Sarah Stephen

  • Stop Howard's war on refugees

    Determined to remake himself as a strong, decisive leader, Prime Minister John Howard declared in parliament on August 29, "That boat will never land in our waters — never!" Decked out in full combat gear, complete with automatic

  • Is Australia generous?

    The Coalition government claims Australia is a very generous country which takes in large numbers of refugees, and that asylum seekers arriving on our shores are simply taking advantage of that reputation. Of the 10 countries who

  • It's not a queue, it's a lottery

    One of immigration minister Philip Ruddock's central arguments against accepting "queue jumpers" (read, onshore arrivals) from Afghanistan is because they know that they have a better chance of being granted asylum in Australia

  • Worse for women

    While the repression and violence in Afghanistan would be enough to make anyone flee, the conditions facing women are even worse than those facing men: Women are totally deprived of the right to education and work; No woman can

  • Labor to guard the coasts

    Opposition spokesperson Con Sciacca has stated that the latest influx of asylum seekers showed the government's approach was not acting as a deterrent. "For all their bravado and chest-beating, Prime Minister John Howard and

  • We must become 'less attractive', PM vows

    It's hard to believe that it's possible, but the federal government is proposing to get even tougher on asylum seekers who arrive without proper documentation. Restrictions on their right to appeal, new regulations allowing

  • Afghani refugees: Why they are seeking asylum in Australia

    BY TAMARA PEARSON & SARAH STEPHEN Zaher and Riz are "illegal" Afghani refugees who were held in an immigration detention centre and eventually granted refugee status. They are now living in Sydney on three-year temporary protection visas. Green

  • EGYPT: Charges dismissed against prominent feminist

    The Personal Status Court in North Cairo has dismissed a lawsuit brought against Egyptian feminist and writer Nawal el-Saadawi. Nabih Al Wahsh, an Islamic lawyer, attempted to have 70-year-old Saadawi forcibly divorced from her

  • Appalling treatment of refugees exposed

    A storm of public outrage has been provoked by an investigation by ABC TV's Four Corners on the conditions inside Australia's immigration detention centres. The report, screened on August 13, was a damning indictment of the

  • A long search for freedom

    In 1989, Algeria's government stepped up its "Arabisation" program, imposing Arabic as the only language on the entire population, regardless of whether or not people spoke it. Even books were rewritten, from French into Arabic.

  • Asylum seeker forced to beg for food

    The law has been used as an injustice of injustice against a Sri Lankan man and his family, Federal Court Justice Ron Merkel found on July 23. Priyankarage Upel De Silva was issued with a bridging visa while his case for refugee

  • Ruddock steps up crackdown on asylum seekers

    Security at Sydney's Villawood immigration detention centre will be tightened in response to recommendations made in a report by Knowledge Enterprises' Keith Hamburger, former director of Queensland's prisons department.