Detention Centres free essay sample

The issue of Detention centres and whether or not there uses are necessary to protect our nation is a subject of great debate. This issue seems to fall into a moral grey area, as not having them would be morally wrong in that we would be letting anyone from anywhere into our country thus leaving unchecked entries of possible terrorists and other sorts of plausible threats. But having them still, at the same time, falls into this moral grey spot. The reason that these detention centres exist is because people that occupy Australia’s land without a visa are illegal immigrants and therefore subject to lawful inquiries, while these inquiries are made the person/people that are in question are transported to a detention centre technically out of Australia. They are ‘detained’ (supposedly for a short amount of time) until it is decided whether or not they are refugees and if so whether they shall enter Australia or a 3rd country can be found that will accept them. We will write a custom essay sample on Detention Centres or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The use of detention is controversial because opponents argue it is wrong to imprison or restrict the movements of people who have committed no crime, and in many cases, people who have come to the UK to escape persecution. Those detained and their advocates have frequently complained about the conditions inside detention centres and the treatment of detainees by staff. With this taken into account, one must also remember that Detention Centres are a major process component for how our nation manages immigration.According to the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship; there are seven key values that a detention centre must run by, set by the minister of immigration and citizenship from 2008. These values being: 1. Mandatory detention is an essential component of strong border control. 2. To support the integrity of Australias immigration program, three groups will be subject to mandatory detention: a. all unauthorised arrivals, for management of health, identity and security risks to the community b. unlawful non-citizens who present unacceptable risks to the community and c.Unlawful non-citizens who have repeatedly refused to comply with their visa conditions. 3. Children, including juvenile foreign fishers and, where possible, their families, will not be detained in an immigration detention centre (IDC). 4. Detention that is indefinite or otherwise arbitrary is not acceptable and the length and conditions of detention, including the appropriateness of both the accommodation and the services provided, would be subject to regular review. 5. Detention in immigration detention centres is only to be used as a last resort and for the shortest practicable time. . People in detention will be treated fairly and reasonably within the law. 7. Conditions of detention will ensure the inherent dignity of the human person. Amnesty international, a major leader in fighting for detention centre abolishment, argues the point that it is not illegal to seek asylum in Australia. And I argue that no one ever said it was illegal, the asylum seekers that come looking for a new home are merely subject to lawful enquiries, and detention centres are merely part of the security process.Amnesty also publicly argues that the amount of refugees arriving by boat that have been terrorists is in fact, zero. This argument seems flawed in that, in the past people claiming to be refugees have been sent to detention centres and had background checks, and in many cases it has been found that they have provided incorrect information and have been deported to a separate country. Another threat from underdeveloped countries is an abnormally high amount of contagious diseases; these diseases can be found and possibly even cured in detention centres, therefore reducing another possible negative effect on Australia. Diseases from South Africa are especially disconcerting, as a large amount of immigrants can contain aids, small pox, malaria and a number of other infectious diseases for which Australians are currently routinely vaccinated against. In addition to this, these people also receive medical treatment for their illnesses whilst in the detention centre, this helps prevent the spread of contagious diseases throughout the Australian population. It is a well documented fact that Australia itself is a terrorist target area.According to the Australian government department of foreign affairs and trade, Australia is publicly and ‘frequently’ threatened by Al Qaida leaders. In fact, Australia has been referred to in six separate statements issued by Osama bin laden with his intentions clear on where he stands on western nations. This possible threat from people or groups of people means that Australia as a nation needs to take certain precautions as a security measure to stop possib le threats of terrorists; one of these security measures is detention centres.Whilst these security measures do provide a certain amount of protection, they’re not completely 100% as sometimes people that have bad intentions at heart still do make it through. In one case a man had left the centre for not even 2 days and was arrested for rape. The problems that arise from detention centres, is that often the occupants can be stuck inside the detention centre for a number of years, as the system is slow in processing information about people.This would not be so bad, but, in many of the refugee cases the people involved do not have the language skills to understand that what they are doing by entering Australia is wrong, is their ignorance worth putting them in a prison-like environment for a long period of time? Especially if they came here seeking refuge. Also, until 2004, the immigration amendment did not give regulations dependant on age, so unknowing children of families seeking refuge got exactly the same kind of treatment as their parents that brought them over.The treatment of the children was far from a ‘necessary evil’ to protect our nation; they held no threat at all. Inside the detention centres, staff morale is of ten very low, due to the isolation that the jobs bring on, this in turn had an effect on the occupants of the centre. Leading to discrimination, acts of violence and in some cases people have literally ‘gone missing’. Another of the ‘evils’ that is shown by detention centres, is that; the treatment of refugees from other countries is seen unfair given their circumstances for coming to Australia.They come expecting welcome and freedom but instead they receive a (supposedly) hostile jail-like environment that they can be kept in for a number of years. Now, these detention centres act as a filtering system for the immigrants that are not actually seeking refuge, but hold a certain amount of threat towards our country, these people must be handpicked out of the crowd so that they do not cause any damage to the wellbeing of Australia. People that are looking for a new place to work inside Australia are also considered a threat to Australia, whilst this may seem harsh let me explain.The problem with this is that if people from 3rd world countries want to seek a workplace inside Australia, then the amount of jobs for Australians would be less and therefore negatively affect us and our natio n. With all these factors in play, Detention Centres do still seem to ultimately aid our border control in a way that is unmatchable by other modern methods. Without them we would be building the security of our nation on the trust between such groups as Al Qaeda and us, the westerners. A flaw that could potentially be catastrophic for Australia and its inhabitants.