An Indian doctor working on a work visa in an Australian hospital. He wanted to get his pregnant wife to live here to, but such had not happened yet, and as their baby was due to be born, it seems that he decided to return to visit her in India. He got arrested at the airport while supposedly fleeing the country. He is now charged with reckless association with terrorists (terrorists in Britain, not Australia).

Hmmm…. The government won’t tell us the secret information that have about him. But supposedly it is enough to detail him, possibly for a couple of years, until his trial. Magistrate Jacqui Payne did not find him to be a threat to the Australian community and she granted him bail. She heard the evidence from the Australian Federal Police. She was not convinced. But somehow, she got it wrong, and the Federal Minister for Immigration knows better. Ironically he admitted that he did not attend the court case or read the transcript of it – but he knows better than the magistrate. So if bail is granted, Mr Haneef will have his visa revoked and he will be put in Villawood detention centre until his trial.

The government really have it all their way don’t they! Resist bail. Keep him in a normal jail. If a Magistrate grants bail, lock him up under the anti-terror laws that can override judicial process in this country. And even better: the new laws mean that we don’t have to tell anyone the details of the information that led to that conclusion! (We might give Haneef’s lawyer a summary of our reasons).

So what are the reasons for this detention? Sorry, it’s a secret. But trust us. We know. We have information that we can’t tell you about, but just trust us anyway.

Trust. You know, “trust” is something earned, not requested. Can we trust the secret information of our current political leaders? Wasn’t it secret information that helped us to trust the Government over 4 years ago when we were to invade another country and assist in launching a war of aggression against Iraq? Saddam was developing weapons of mass destruction, we were told. He had links with Osama, supposedly. Hmm… Trust – we were asked to trust these reasons. And many did. And we went to war. And guess what? No weapons of mass destruction, and never any links proven with Osama. But heck: we are there now. We may as well stay and guard the oil fields and make sure the west is the recipient of the Iraqi oil. We can’t cut and run can we – especially when oil is at stake!

Trust. Two federal elections ago we were told that mothers were throwing their babies into the high seas as a trick to make Australian naval ships pick them up and obligate them to take them to Australian soil. These so called “Illegal immigrants” (they were actually “legal refugees”) were risking babies lives to “queue jump” into Australia. Trust…But wait! Surprise surprise: the mothers did NOT throw their babies into the water after all. They all jumped in because the ship they were in was sinking. They would never risk their babies lives. They were trying to save them! They were mothers and fathers for goodness sake! But we were told yet another lie, and we were asked to believe it and trust.

Is Mr Haneef a terrorist? Probably not. He might be a friend of some people who have become terrorists. Bummer hey. Pity about being related to them. Stupid fool: he should have known better. Pity that he knew them in his past. Pity that one of them sent him a couple of emails: one congratulating him on the imminent birth of their baby, and the other talking about his job as a doctor. Incriminating stuff that. Wow. Earth shattering.

We sadly cannot trust this current government. They are devoid of the ability to care about the rights of individuals. (Remember David Hicks? 5 years without charge. In a jail that systematically tortured its prisoners. Even the British did not leave their British Muslim citizens there.) If something is politically advantageous for them, they will sacrifice anyone on the altar of expediency. They did it to a whole lot of mothers some years ago. They stigmatized them and made them feel like 2nd rate human beings – all because they jumped into the ocean with their families to get off a sinking ship. If they will humiliate and use mothers for political gain, they will easily humiliate and use Mr Haneef.

If Haneef is a terrorist then let’s hear the evidence and have it tried in a court of law.

How long will the average Australian put up with this dismantling of civil liberties? How long will we let our current leaders manipulate us with fear and misinformation for their own ends?

And the really sad sequel to this is the hatred it creates. I heard Haneef’s wife on the radio this morning. She originally wanted to come to Australia to live. But now? She never wants to come to this country. She is angry and hurt. Her baby won’t see dad for at least a couple of years – and that is if he is innocent! We have created a whole family and extended family who now hate Australia. We have created animosity and resentment in the hearts of probably dozens of people. Maybe hundreds of Indians reading about this story back home or even in Australia. I wonder if our obsession to find terrorists is really a way of creating them?

Jim Reiher July 2007