Category Archives: Democracy And Refugees

By Andrew L. Urban. The personnel manager for a company in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg remembers how a male employee … asked to meet with a male colleague instead of her. “I have nothing against you,” he said, … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban Reporting on parts of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech to The Association of Christian Intelligentsia in Budapest on Friday, October 29, 2015, Hungarian Spectrum blogger Eva Balogh was somewhat dismissive of Orbán: “As far as … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban Millions of people are taking life theatening journeys to seek new lives in the West. Some are indeed fleeing life threatening persecution at home. But many of the millions (over 50 millíon according to the UN … Continue reading →

Open letter to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott MP, Shadow Immigration Minister Scott Morrison MP, Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor MP, by Andrew L. Urban June 6, 2013 Indonesia stands to benefit as much as does Australia – as do asylum seekers … Continue reading →

An open letter to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Shadow Immigration Minister Scott Morrison Dear Tony & Scott, Hearing Foreign Minister Bob Carr this morning (2/6/2013) on Australian Agenda (Sky News) talking about the asylum boats and the prospects of … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban Another contentious refugee policy (they are all contentious) is the bi-partisan policy of isolating refugees in Australian detention centres during processing. It is contentious not between the two major parties but in the community, where humanitarian … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban During the many public debates about asylum seekers in Australia during 2010-11, when there was a significant increase in refugee boat arrivals from Indonesia, several commentators took the view that it was somehow ridiculous for public … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban Democracies have a non-negotiable obligation to formulate public policies that safeguard the population, including those who seek asylum within its borders. The asylum seeker elephant in the ‘Australia’ room is Indonesia. It’s the elephant in the … Continue reading →