Yesterday, dozens of people seeking asylum lost their lives off the coast of Christmas Island as rough waves dashed their boat to pieces against the rocks, as horrified residents looked on, helpless and unable to intervene.  This event has sparked new and heated discussion on the dangers of denying asylum seekers safe passage to Australia.  Today's media reflects a number of voices.  Some are represented below.

Cruel fact of life with our rules: Dennis Atkins, Courier Mail.

If people seeking asylum in Australia want to take their chances, what happened on Wednesday is a salutatory lesson.That half of the souls on board an unfit vessel were lost on Christmas Island is a tragedy. But we should not kid ourselves because this is the almost certain outcome of people smuggling the transporting of people illegally in dangerous conditions without any real protection.

There is no way to sugar coat the bitter pill that is the boat which hit rocks at Flying Fish Cove yesterday morning. We are all responsible for this event.

As long as Australians refuse to say to people who risk the harsh ocean they are welcome and there is a majority saying they are not  these outcomes are inevitable. If Australians do not want to hear this kind of tragic news they should face up to the alternative. They should accept the fact there will be asylum seekers who will risk it all to get into Australia.

Ours is a world where hundreds of thousands of people will chance death to find a better life. If they are that determined to come to Australia, we should welcome them and celebrate their bravery. Perhaps this is the wake up call Australians needed  a loud shout to those who demand we act to stop the trafficking of asylum seekers but refuse to realise these are real people who are affected.

The politicians who whip up the issue have as much to answer for as those who in power refuse to confront the consequences of a failed policy.

Source: Courier Mail Online

Christmas Island Tragedy: Screams, Yells and then they drowned

As stunned members of the Afghan, Iranian and Iraqi communities across Victoria came to grips with the loss of life, many said the accident could have been prevented. Afghan Australian Association of Victoria president Abdul Khaliq Fazal, a former government minister and presidential adviser, said he had pleaded to the Department of Immigration for stronger policies.  "You could put a stop to this. We need to demand the Department of Immigration come up with a proper policy to put a stop to asylum seeker boats and see to it that a special humanitarian program be widened, so people seeking asylum can do so legally and safely," he said.

Similar boat tragedies had claimed more lives than was generally known, he added.  "Ask the Department of Immigration, in the last five years, how many boats had departed Indonesia compared to how many have arrived," Mr Fazal said.  "The correct answer would amaze you.

"Every human being, every loving person who wants to protect human rights, should be worried and sad about the loss of innocent people. They committed no crime. They were coming for a better life to a place they thought would be paradise."

Iranian Society president Farshad Khajhenouri said Melbourne's Persian community felt the tragedy keenly:  "Our community can associate with these people because we understand the misery they have been attempting to escape. They were looking for a better life."

Melbourne Kurdish Foundation spokesman Twana Nwri said those on the boat would have known the risks.  But they are willing to take the risk because of the situation they have come from."

Source: Herald Sun Online

Blame Game begins after asylum boat tragedy

Pamela Curr from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says an investigation is needed to determine how the boat came so close to landing at Christmas Island.  "We have a huge surveillance operation. We've got AFP officers in Indonesia who ride the ferries between Malaysia and Indonesia who arrest people alongside the Indonesian police in hostels," she said.

"We have air surveillance, we have water surveillance, we have a very efficient border security operation out there. These people are not political. They are just there to see who's in the water, who needs help, how close they are to Australia and they absolutely know who is approaching our shoreline."

Ms Curr says if border security officials were aware of the vessel they should never have allowed it to approach Christmas Island in such rough seas.  "What happened that they allowed this boat to head towards Christmas Island, knowing there's a three to five-metre swell which would make it impossible for such a fragile fishing boat to land safely," she said.

It is understood some survivors have been rescued by boat and taken aboard a nearby Navy ship, while some of the bodies recovered are reportedly being taken by boat to Ethel Beach on the other side of the island where waters are calmer.

Source: ABC News Online

The Courier Mail has pointed out some figures:

This year: 127 asylum seeker vessels hve been intercepted in Australian waters.  6000 or more passengers and more than 300 crew were on these vessels.

October 2010: 85 Sri Lankan asylum seekers survive horror 45-day journey at sea trying to reach Australia, with 3 people dying.

May 2010: Five asylum seekers reported drowned trying to reach Australia

November 2009: 11 Sri Lankan asylum seekers drowned after their vessel sank 350 nautical miles off the Cocos Islands

April 2009: Five Afghans died and 30 were injured after a deliberately lit explosion on board their vessel.

And of course, in 2001: Norewegian ship the MV Tampa rescues 400 asylum seekers from a sinking Indonesian boat but it is not allowed to land in Australia.