[LINK] Tampa or St. Louis?

[Fiona Campbell]

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With apologies to Ross Kelso . . .=20

From: "Jim Duffield" <jim@kultcher.com>
To: "First Nation Interests" <jim@kultcher.com>
Subject: Messages to the Tampa
Date: Thursday, 30 August 2001 12:01 PM

Anyone who wants to send messages of support to the Tampa can do so=20
at the address below.

Royal Norwegian Consulate-General

 Tel : (02) 9255 0818
 Fax : (02) 9247 9290
 Email : consulate.general@2wglobal.com=20

 Postal Address : GPO Box 3000, Sydney NSW 2000

Jurisdiction throughout New South Wales

Mr Peter DEXTER


-- jim@kultcher.com  ---- Jim Duffield ----  http://www.kultcher.com/ -
--=20

The Australian mindset on Aborigines:"...the great Australian =
silence...."=20
                Prof. W. E. H. Stanner, Boyer Lectures 1968


following from Russell, yesterday;

Subject: [LINK] Tampa or St. Louis?
Date: Wednesday, 29 August 2001 10:34 AM

I received a phone-call from a colleague in the USA who asked me=20
if it was really true that the Australian government had sent a=20
warship and was threatening to sink the Tampa rather than let the=20
refugees land in Australia.  He had heard the report on TV.  He=20
finished by saying that this is the stuff that makes great movies.

Australia, and Australians are being portrayed by overseas media=20
groups as a nation of callous xenophobes.  To my mind, this is=20
being caused by a federal government, out-of-control and racked by=20
scandal, thrashing around to find an issue with which the media=20
(and unfortunately the overseas media) can be entranced.=20

It could be construed that the government has artificially=20
engineered an international incident by opportunistically marooning=20
400 or so shipwrecked refugees on the Tampa.  While this may be=20
politik, the long term damage to Australia's international reputation=20
is incalculable.

For those of you who have forgotten the past, read on to relive it:

In 1939, 907 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany sailed on the St. Louis=20
from Hamburg, Germany, with entrance visas for Cuba. However,=20
when they got to Havana, the Cuban government refused to=20
recognise the visas. Latin American governments were=20
approached, but all refused to take the refugees. The St. Louis was=20
forced to leave Havana harbour and sailed north. The U.S.=20
government's response to the ship was to send a gunboat to make=20
sure that it kept away from U.S. shores. Finally, despite an appeal=20
by some prominent Canadians, Canada declined to take in the=20
refugees. The top immigration official commented that no country=20
could open its doors wide enough to take in the hundreds of=20
thousands of Jewish people who want to leave Europe: the line=20
must be drawn somewhere.

The St. Louis sailed back to Europe, where three-quarters of its=20
passengers were murdered in the Holocaust.


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