Australia is attempting to show asylum seekers that their best bet is to actually go to Cambodia.
In a deal struck last year, Australia offered Cambodia $31 million to take in refugees, The Associated Press reports. There are 700 migrants detained on the Pacific Island nation of Nauru, and this week, they were shown a video message from Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who said Cambodia is a "fast-paced and vibrant country with a stable economy and varied employment opportunities ... a diverse nation with a blend of many nationalities, cultures, and religions. An opportunity for a new life is now before you. While it's not Australia, Cambodia offers you safety, security, and opportunity." They also received a fact sheet saying they would receive free health insurance and cash, and would enjoy "all the freedoms of a democratic society, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech."
Critics say that Cambodia is struggling to take care of its own population, and is notorious for cracking down on dissent. "Australia is basically paying blood money to a much poorer, less developed state with a shoddy record of refugee protection to take people that Canberra doesn't want," Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, told AP. So far, just one person on Nauru, an ethnic Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, has agreed to go to Cambodia.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
