Australia is due to withdraw the troops it has currently serving in Iraq this year. The withdrawal will mean that some 600 Iraqi translators working with the Australian troops will face serious dangers – some of them, or their families, have already been victims of murder attempts, and these attempts will only increase when the soldiers they work with go home.
With this situation in mind, the Australian government has recently announced a set of measures meant to provide assistance to these translators and interpreters. Following a bill passed last week, special procedures for obtaining visas will be implemented this year, for the benefit of Iraqi translators and interpreters having worked with the Australian troops. While the procedures do not guarantee a permanent stay visa for every such individual – a thorough health, character and national security check will be applied to all candidates – it will mean that Iraqi translators and their families will be fast-tracked for immigration to Australia.
There are already voices criticising this measure – most notably lawyer and human rights advocate Greg Barnes, who argues that this measure is incomplete as it creates unwarranted discrimination against other Iraqi refugees who apply for a permanent Australian visa. He proposes an extension to the bill to include all potential Iraqi immigrants, so as to ensure a fair process. He compares this bill to a similar one issued during the Vietnam war, when the Australian government agreed to issue visas on equal grounds to all Vietnamese people wishing to immigrate to Australia.
Here at Lingo24, we can only be happy that our fellow translators and interpreters and their families will get the chance to start a new life in Australia, and that they will no longer be a target for retaliation in their homeland. We have time and again expressed our support for our colleagues in Iraq and all conflict areas. It is our opinion that the governments who have benefited from their collaboration should take protective measures to ensure their future well-being.
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on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 10:37 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
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