As reported last week, thousand of desperate workers from Burma and Bangladesh are stuck on the high seas as they try to flee repression, exploitation and poverty. Their situation has been made worse by increasing aggressive and repressive policies by governments around the region as they seek to control and restrict people’s ability to flee exploitation and repression. In this region, Australia has led the way, while in Europe many other governments are also militarising their responses. Nevertheless, many workers and communities are defying their government’s orders by helping these economic and political refugees, with pro refugee protests in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.
As reported last week, thousand of desperate workers from Burma and Bangladesh are stuck on the high seas as they try to flee repression, exploitation and poverty. Their situation has been made worse by increasing aggressive and repressive policies by governments around the region as they seek to control and restrict people’s ability to flee exploitation and repression. In this region, Australia has led the way, while in Europe many other governments are also militarising their responses. Nevertheless, many workers and communities are defying their government’s orders by helping these economic and political refugees, with pro refugee protests in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.
