The Australian move to ship over 400 Afghan refugees to Papua New Guinea began in earnest last night despite court actions and international outrage. Few people have fled their homeland in such numbers as the Afghans. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, more than six million people have tried to escape wars, civil strife and a succession of oppressive governments. Those conflicts and the brutal policies of the Taliban regime in Kabul have been compounded by a devastating drought that has lasted for years.
If Australia was a destiny that symbolised some hope for Western-style justice and compassion on the part of those fleeing Afghanistan, then that hope has been sadly dashed. The harsh treatment of the foreign aid workers who were recently arrested in Afghanistan has served to draw Western attention once again to the plight of those who live under the Taliban. In Afghanistan today, basic liberties, including the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, are denied, women are not allowed to work, male unemployment is rife, adult literacy is just 30 per cent and life expectancy is only 45 years.
Complaints about the reign of terror in Afghanistan must ring hollow when Western governments refuse to deal compassionately with those who manage to flee the Taliban. And complaints in Australia and Europe about the numbers of refugees belie the facts. Although 150,000 Afghans have applied for asylum in Europe in the last decade, the real burden is being borne by Afghanistan's neighbours. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the largest numbers of Afghan refugees are in Pakistan, where they total two million, and Iran, where there are a further 1.6 million.
The eight foreign aid workers who are going on trial in Kabul accused of preaching Christianity, include two Australians. They have been denied consular or family visits for most of their time in detention. Undoubtedly the Taliban will argue that it has acted within its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law. The Australian government says it too has been acting within the law. But it is a law that serves a large section of xenophobic voters while failing to meet the needs of those already denied basic human rights.
The lack of compassion in both Afghanistan and Australia in recent weeks must be condemned internationally. But Australia must also be judged by Western standards of justice, decency, democracy and fair play.