By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH
A video recorded by Australia’s immigration minister in which he urges refugees on the South Pacific island of Nauru to take up an offer as quickly as possible to resettle in Cambodia has been leaked and published.
The nearly four-minute monologue - obtained Wednesday by Guardian Australia - sees Peter Dutton warn that perks described in a letter distributed to refugees last week would not be available forever.
“There is no guarantee that this level of support will be offered to people who wait and do not commit to this first group,” Dutton reiterates.
The letter encouraged refugees - most of whom are Muslim - to volunteer for the transfer, stating that a plane was chartered for Monday, April 20, for an initial group
That transfer was ultimately delayed, with little interest from the several hundred people detained on the island. Perks included “cash in hand” and “income support."
Dutton warned that assistance packages would be “different” for those who go subsequently.
In the video, Dutton describes Cambodia as a country “free from persecution” that “provides a wealth of opportunity for new settlers.”
Last year, Australia and Cambodia signed a controversial transfer deal worth $40 million to resettle volunteer refugees and asylum seekers who were turned away from Australia and detained on Nauru, in Cambodia instead.
The deal has been harshly criticized by human rights groups, many condemning the deal as dangerous and calling on Australia to fulfill its obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention by resettling the refugees itself.
In the video, Dutton is seen to defend Australia from the allegations, stating that refugees should not let “agitators” ruin the opportunity for them to settle in Cambodia.
Those who wish to "take advantage" of the government offer should call the "Cambodia settlement hotline on 558 6049,” Dutton states.
Attempts to call that number using a Nauru country code were unsuccessful Wednesday and Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul could not be reached.
But Frederika Steen, a former immigration officer and board member of the Multicultural Development Association, told The Anadolu Agency that referring to advocates as agitators “is terribly insulting.”
“There are refugees on Nauru who may look at this as one way out, because they are trapped—they couldn’t be more isolated,” she said by telephone from Australia.
“Thank God we now have the Internet. You can inform yourself about what the Cambodian society issues are. They are not ignorant. You can’t assume that they would not know,” she added.
Steen said advocates in touch with refugees on Nauru would only be trying to help them understand “that going to Cambodia would be extremely challenging,” and therefore they should not be attacked for it.
