people aren't a productive and contributing part of our society is naive and unjust. My father himself is a refugee, he had to flee Vietnam to escape persecution from the communists and the war. His story is like many other asylum seekers; fleeing in the middle of night, not being able to tell other family members and friends and spending time in the boiler room of a unsafe boat in search of a better life.
The Key of Sea is a collaborative project with prominent Australian artists and refugees exploring the various experiences and perspectives of refugees and migrants around the world. All proceeds from the sales of the album will go to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and Refugees Survivors and Ex Detainees (RISE). With thoughtful and interesting collaborations, put your cynicism aside for a moment and support a worthy cause. You can pre-order the album on iTunes.
The Key of Sea Twitter
To say these people aren't a productive and contributing part of our society is naive and unjust. My father himself is a refugee, he had to flee Vietnam to escape persecution from the communists and the war. His story is like many other asylum seekers; fleeing in the middle of night, not being able to tell other family members and friends and spending time in the boiler room of a unsafe boat in search of a better life.
The Key of Sea is a collaborative project with prominent Australian artists and refugees exploring the various experiences and perspectives of refugees and migrants around the world. All proceeds from the sales of the album will go to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and Refugees Survivors and Ex Detainees (RISE). With thoughtful and interesting collaborations, put your cynicism aside for a moment and support a worthy cause. You can pre-order the album on iTunes.
Track Listing:
- Tim Rogers Compania/ The Ghost
- Old Man River and Javier Fredes / Merry Christmas Island
- Urthboy and Group 120/ Letters From Jamshed
- Sarah Blasko and Ajak Kwai/ Nyiir Ienquarr
- Oh Mercy and Nadia Omar/ Hands Will Cradle
- Blue King Brown and Diafrix / Streets are Getting Hot
- Katie Noonan and The Captains with Taikoz / Fatal Shore
- Skipping Girl Vinegar and Tri Nguyen/ Bullets and Mango Trees
- Philadelphia Grand Jury and Klezmania / Sing For The Sun
- The Cat Empire and Anbessa Gebrihiwot / Zero
- The Vasco Era and Yousif Aziz / Habibi
The Key of Sea Twitter
12 comments:
I agree with your views on boat people...the tone of the election disgusted me, and it pandered to the racist sentiment that exists in key marginal seats in Qld and Western Sydney.
Keen to check this album out.
yeah i know whatll solve this problem, lets all record an album. i hope they put it on while we're twiddling our thumbs in a detention centre.
So doing nothing is better than doing something? Uggh.
thats not what im saying at all, but recording an album by a bunch of artists who already consider themselves fashionably 'humane' isnt going to achieve shit. i could write an essay on this.
first, in regards to our parents migration its a completely different time. our parents brought skills, hope and the next generation to a nation that needed it. we are an immigrant nation. yes people are still fleeing persecution all over the world and yes something does need to be done but, regardless of whatever 'processing' method the government decides on its still going to be viewed as wrong by someone. if i was to put it simple and show myself as a pig i'd say that sitting in a centre on one of those islands is still better than fearing for your own life every day isnt it? but thats being too simplistic. i do empathise with these people, its the political system and australian people that shit me
in 2007 when all those dumbasses elected kevin rudd into power it was on the back of a populist movement - i'll destroy workchoices (and now emploYERS have their pants pulled down in terms of rights), i'll say sorry to the indigenous people (and just look at em now) and i'll sort out this boat people drama. did he? no. he dismantled howards 'racist' (but undeniably successful) pacific solution, which stopped people smugglers, who take advantage of these peoples hopes for a better life, seeing us as a 'soft target' and the boats started again. now if krudd was really a humanitarian he wouldve had a plan, but no, then we get to this election and julia gillard is saying they'll use timor to process when they havent even asked the timorese government? can all these musicians, and perhaps the population, not see whats going on here?
3 years ago it was John Howard - Rudd and Labor were the face of change and every aussie musician with an 'agenda' was on their fucking soapbox sprouting the merits of getting rid of Howard and how any change must be better. The populist promises were enforced and where are we now? exactly where we were back then - your supposed messiahs are full of shit. you're damned if you do and damned if you dont. but its funny how quickly all of these artists have forgotten how proud they were to be behind 'the new direction' of aussie politics. until they realised it was the same as the old one.
so what to do about it all? i dont know. kill all politicians would be a start. but in europe when something happens that people dont like there are fucking riots and mass people movements. no one in this country cares enough or has enough passion. well they do, but only to record a cd. music isnt the weapon of the people that it once was.
