In the media
Ukraine
The UNHCR data portal on the Ukraine situation shows of the 7.7 million people who left Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, more than 2.5 million have returned. Australians have welcomed Ukrainian refugees into their homes. A number of them are exploring job opportunities in rural areas.
Post-Detention
As the Nadesalingam family returned to Biloela, it was revealed that the previous government made a last minute attempt to deport the family. Other people who have endured protracted limbo took heart that they too could secure more certainty. SBS caught up with the last group of men who were released from the Park hotel detention facility to find out how they were getting on.
Nauru
Refugees who remain stranded on Nauru face chronic food shortages amid a Covid-19 outbreak.
Community
Sister Brigid Arthur was awarded an AO for her dedication to vulnerable asylum seekers in Victoria. Newly arrived Afghans with professional backgrounds have resorted to labouring jobs after not getting opportunities in their areas of expertise.
Court
Peter Dutton MP filed a request to the High Court to examine the appeal that overturned the defamation ruling in his case against a refugee advocate. He argued that the case raise questions about the meaning that social media users give to words.
International
The UNHCR accepted NGO demands to cease using the term ‘people of concern’ in their work. It also published its 2021 Global Trends report on the situation of refugees and displaced people. A summary of the key trends can be found on our Global Statistics page. For the first time the Refugee Law Initiative adopted a Declaration on International Protection. Members of the Eritrean under-20 women’s football team remain in hiding in Uganda 7 months after they competed in a tournament there. The first flight to transfer asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda was abandoned after the European Court of Human Rights intervened.
In policy
Clare O’Neil was announced Home Affairs Minister and Andrew Giles as the Immigration, Citizenship, Multicultural Services and Multicultural Affairs Minister. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a policy brief proposing an overhaul of Australia’s use of temporary protection visas and hosted a panel discussion on Australia’s refugee policy since the 2001 rescue of asylum seekers by the MV Tampa. Father Rod Bower reflected on the moral injury implications for Australians from our treatment of asylum seekers. Abul Rizvi, former Immigration Deputy Secretary, argued that the sustained focus on boat arrivals detracts attention from the fact that agents have systematically brought people to Australia on tourist visas, submitted bogus asylum claims and put them to work in agriculture in the knowledge that their claim would take years to be finalised.
In research
New research shows Australians overwhelmingly support maintaining or increasing our humanitarian intake. A study that tracked refugees over the first 5 years of their resettlement found that the amount of community support and acceptance they received affected the level of psychological distress they experienced during their adjustment to Australia. A review of 64 studies into the mental health outcomes of Syrian refugees found a high prevalence of mental disorder, but insufficient focus on the factors that led to improved mental health, especially post-resettlement.
New releases
Stateless, a short film detailing the situation of Rohingya people. An analysis of the debate surrounding the film was published on the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness Blog.
The Criminalisation of People Smuggling in Indonesia and Australia. Asylum out of reach, by Antje Missbach published by Routledge.
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder, a two-part Earshot series on the man who won a habeas corpus case (alias AJL20), published by ABC Radio National.