Written by Sayed Mikhail
Translated by Rana Hajj
NNA – The heartrending issue of the Lebanese immigrants, who had been fleeing their dire living conditions in Lebanon hoping for a better dawn in the Australian continent, made it to the center of Lebanese-Australian discussions last year.
Despite the ill-fated sinking incident of the “death boat” which was carrying scores of Lebanese asylum seekers off the coast of Indonesia back in September, 2013, the destiny of those who survived the hardship remains at stake, particularly as they await a likely decision to deport them while lacking proper identification documents that allow them to go back home.
The National News Agency office in Sydney has been following up on the matter and found out through contacts with the Australian Department of Immigration that "there is no hope whatsoever for these people to enter Australian territories under any circumstances, especially that the new laws are very strict in this regard."
In the framework of intensive follow-up on this humanitarian issue, the representative of the Grand Mufti in Sydney, Sheikh Malek Zeidan, and the Australian Minister of Immigration Advisory Board member, Dr. Jamal Rifi, visited detention centers where refugees, who illegally arrived by sea, are being kept in Manus Island in Papua-New Guinea and the Republic of Nauru in the central Pacific.
Rifi made clear that there exist 42 Lebanese on the island of Manus, while there are 23 others in Nuoro, including women and children. “There are also 35 Lebanese on Christmas Island inside Australian territories, but outside the migration zone,” he added, noting that all those illegally entered Australia last year.
He stressed that all these people were from Tripoli and Akkar and belonged to Islamic sects. He also confirmed that it was impossible for them to enter Australian territories or to regularize their status.
“They can choose between staying in detention camps and going back home,” Rifi said.
"Illegal immigrants are the victims of human traffickers that have deceived them and promised them a decent life in Australia in return for huge amounts of money,” added Rifi, to regret the fact that those people winded up in detention centers, not to mention those that lost their lives.
But Rifi said that working with the Australian authorities needed to focus on the return of these people to Lebanon, in a way where the Australian authorities handled all the expenses.
“We are working on obtaining some financial assistance to facilitate their affairs and return, but this remains uncertain at the present time."
He explained that the other legal problem is that these people lacked proper identification papers, a thing which was being resolved by the Lebanese Charge d'Affaires of Canberra, Mr. Milad Raad, and the Lebanese Consul in Sydney, Mr. George Bitar Ghanem, who are working on securing missing documents, while Mr. Moataz Zreika follows-up the matter with the Lebanese General Security.
Rifi also stressed that "the Australian Ambassador in Beirut, Lex Bartelm, is pursuing this matter with the Lebanese authorities and with the Australian government and is doing everything in his power to resolve this issue."
In conclusion, Sheikh Zeidan and Dr. Rifi advised all the Lebanese who wished to immigrate to Australia to resort to legal ways through the Australian embassy and to avoid the advice of smugglers, who put them at the risk of death at sea or if lucky, life in a detention camp.
