the human cost

As an addendum to my latest couple of posts, and especially earlier ones (eg August 12th), it is interesting to consider for a moment the human face of the Australian Govt's existing restrictive policy on refugees - even though the most recent (& most illiberal legislation) did not pass.

The Sydney Morning Herald last week ran a story on a regugee from the genocide in Rwanda in 1999. Damascene Byimira lost all his 11 brothers and sisters along with his parents, and he thought had lost his pregnant wife and also his three year old son. He was seperated from his wife and fled through Africa, to Indonesia and eventually to Australia, where he was promptly locked up in the Villawood (immigration) detention centre.

Meanwhile, his wife Jeanne made it to Belgium, where she was given almost immediate refugee status, and then citizenship; she also gave birth to their second son in January 1999.

After being imprisoned for over a year, Damascene was given temporary Australian residency in 2002, but it was not until last year that he was finally given permanent sanctuary here.

He and his wife were re-united in Brussels as a result of a search by the international Red Cross; his son Derrick, now 10, had not seen his father for seven years and didn't recognise him.