A refugee is a person who is forced to leave his or her own country without the ability to return because of a war or a real risk of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, belonging to a particular social group or political opinion. Refugees have a variety of experiences, and every individual’s ‘refugee journey’ is different. Most have faced deeply distressing and harrowing experiences and many have survived a range of physical, and emotional traumas. Some common experiences that force them to leave their countries and seek refuge in another country include torture, beatings, rape, disappearance or killing of loved ones, imprisonment without trial, severe harassment by authorities, land removal, conflict-related injuries and months, years or even decades spent living in urban slums. Rarely do refugees have the chance to make plans for their departure: to pack their belongings, to say farewell to their friends and families. Some refugees have to flee with no notice, taking with them only the clothes on their backs. Others, like a family that pretends to be going on a weekend break, have to keep their plans secret from all around them in case they are discovered.
Refugees who come to Australia often have scant understanding about our country and the nature of society here. They have had no opportunity to prepare themselves physically or psychologically for their new life in Australia. They try to enter Australia, not for a better life style but to save their lives.
Refugees generally come from third world, undeveloped countries that don’t give much value to or ignore the basic human rights. Australia prides itself