Roger Cohen, you and your virtue signaling are horribly naive. This Sudanese fellow had his own country and like the rest of us elsewhere, it was his duty to make it liveable. Every excuse and guilt trip on the planet has been laid on the West by journalists like you. Billions upon billions have been given in aid to irresponsible nations and their inhabitants and still they continue with their destructive habits and cultures.
How on earth do you think Western nations achieved their successes? By running away? Where was the compassion shown to the peoples of Western nations in the hundreds of years of diligent, hard won effort applied to every aspect of civilised life. It is impossible to have compassion for several billion people who actively and daily contribute to their own distress and then wish to seek sanctuary elsewhere.
How on earth do you think Western nations achieved their successes? By running away? Where was the compassion shown to the peoples of Western nations in the hundreds of years of diligent, hard won effort applied to every aspect of civilised life. It is impossible to have compassion for several billion people who actively and daily contribute to their own distress and then wish to seek sanctuary elsewhere.
92
In your column you write, "There has been no “process” in centers housed in poor countries paid by Australia to do its dirty work. Human beings have been left to fester, crack up and die, as I observed on Manus during a five-day visit last month. Draconian nondisclosure contracts have gagged staff, although the whole system is beginning to crumble under the weight of its iniquity. " Does these facts imply that, besides being cruel, Australia has violated laws or treaties?
11
Australia, all their major political parties, most Australians couldn't care less about what Roger Cohen or the NYT thinks about their cruel deterrence regime or their flouting of international humanitarian law. Nor, in my experience, are most Australians nauseated at their country using offshore Guantanamo-like detention facilities which have operated like the Bush43 Black Sites. The pattern of conduct reflects the history of Australian colonization where the native Aboriginal people of that continent were regarded as less than human, brutalized, their lands confiscated, placed in detention zones, their children stolen. Appalling conduct by a very prosperous nation with one of the lowest population densities in the world (x20 less than the USA). Somewhat ironic, when I lived in LA, I knew many Australians living there, and most of them were illegally here having overstayed their visas!
13
Australia is doing the right thing. It is refusing to let its country be invaded by illiterate economic migrants. It has looked over and seen the mess these migrants have caused in Europe and is preventing it from happening to Australia. I wish the US would have such a policy instead of Obama's turning a blind eye to the flood of migrants from Central America. They have already passed through a safe country (Mexico) and we would be within out rights to force them back to Mexico and tell them to claim asylum there. But now these are asylum shopper and Obama refuses to deal with that facts.
Europe is also being flooded with Asylum shoppers. Many of them are from countries where they can lift peacefully, but they have their eyes glued on a better life in Europe and Europe seems to lack the courage to send them back.
Europe would be smart instead of rescuing the boats, simply tow them back to the Libyan or Tunesian Coast( Or where ever they set sail from). We already see the chaos Angela Merkel has caused in Europe with the policy of "come one, come all, the border is open"
We should not allow the US to be used as dumping ground by AUstralia or by any other country to rid itself of overpopulation. We are wrong to feed thse people when they run out of food - read Malthus -Let Nature deal with the problem - she knows how to limit populations - we seem unable to do it.
Europe is also being flooded with Asylum shoppers. Many of them are from countries where they can lift peacefully, but they have their eyes glued on a better life in Europe and Europe seems to lack the courage to send them back.
Europe would be smart instead of rescuing the boats, simply tow them back to the Libyan or Tunesian Coast( Or where ever they set sail from). We already see the chaos Angela Merkel has caused in Europe with the policy of "come one, come all, the border is open"
We should not allow the US to be used as dumping ground by AUstralia or by any other country to rid itself of overpopulation. We are wrong to feed thse people when they run out of food - read Malthus -Let Nature deal with the problem - she knows how to limit populations - we seem unable to do it.
132
The lack of any sense of compassion in most of the posts below is overwhelming. So, it seems that if we make "economic tourists" (euphemism for refugee) less than human, we owe them less consideration.
