The government of Australia has two distinct policies they practice on refugees and asylum seekers attempting to enter their country, either they are turned around in what are called “turn backs”, where the refugees are sent back to the country they were attempting to flee, or they are placed in detention centers on the islands of Papau New Guinea and Nauru to await processing. This policy of immediate detainment is what raises the most red flags within the population. Supposedly created to prevent deaths at sea, these detention centers have often been labelled as “bloody camps” or “open air prisons” with over 30 protesters highlighting the government’s injustices outside the parliamentary building. With claims of innocent people dying and families being forcibly separated, the protesters dyed the water the in front of the parliamentary building red to symbolize the blood shed by Australian government. Within the parliament, both major political parties are stout in keeping the detention centers open, and continuing with the policy so many disagree with. The only party publicly agreeing with the protesters message and advocating for change is the fringe green party within the country, making any possible change in policy very unlikely. These major protests follow a resettlement deal made with the United States regarding the status of the refugees, with the U.S. agreeing to evaluate the camps and decide for themselves how many refugees to take in.
