After a recent column about the mental health of asylum seekers, I received a flurry of correspondence. The most interesting was from those working within the system in a mental health or policing capacity. They were quite consistent in their views and regretted they hadn't spoken out about the realities before.
Public opinion hardened after the Villawood riots, which exposed a minority of asylum seekers as unwilling to abide by our laws. It also exposed a level of expectation and entitlement that is a core part of the problem.
A psychiatric nurse told me the vast majority of asylum seekers were adamant they were being held illegally. This is a real failure in communication. He also said there was an expectation that nobody would be sent back, which is fuelled initially by people smugglers but then perpetuated by mostly inexperienced case managers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
They are mostly right, given that almost four out of five are accepted as refugees, in spite of having no documentation and unverifiable stories. Figures published last week showed more than 80 per cent of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat dumped their passports before landing.
A locum GP who had worked at Curtin told me the most needy detainees with pre-existing mental health problems were usually the ones who kept quiet out of fear their condition might sabotage their application.
Other clients with no pre-existing history told of persecution under the Taliban or other groups - sometimes suddenly, many months after their arrival. Interpreters often complained that their stories sounded scripted, stereotypic and rehearsed. But a High Court ruling in 2005 did away with skilled linguistic experts to assess the reliability of such stories in their cultural context.
An Arabic interpreter alleged that lawyers often vied for work in the centres and suggested incidents to clients, such as bullying or assaults by security staff. Several visa holders are suing ASIO for intimidation they felt during their security interviews.
A social worker said many unaccompanied minors - those under 18 without parents or adults - often turned out to be over 25 when biometric testing was done by the federal police. A spokesman for the Immigration Department said that according to its guidelines biometric testing was not given any weight in determining age. But this has reportedly created tension between the two bodies, with many federal police feeling the department is soft.
While I can't verify the stories and the department's responses are bland, the overall picture from within detention centres is of a chaotic system without consistent processes, where exaggeration, fabrication or malingering are rewarded and a growing band of transient advocates up the ante against the government, to educate asylum seekers about their options.
Even with a $40,000 bill from Afghanistan or Iraq, getting to Australia is cheaper than to Sweden or Canada. Getting on a boat is seen as a proven method of relatively quick, procedural entry, particularly when you know the system.
We should accept refugees as part of our international obligations and welcome them. Most asylum seekers aren't likely to be unsavoury people.
But a more dispassionate look at data and a more critical examination of motives and accounts suggests that more than a handful are opportunists exploiting a weakness, for whom asylum is merely the means to migrate to the developed world. The numbers speak for themselves, with a doubling of applications since 2005, while global numbers have declined by almost half, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
As an immigrant, I feel strongly about the issue. While the numbers are small in the context of our total immigration, the symbolism is great. This shemozzle endangers our broader policies of immigration, which I strongly support for the continuing renewal of our cultural, economic and intellectual dynamism - not to mention skills shortage.
The prospect of a better standard of living is the primary motive for migration. As rules tighten around the world, especially for those lacking higher skills, weak spots are exposed. The government's latest move - to swap asylum seekers for refugees from Malaysia - is not an overreaction but a desperately needed strategy to fix a growing leak and policy disaster.
Dr Tanveer Ahmed is a psychiatrist and Herald columnist
Email a friend