19
Australia has decided, unlike Germany, to protect their borders in order to safeguard their sovereignty. Meanwhile the US has 15-20 million undocumented immigrants in our country and millions more are attempting to do the same. What will the US do when tens of thousands of Venezuelans decide that their countries economic collapse (by their own doing), justifies fleeing north to the US? The inability to secure a national border threatens the existence of a country. The Australians, seeing the impact on Europe and the US of uncontrolled immigration, have decided that their own identity as a country is more important. A position our country needs to embrace.
117
Are there any white folks in these "detention centers"? Just asking.
8
Wow, reading these comments I guess it really is Donald trumps world.
22
Yup. Just turn from being a progressive to a xenophobe. Easy peasy.
It's a problem the world has to face. Simple answers to complex problems are for bumper stickers, not serious people.
It's a problem the world has to face. Simple answers to complex problems are for bumper stickers, not serious people.
4
In a recent op-ed, "Dear America, Why Did You Let Us Down", the author wrote about Donald Trump's presidential win: "It feels as if we’re mourning the death of an idea called America." Her essay included a quote by former prime minister, Paul Keating: “This society of ours is a better society than the United States. We’ve had a 50 percent increase in real incomes in the last 20 years."
Really? A better society? Well, Mr. Keating, and all of Australia, we are mourning for the refugees dying on your island prisons. No, please don't offer us your idea of democracy.
Really? A better society? Well, Mr. Keating, and all of Australia, we are mourning for the refugees dying on your island prisons. No, please don't offer us your idea of democracy.
9
So many of these comments and commenters just make me sad. Injustice and torture are wrong - wherever they happen. What is happening to us?
21
Maybe Australia has realistic immigration laws and is simply enforcing those laws. Maybe they don't want to wind up with 11 million or so illegal immigrants like the U.S. which seems incapable of passing laws of any nature.
209
Your comment totally ignores the point of the column - the laws are being enforced in a very inhumane way that leaves people to die. Apparently, that's of no importance to you.
6
The racism of Australia is impossible to ignore when a refugee from Africa is contrasted with a refugee from Trump, who can live well and easily "integrate" with Australians.
6
i am uncomfortable with editorials in US media on horrendous treatment of those fleeing unbearable conditions and worse, when we are practicing the same methods in treating children and others coming North. Also in refusing to admit Haitians expelled from the Dominican Republic. We are insulated by our continental separation from Europe and Australia but we are really no different from the perspective of Faisal Ishak Ahmed. Could the Times cover these "homegrown" conditions as assiduously as it has covered Italy, Greece, and Australia? or is that too difficult to think about
10
Countries have a duty to protect their citizens, and the refugees flooding across borders today have shown ample evidence that they are dangerous. France and Italy are moving in the direction of fascism because their leaders didn't act strongly enough on borders and immigration, and Germany now seems well on its way. Australia seemed to see the problem sooner and dealt with it more decisively. Any time a country moves to keep out those less fortunate they will be tarred as acting "inhumanely"—but Australia's actions are rational and have probably protected it from a much worse fate.
175
So sad a human tragedy on a global scale.
I am sure trump is now going to try and emulate this egregious example of human misery, by trying to figure out how to fit 12 million people on Guantanamo.
Just watch.
I am sure trump is now going to try and emulate this egregious example of human misery, by trying to figure out how to fit 12 million people on Guantanamo.
Just watch.
11
Your NYT colleague Tom Friedman says that upwards of 65 million people are on the move to find tolerable living conditions, many coming from places like Central Africa suffering from years of drought due to climate change. These climate change refugees are determined to reach Europe.
At the same time, we have an incoming administration of climate change deniers and international organizations like the United Nations have been targeted by many republicans for possible dissolution.
Since this is a global problem, how can we expect action without international cooperation?
Thank you for addressing the human side of these issues while shining the spotlight on a remote part of the world and one large country failing to come to grips with its obligation to humanity. Australia is not alone.
At the same time, we have an incoming administration of climate change deniers and international organizations like the United Nations have been targeted by many republicans for possible dissolution.
