Reflections and Refractions

Jack Schmit from Project Safecom (http://www.safecom.org.au/ahmadi-case.htm) reports that Mr Hadi Ahmadi, an alleged people smuggler, may finally be given the opportunity to have his say in court. Jack asks if most of the people, approximately 97%, that Mr Ahmadi assisted were found to be genuine refugees, then was he really a ‘people smuggler’.

The issue of people smuggling is one that has intrigued me for quite a while. My beliefs and ideals, grounded in a social-justice oriented Christianity, lead to me wanting to help anyone in need any way I can, at least to the point of breaking ‘the law’. Beyond ‘the law’ I would have to way up the justness of ‘the law’ and the unjustness of the situation and perhaps make some tough decisions.

The situation of helping someone in need, someone who isn’t in a position to help themselves is clearly demonstrated in the story of the Good Samaritan, but in that story, the Samaritan paid for the expenses of the injured man and offered to continue paying until the man was well and able to support himself. As Australian citizens, I think we are morally and ethically bound to be the Samaritan to the hurting, defenceless refugee, regardless of the personal or financial cost. But I am not sure about the morality or social justness of the Good Samaritan asking the injured man to pay for his expenses and perhaps even making a little profit before picking the injured man up off the ground. In that scenario, the Samaritan would have been no better than the people who walked by on the other side of the road.

Whilst I fully support, and would even encourage the practice of refugees making the journey to Australia, I can never support the practice of people making money out of other people’s distress. Nor do I support the practice of sending helpless people out into a dangerous situation on a hazardous journey in a leaky boat. I personally don’t have all the facts in Mr Ahmadi’s case, but I will be watching with interest to see how the Australian justice system handles, what should be, a very tricky situation.