You can't criticise the boat people without being called a racist. It's a topic you'll never get true robust discussion on because opinions like Dayve's (which match my own) are seen as flag kissing big day out attendees.
The shift I've seen is that in previous generations people entered a far less tolerate, far more inherently racist social climate but they embraced Australian ideals and shaped the Australia we see today.
My opinion is limited to my experience but I see these refugees protesting, hunger striking and letting everyone know how slack Australia is. I would prefer if they respected the process a little more. If the process needs fixing, that's for us to decide, not them.
I think it's funny, and quite hypocritical, how westerners can whinge and complain about the illegal immigrants coming to Australia but happily send troops to Afghanistan or Iraq to blow the shit out of the countries where these 'boat people' come from. All for the protection of western ideals.
What should simply be a humanitarian issue is turned into a major political one because that's the easy way to scare people and score political points. Howard was great at conjuring that fear. And leaking edited photographs to make it look like refugees were throwing their kids overboard to get asylum.
Naturally we can't just welcome everyone with open arms lest we cause some serious population issues for Australia. But for God's sake, these people make up such a small percentage of illegal immigration that it's ridiculous this is even debated so fiercely at all.
What about the 10 thousand or so people who arrived by plane and, last year, overstayed their visas? I guess they don't matter because they're mainly English and have proper white values.
The entire world has seen an influx in asylum seekers, but Australia is taking far less than many other countries. I think we're ranked 20th at the moment out of 44 countries.
It's a cause and effect thing. You wanna protect western interests by blowing other countries up, then you take your fair share of refugees. Almost all boat people are eventually granted asylum in AU. Which contrasts significantly with those arriving by plane.
Until we start thinking past our own boundaries and realise that we are all just in one massive global community, the human race isn't going to go anywhere fast.
And I don't think raising awareness on the plight of refugees and showing them in a more humanitarian light is really a bad thing. After all the shit politicians throw at us, trying to scare us into voting for them, it's nice to have some people I respect doing something that will provide an organisation with some more funds to help those that really do need it most.
I mean bands like Cat Empire and Blue King Brown doing it to be fashionable? That's just stupid. Their songs, gigs and attitudes clearly show it's something they are passionate about. And they're musicians ffs, it's what they do best.
Doing nothing and yelling cheap shots from the sideline probably wouldn't achieve much either.
Chris and Dean, you are wise men.
So if you've got an alternative view, surely it couldn't be founded in wisdom. This is precisely why you'll never see any progress. The most important discussions for change are muted and watered down for fear of being labeled a racist.
How could Dayve or I be wise when our views are incongruous to yours.
Haha geez, relax ay.
deano - im not whinging. i understand why they come here and fair enough, but maybe they, and all these left wing 'just let em all in, dont worry about it, she'll be right mate' need to understand that its not as simple as that. and im not by any means saying you're that kind of stupid. howard got it off the agenda, albeit temporarily and perhaps unethically but it all stopped there for a little while. processing methods are inneffective, media saturation is sickening. yes im a conservative but fuck its not like i want them all to die. although on the cat empire - its funny when we saw them at the metro how much global warming agenda and such that they had, yet when i saw them at the metro this year not a thing was mentioned. im not saying its fashionable or that they forgot, but people wanna hear music at a gig. blue king brown have their agenda and stick to it, and thats fine too. but im happy to respect all viewpoints on the matter. god knows im not the one out there making a difference. the point i was trying to make originally was that it will always be a problem, its just another aspect of fear and intolerance being used to control the masses. any australian government knows that, for now, this is a way to drum up support using scare tactics. but this CD still wont achieve anything.
and nancy - no, wait. i just wrote a whole nice paragraph about your 'wise' comment but im not going to bother. its like you're hoping to get a rise out of us but oh well. great contribution to this overall discussion, you did the left wing proud.
I've said what I wanted to say. But yes, I was just trying to get a rise just like you were.
I did the left wing proud? Thanks! I'll bring it up at my next socialist meeting. They'll be so proud of me.
:)
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