Since this is a global problem, how can we expect action without international cooperation?
Thank you for addressing the human side of these issues while shining the spotlight on a remote part of the world and one large country failing to come to grips with its obligation to humanity. Australia is not alone.
23
Come on Roger you keep churning out this emotional claptrap about Australia when the policy is the most humane and effective way to solve the boat people problem. Blood on our hands. Rubbish. After your horrific experiences in Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan you should not dilute the meaning of real horror. About 1200 drowned between 2009-2013 before the policy changed but you carry on about 3 people that have died in detention. What about the 5000 drowned in the Mediterranean. You know that on Manus Island and Nauru inmates are free to move from the camp confines and that healthcare and amenities are good. It is not clear why this man died but you have used it to riff of on your crusade. I know you have extensive contacts with the Australian refugee lobby network chief amongst which is our national broadcaster the ABC which has become a green-left agitprop group churning out these stories. You would also know that Oz has one of the highest refugee intakes per capita. The Vietnamese boat people were almost airlifted from camps in Malaysia and HongKong after they were found to be refugees. The vast majority of the boat people are economic migrants who destroy their papers. Europe and US are going to have to take similar tough action as the problem causes unrest. Australians by a vast majority support the tough policy and you slander the country by your constant rehashing of the cruelty narrative.
186
I read "The Sympathizer", too. It is among the most frightening things I've ever set my eyes on. People reduced to numbers? (think Nazis and Jews). Manus? (think boat people). Amerika? (think "indians" and Blacks). It can happen here, too. Prisons for profit. Let us destroy your society in the name of the white man's god. How much longer can we believe the lies and is it really all about money? I and my family have ours. Sorry about you. You must die. Nameless is preferred.
25
The real problem the nyts and mr Cohen have with Australia's immigration policies is that they work. Australia,unlike many western countries, is going to control its borders and who comes in. The vast majority of the migrants are passing thru several safe nations to get to western countries because of social welfare and economic factors. Australia has rightly concluded that they do not want to be the pressure relief valve for the tidal wave of people who are looking for better economic situations. Africa alone, now produces a minimum net gain of at least 30 million extra people a year. The continent cannot support anywhere near its present population. Should the west be required to take all these people in? When will it end? When the rest of the world has sunk to a level of poverty, hopelessness and despair that typifies these incredibly over populated counties? We must help these people solve their problems at home. It's starts with birth control, a rejection of tribalism and the ignorance of fundamental religion and realizing that the west will not, and cannot take all of them in. Anything else just dooms the west to the same conditions that have made the Home Countries of the migrants so unlivable.
271
As a country built almost entirely from nothing by convicts and waste people, and aboriginals, Austrailia is awfully sure of itself that those same people are now not worthy of even naming, much less being given a chance.
SHAME!
SHAME!
4
I certainly agree re birth control; then why are so many conservatives against that? And - oh - Tribalism and religious dogma? Isn't that pretty much what gave us this year's election result right here at home?
6
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Population growth is not the problem. Inefficiency and distribution are the problems. Every week grocery stores throw out more food than most people eat in a year. I used to watch restaurants throw out ridiculous amounts of food every night. They justified the practice by saying they couldn't give away food because people wouldn't pay. People would just wait till closing instead.
Think about the best buy date on your food. What does that even mean? If your egg floats or the cheese is green, I recommend the garbage can. For most other foods, how do you get that food to people in your own city much less different continents? We can't even get potable water and sanitary toilets in most parts of the world. As my friend from Lesotho used to say "Geography and greed do the work of Jim Crow."
Think about the best buy date on your food. What does that even mean? If your egg floats or the cheese is green, I recommend the garbage can. For most other foods, how do you get that food to people in your own city much less different continents? We can't even get potable water and sanitary toilets in most parts of the world. As my friend from Lesotho used to say "Geography and greed do the work of Jim Crow."
1
Well the methods adopted by Germany of letting in "refugees" who end up being terrorists and killing the locals has not worked, so until there is a better way I think Australia has got it right.
