By Marco Ceccarelli and Jamie O’Brien
In October 2016, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Denis Hart, called for an end to the offshore detention of refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island.
In what he described as “one of the greatest crises of our day,” Archbishop Hart lamented the current situation faced by people forced from their own countries by war, persecution or poverty and forced to live without a home and safety and often separated from their families.
In light of his comments, Archdiocesan Communications Manager Jamie O’Brien and The eRecord journalist Marco Ceccarelli spoke to migration lawyer and co-founder of Estrin Saul Lawyers, Reuben Saul, about offshore detention, the Catholic Church’s role in influencing government and public opinion on refugee issues and Australia’s tradition of welcoming refugees.
“We welcome Archbishop Hart’s comments,” Mr Saul said, reflecting on the potential impact of such pronounced comments from a Church leader on one of the more pressing issues of our time.
“They are important because the Catholic Church holds a prominent place in Australian society as a social justice movement. It has for many years,” he added.
Mr Saul co-founded and works at Estrin Saul Lawyers, one of the few law firms in Western Australia specialising in immigration and refugee law.
With years of work experience in detention centres on Christmas Island and in the Kimberley, he has represented people from all different backgrounds and has witnessed the impact of detention on people’s health and spirits.
His work in ensuring that people are represented legally was made no less easy by the significant cuts in funding for legal aid to asylum seekers introduced by the new Australian government in late 2013.
“There were quite drastic cuts to that program. While there are some legal services still available to clients that are deemed to be vulnerable, a large majority of the people who arrived by boat are in a position where they need to find their own legal representation or find a community group that will assist them through that process.
“This means there are hundreds and thousands of people falling through the cracks and representing themselves. With the system getting harder and less people being represented, it’s a dangerous cocktail with people not getting hoped-for outcomes.”
This decline in government assistance, Mr Saul said, has meant that institutions such as the Catholic Church have played a more significant role in helping with resettlements through education, healthcare and social services. The Church has also been instrumental in educating the public about refugee related issues.
“We need to educate people. Concerns with issues like refugees come from people’s fears. Those fears are eased when people understand the system. It takes leadership and organisations like the Church in getting the message out there so people know that helping someone is not something to be scared of. Giving someone refuge is not something to be scared of.
“Australia has a tradition of helping people and the Church has played a large role in that. Pushing the government to do more in this area is something people should feel proud of.”
In 2007, Mr Saul was able to see first-hand the importance of the Church’s role in refugee resettlement while undertaking an internship in the Philippines. He was involved with an organisation that helped Vietnamese boat people left in the Philippines after the Vietnam War resettle to other countries.
“The Catholic Church played a large role in making sure that they [boat people] were allowed to stay in the Philippines and weren’t sent back. The Church helped these groups be resettled in places like Australia, Canada, America and Europe,” he said.
What surprised him most about working with Catholic groups was the diverse background of members working toward shared goals of compassion and outreach to those in need.
“The thing that always surprises me about the Catholic Church is that it is such a broad congregation. You’ll have meetings about refugee related issues, and in the same room you have people from the conservative side of politics, progressive side, right and left wing, all different backgrounds and ages, all agreeing that we can do better in terms of how we treat and deal with people coming to our country seeking help.
“That broad congregation is certainly one of the Catholic Church’s strengths,” he said.
Mr Saul concluded by highlighting Australia’s tradition of allowing people to come in and take refuge, as well the international praise it has received for its success in resettling refugees.
“We have rich tradition of helping people. We need to make sure that that tradition doesn’t die off.”
Click Here to read Archbishop Denis Hart’s message
To know more about Estrin Saul Migration Lawyers, follow this link www.estrinsaul.com.au