Posted 6 November 2012, 13:24 AEST
The
International Organisation for Migration has backed Australia's view that some
of the Sri Lankan's arriving by boat are economic migrants, not refugees.
The
number of Sri Lankan's trying to reach Australia by boat has increased by
25-fold over the past 12 months, from 211 irregular maritime arrivals in 2011,
to more than 5,300 already this year.
The
Chief of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Sri
Lanka, Richard Danziger, told Radio Australia coastal security has "really
been loosened up" by the Sri Lankan government.
"During
the war and the months after it there were a lot of restrictions on fishing and
so forth and that is no longer the case so boats can leave more easily,"
he said.
Economic factors
Mr
Danziger says one of the factors driving Sri Lankan's to board boats to
Australia is their economic situation.
The
IOM is working with the Australian Government helping repatriate the Sri
Lankan's who chose to return home rather than wait for years in detention
centres in Australia or on Nauru.
He
says many of those who have chosen to return to Sri Lanka voluntarily
originally left their homeland in search of work.
"That
is often what we hear, people tell us they were just seeking better
lives," he said.
Last
week, Australia's immigration minister Chris Bowen sent 26 men back to Sri
Lanka who had arrived by boat, suggesting they were economic refugees.
"We
have, of course, developed robust procedures for dealing with genuine claims
for asylum, but we will not have people who do not have genuine claims to make
be going through our system," Mr Bowen said.
Tough times
The
men who have chosen to go home often return to tough financial times, often
with large debts to people smugglers who helped them get to Australia.
Mr
Danziger says some are facing pressure from their own families to stay in
Australia or Nauru and persist with their claims.
"I
certainly know of one particular case of a guy who came back from Christmas
Island and his family were very annoyed, saying he had given up, he wasn't
thinking of them, that he was weak etc etc and he was facing a hard time on his
way back so I hink that must be the case for others," he said.
The
Australian Government is offering assistance packages worth several thousand
dollars to those who return voluntarily and are not deemed to be members of
people smuggling crews.
"What
we did 10 days ago was get some of the returnees on a Skype call with some of
the Sri Lankan's on Nauru so they could tell their friends exactly what awaits
them in Sri Lanka and that what they have been told in terms of the package is
true," he said
Warnings unheeded
The
IOM is also working with Australia's Department of Immigration to warn people
who do try to come to Australia by boat that they face being detained for a
length period, without work rights.
Officials
have been speaking with fishermen and religious leaders in some of the poorest
costal communities trying to get the message out.
"It
is very difficult to get that kind of message across," he said.
"People
generally believe what they want to believe".
Richard
Danziger says the upcoming monsoon season may deter some Sri Lankan from trying
to reach Australia by boat but that it will be hard to convince those who are
in search of a better life to stay put.
"Sri
Lanka first of all is a country of migrants.One quarter of the country is
abroad legally wether it is in the Middle East, Europe or Australia," he
said.
"The
idea of migrating for work is not limited to a small number of people and the
legal opportunities for working abroad are not enough to satisfy everybody so
people resort to illegal means.
"The
monsoon season ...will certainly make it more difficult for people to leave and
maybe that will be a window of opportunity for us to get the information out
about it not being worth investing in a very risky journey".