150
Have you counted the number of lives Germany has saved by welcoming the refugees? Germany took in more than 1 million Syrian refugees in 2015, 300,000+ in 2016. So how many lives did Germany save? Very, very few were terrorists. I applaud Germany for letting their compassion be stronger than their fear. I just wish America would follow its example.
9
This is only the beginning. Mass emigration fleeing from war,economics or global warming is just in its infancy. No one country can absorb the millions of souls seeking normalcy. But don't worry, we elected a mental giant who will fix the world through his business acumen. Bigly.
137
Mr Cohen,
I am not defending the fact that there have been problems from the offshore processing centers which have impacted seriously on some of the people there and caused others to feel that their situation is more hopeless than they envisaged and expected, especially in regards to being granted asylum and being allowed to live in Australia.
Australia could have done better as could the private company charged with looking after these people of that there is little doubt.
However, the picture you paint and tone you take suggests that these people have no choices no hope and no future and are being held in conditions of utter cruelty and despair.
You say : " His was a death foretold, like that of the other deceased asylum seekers and refugees banished by Australia to the small island nation of Nauru and to Manus, a remote corner of the Papua New Guinea archipelago."
Foretold?? How many deaths have there been in total? Why do you insult Manus and Nauru...and you suggest the deaths were Planned?
And they are NOT prisons...In your previous story called Broken Men in Paradise, the pictures of these these "broken men" did not suggest a prison nor does the picture of Mr Ahmed in this story, which shows a happy man and his coconut drink.
Let's compare the pictures you have taken of these people with those who are in their 15th year in Gitmo and we can see who is being cruel and callous.
The fact you could ring up Mr Ahmed's Friend on his supplied Mobile also says much.
I am not defending the fact that there have been problems from the offshore processing centers which have impacted seriously on some of the people there and caused others to feel that their situation is more hopeless than they envisaged and expected, especially in regards to being granted asylum and being allowed to live in Australia.
Australia could have done better as could the private company charged with looking after these people of that there is little doubt.
However, the picture you paint and tone you take suggests that these people have no choices no hope and no future and are being held in conditions of utter cruelty and despair.
You say : " His was a death foretold, like that of the other deceased asylum seekers and refugees banished by Australia to the small island nation of Nauru and to Manus, a remote corner of the Papua New Guinea archipelago."
Foretold?? How many deaths have there been in total? Why do you insult Manus and Nauru...and you suggest the deaths were Planned?
And they are NOT prisons...In your previous story called Broken Men in Paradise, the pictures of these these "broken men" did not suggest a prison nor does the picture of Mr Ahmed in this story, which shows a happy man and his coconut drink.
Let's compare the pictures you have taken of these people with those who are in their 15th year in Gitmo and we can see who is being cruel and callous.
The fact you could ring up Mr Ahmed's Friend on his supplied Mobile also says much.
87
I think you missed the point of the photo. He appears happy and healthy in the photo. He died a diminished man and no photo exists because of restrictions of access. Just saying.
3
Africa and the Middle East have over 400 million poor people who would love to move to Australia if Roger Cohen can convince the Australian public and politicians to open their borders. This is only the current population -- the African and Middle Eastern population growth rates mean that there will be 100 millions more within coming decades. If Roger Cohen gets his way, Australia will become indistinguishable from Africa and the Middle East in terms of population structure and level of economic development.
202
The West simply cannot accommodate the mass relocation of people who wish to leave these troubled areas. Although I applaud the desire of Germany to take the lead in assisting displaced Syrians, their policy is simply unsustainable and encourages migrants to shop for those societies with the most generous welfare benefits and prosperous, corruption-free economies. As for America, even our undocumented hispanic immigrants come here to perform labor for which there is a demand. Not so with the huge outflow of people attempting to leave the corrupt and tribal regions of the Middle-East and Africa.
The solutions for these people must occur closer to their native homes. I have no easy answers for the utter failure of African countries like Eritrea and Sudan. However, it is a travesty how little the rich countries of the Middle East have done.