Refugees must not be judged as a cost item in a balance sheet
This opinion piece argues against viewing refugees as economic liabilities, using the 2001 MV Tampa rescue as a case study. The author contends that the long-term social and economic contributions of refugees outweigh initial resettlement costs.
Why it matters
It addresses the ongoing ethical and political debate regarding immigration policy and the humanitarian treatment of asylum seekers.
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Share A A A No spreadsheet could capture how it felt to be one of the 150 Hazara men, women and children stepping down onto the deck of the Norwegian cargo boat MV Tampa in 2001, after their rapidly sinking refugee boat was rescued in the middle of the Indian Ocean .
The image of Australian soldiers helping them to take a leap of faith is seared into my memory still now, 25 years later.
Asylum seekers on the Norwegian container ship MV Tampa in 2001. No accountant’s ledger can measure the relief those families who came so close to safety on our shores felt when they were offered a new home in New Zealand.
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