“GOING HOME TO IRAN”

Last week I listened to Carmel Travers speaking at the Adelaide UniFem breakfast. In the excerpt played on 5AN Adelaide, she read her son’s essay on his grandfather’s trauma in Iran, all because his family were Baha’i and not Muslim. The boy spoke of rapes and beatings, and how Australia had been a place of rescue for him. Last year I worked with a man from Iran for a few weeks. He is also Baha’i. I really liked this gentle man. From the little he told me (his family is still in Iran) I get the impression that in Iran, if one is not Muslim, the best one can hope for is to be left alone at the bottom of the social pile without privilege or much hope of justice. The worst may be much worse.

Iran is known for its Anti-American rhetoric. It is known that religious extremists have huge influence in the government of Iran. And at this time in history, our Prime Minister has been doing his level best to be seen as the most faithful ally the United States has. True, Iraq has been an enemy of Iran, but it is still a Muslim nation, using its Muslim status as a rallying point against the US. How at this time can Australia be negotiating to send Iranian refuges back to Iran? Surely the sending of these people back to Iran at such a time is tantamount to murder. What hope of survival do they have having fled Iran to the number one friend of the US when they are being sent back in the midst of a war against an other Muslim state in which Australia is likely to be one of the prime aggressors?

This makes a mockery of the word negotiation. It is using people as pawns in a hardline policy devoid of decency and compassion.

I cannot believe the lack of compassion involved in this act of our government. How can they do such a thing which almost guarantees the death of these people? Will you have blood on your hands by complicity, or will you write to or email your member of parliament in protest, calling them to come to their senses with a little human decency?

This is not about the war on Iraq, or whether it is justified. It is about simple human decency.

You can find a full listing of the members of the senate and House of Representatives that can be pasted into the address bar of an email client at these places:

Senate http://www.onemansweb.org/jan/politics/austsenate.htm House of Representatives http://www.onemansweb.org/jan/politics/ausreps.htm Cabinet http://www.onemansweb.org/jan/politics/auscabinet.htm>

However, as my local MP points out it is easy for mail which is obviously sent to all 146 members at once to be ignored. There is currently a huge amount of traffic on this issue. I suggest you enter the name of your electorate in your Subject line; eg “Elector from Grey on Iran Issue.” and mail your member, senators and the members of cabinet.

The Prime Minister, and the Minister for Immigration do not have publicly available email addresses, which is perhaps an tacit admission of the brutality of their policies. you have to go the following links to email them from a web form:

John Howard: email service available through http://www.pm.gov.au <http://www.pm.gov.au> Phillip Ruddock email available through the Department’s website: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/contact/index.htm#email <http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/contact/index.htm#email>