[inti-net] Asylum seekers find no solution in East Timor

http://www.smh.com.au/world/asylum-seekers-find-no-solution-in-east-timor-20120422-1xf26.html

Asylum seekers find no solution in East Timor
Michael Bachelard
April 23, 2012

Arkenese men from Burma stranded in Dili.

Arkenese men from Burma stranded in Dili. Photo: Michael Bachelard

THREE weeks ago some of the world's unluckiest people were given one more
reason to curse their fate.

Fleeing persecution in their home country, and after years of living in
Malaysia as non-citizens, 26 Arakanese Muslims from Burma set out on a
boat bound for Australia.

Instead, on March 27, they washed up in one of the poorest countries in
Asia - East Timor. Their boat ran out of fuel off the country's southern
coast and their captain swam to shore.
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East Timor, once the target of Julia Gillard's ill-fated ''Timor
Solution'' is not a favoured destination for refugees. The
poverty-stricken nation has signed the UN convention on refugees, but only
a handful have ever come here.

Three weeks later, all 26 men, ranging in age from 14 to 46, are sleeping
on mats on the floor of a large conference room of the Directorate of
Civil Security in Dili. They survive on $5 a day from the International
Organisation for Migration.

In East Timor, the authorities are stumped. Noor Muhammad, 36, speaking
for the group when The Age visited them this week, said the police had
charged them with illegal entry and handed them letters telling them to
leave within 10 days or they would be deported, detained, or face ''other
coercive measures''.

If they failed to comply, they could be imprisoned for two years. The 10
days expired on Friday. East Timor's chief investigation officer for
migration, Alfredo Abel, told The Age: ''Now [we are] waiting for another
solution''.

With no money and no documents, it was clear the refugees could not leave
the country voluntarily. If they were to be imprisoned, it would be ''not
tomorrow, not next week, a long time'', Mr Abel said.

If they apply for asylum in East Timor, the country has a responsibility
under the UN convention. But they do not want to apply.

Another option, however, was for East Timor to fly them back to Malaysia,
or even Burma, at its own expense, Mr Abel said.

Mr Muhammad said the 26 had spent their money - $US3500 ($A3370) each -
paying Indonesian people smugglers to get to Australia, and that was still
where they wanted to go.

With the help of refugee activist Mark Goudkamp, who was holidaying in
Dili last week, they have the forms to apply for an Australian offshore
humanitarian visa, but the 32-page form has so far proved too difficult
for them to fill out.

The Australian embassy in Dili referred queries to the Australian
Immigration Department, which said they were welcome to apply for
humanitarian visas. The International Organisation for Migration could
help them, a spokeswoman said.

Mr Muhammad said he had been in Malaysia since 1994. The UN recognised him
as a refugee from the Burmese regime, which denies his people the basics
of citizenship such as identification documents and free movement.

In Malaysia, he lived for 17 years as a non-citizen in the refugee
''queue'', applying repeatedly for asylum in Australia. Others in his
group had been there even longer.

Mr Muhammad said they wanted to come to a country where they would be
welcomed, and be able to work, marry, travel, and enjoy full legal rights.

Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/asylum-seekers-find-no-solution-in-east-timor-20120422-1xf26.html#ixzz1suNDOJ95
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