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Detainees stage a protest on a rooftop of the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney in March. (Photo: AP)

Australia: Boat people to experience homestay

By Rowena Dela Rosa Yoon Thu, May 03, 2012 5:39PM UTC View Comments

Following the launch of the Community Placement Network (CPN) today, about 5000 asylum seekers will be able to experience a decent life in a homestay program. The 6-week refugee homestay, an initial scheme to ease overcrowded detention centres, is expected to kick off two weeks from now. CPN is designed to accommodate asylum seekers released from...

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Is it safe for Burma to repatriate refugees?

By Francis Wade Wed, Apr 25, 2012 1:16PM UTC View Comments

Burma refugees, with their belongings, walk on a street to a pier in Mae Sot, Thailand after being displaced by fighting in 2010. Pic: AP.

Burma’s government has told armed ethnic groups that it will seek to repatriate refugees to sites in the country’s east, an announcement that is likely to trigger heated discussion about conditions in Burma’s conflict zones months after Naypyidaw set out to convince rebel groups to sign ceasefires. The chief interlocutor between the government and rebels,...

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Warnings fly over impending rush for Burma

By Francis Wade Fri, Mar 23, 2012 6:06PM UTC View Comments

A vessel from China Shipping Line docks at Boaungkyaw Jetty in Yangon, Burma. Pic: AP.

In the past week several NGOs focusing on Burmese environmental and humanitarian issues have released reports calling for better regulation of investment. As the end of western sanctions looms and the doors to the once-hermetic pariah creak open, rumours have swirled about who will be entering the market there, and what exactly their interests are....

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Burma’s blacklisting of Muslim babies reveals entrenched racism

By Francis Wade Thu, Jan 26, 2012 5:26PM UTC View Comments

Burmese Rohingya refugees are pictured at an unregistered refugee camp in Bangladesh. Pic: AP>

Last week a small NGO took a report detailing state discrimination against Muslim babies in Burma to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Muslim minority in question, the Rohingya, has suffered for decades as a result of an outwardly racist governmental policy toward non-Buddhists in Burma, which has also seen Christian...

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Australia Day focuses on Aborigines, refugees

By Rowena Dela Rosa Yoon Thu, Jan 26, 2012 12:05PM UTC View Comments

Prime Minister Julia Gillard poses with Geoffrey Rush

This year’s Australia Day has seen both old and new issues come under the spotlight, including indigenous culture, asylum-seekers, gay marriage, and climate change. These issues, however, cannot be solely discussed through political means but through the arts. Academy-award winning actor Geoffrey Rush was named the 2012 Australian of the Year in a ceremony at the...

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