A 24 year old guy named Hamid has been declared braindead after receiving a cut on his foot 3 weeks ago and being denied proper medical care, leading to infection and septicaemia. I cant stop thinking about the fact that he was the same age as Elise and me, and now hes just gone. Even after our government does this to him, his parents are still asking that his organs be donated if possible, so that Australians who are in poor health can have a second chance. But where was his second chance? You go half way across the world to flee persecution because you believe in your heart that this country values people and is founded on the richness of a mosaic of migrant cultures. Then you get put on Manus Island, scrape your foot and three weeks later thats it. The irony is that even though Australia wouldnt open its heart to Hamid, Hamids family value Australians so much that his physical heart might actually make it into one of us Australians now. Theres nothing good about this. Its the utter desolate sadness of situations like this that sometimes comes out when I rant on about Scott Morrison and the Liberal Party, or indeed about those in the Labor party that are equally culpable as these policies are bipartisan. Politically, change and human rights are too inconvenient for either side to be bothered with and Hamid was stuck with the bill on this occasion. Our hearts are pretty stony right now. I guess that, as a christian, my prayer is that Hamids death would stick in someones mind. Would be a seed in a crack in our stony hearts that takes root and grows. A wise woman once told me that, even though its painful to truly see injustice, we should choose to open our eyes. Choose to let it affect us. Even let it break our hearts and keep them broken. Because if a heart is broken, love can flow in and out with every heartbeat. When it comes to refugees, we truly truly need that. We need broken hearts. Because this guy is dead. I guess what happens now is that everything else goes on as normal. Manus will stay open, over 800 kids will stay in detention. Christian leaders will keep asking why and getting arrested for it. A vocal minority will keep taking to the streets, writing letters, donating clothes and working for change. And a lucky Australian somewhere might have Hamids healthy heart soon and get a chance for a fresh start. But if your heart is broken, dont ignore it. Hold on to it. Do something about it. A heart is an important thing to have. Welcome to Australia, The Welcome Centre , Inverbrackie Requests, Australian Refugee Association Inc, Love Makes A Way, Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison: minister.immi.gov.au/scottmorrison/contact-details/ Shadow Minister for Immigration: parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22handbook%2Fallmps%2FHWQ%22
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 11:32:57 +0000