Asylum Seekers

A topic that’s been constantly debated over the last few years in Australia is the treatment of Asylum seekers. The opinion piece and the cartoon share a similar stance on the issue. ‘Australia’s ugly secret: we still warehouse asylum seekers’ by Julian Burnside and a cartoon by Andrew Dyson, both from the Age newspaper share the idea of cruel treatment by Australian official to the in need refuges. Julian makes his point very clear about how ‘warehousing’ the asylum seeker is not the right way to treat human being. The cartoon by Dyson presents a view to the readers that Kevin Rudd is incompetent in keeping the refugees ‘afloat’. The article by Julian Burnside states a point right from the title, ‘Australia’s ugly secret’ giving the readers an immediate negative feeling about the issue at hand. The first paragraph seems to be praising the government about its current attitude in dealing with the refuges to ease the readers and inform them of the positive side of things. However starting from the second paragraph, the intention of the author is made clear and readers realize that the writer is using a sarcastic tone. Even though the government did some good work, the idea of offshoring the refuges is an atrocious act of deception. Later on, the writer uses an anecdote in his arguments to convince the readers that the warehousing process is not a pleasant one. He uses someone called ‘Jessie Taylor, a lawyer and refugee activist who recently travelled to Indonesia’ to make the readers think that the person is well-educated and a respectable source. He describes the refugee’s living conditions with imagery, filling the readers with horrifying images of the detention centers. The uses of Statistics help with readers visualizing the amount of people seeking asylum and the way they are processed. The writer uses a very logical tone to describe how the refugees seek for protection in Australia. The process of interviewing has about an average of 24 minutes per person