For weeks the trail of the 19th Syrian had gone cold.

He and 18 other Syrians were being held in Australian-run detention centres, but he was the only one the Federal Government managed to persuade to return home.

He was known as EDE 043 — an identifier assigned to him based on the boat he arrived on — but his real name is Eyad.

The chicken farmer fled his village in Syria's Daraa province more than two years ago, leaving his pregnant wife behind with family, with a plan of reaching the safe haven of Australia and then sending for her.

He made it to Christmas Island by boat on August 4, 2013 and was later transferred to Manus Island.

Eyad was repatriated from Manus back to Syria in August this year. Contact with him was lost.

Lateline can reveal however that 29-year-old Eyad is alive and after a long journey back to Syria, where he says he was jailed and tortured, he has made it home to his wife and the daughter who was born in his absence...

...emails between Department of Immigration employees that were obtained under Freedom of Information by The Guardian show Australia has been encouraging Syrians in detention to go home.
"I was very open and frank with the transferees, I described the options that they have and I was clear that they would not be settled in Australia or a third country," one email states.
"The transferees were visibly upset and quite anxious.
"They were quite adamant that I would be sending them home to their death."...

...Eyad became sick with kidney stones while he was on Manus Island and was convinced he was going to die.

"He want to leave for Syria... he say I don't want to be dead in this compound jail here in Manus Island," he said.

And so, just over a month ago, Eyad was given $US2,310 by the Australian Government and flown off Manus Island...

...Remarkably, more than a month after he was flown off Manus Island, Eyad was at the other end of the phone line.

"My number is EDE 043," he said.

Eyad said he had tried to escape from the Australian immigration officials who had escorted him back to Syria.

"When I went to Qatar, in Doha airport, I tried to escape because I wanted to go to Turkey," he said.

"There is a refugee camp in Turkey and once I am in that refugee camp in Turkey, it is easy to get my wife and my daughter to come live with me in that refugee camp."

Eyad also explained why contact was lost with him for so long.

"I was worried when I get to Syria to be killed or put in jail, and this is what happened. As soon as I get to Damascus I was 20 days in jail," he said.

He was singled out by government officials when he landed in Damascus - his home village marking him as a dissenter.

Eyad said for 20 days he was tortured by Syrian government intelligence officers, who had found the cash given to him by the Australian Government and accused him of being a financier of the Syrian revolution.

"They hit me on my face and on my back, on my chest," he said.

Eyad was released and made the dangerous journey back to his village and his family.

He said each day the village is pounded by barrel bombs, his house has been destroyed and his wife injured.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-01/the-asylum-seeker-the-government-convinced-to-return-to-syria/6816336

Secrets of the right-wing brain: New study proves it — conservatives see a different, hostile world

...conservatives differ from liberals by having stronger, more intense reactions to negative aspects of the environment — such as physical threats, or potential sources of disease — which are ultimately physiological...
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/29/secrets_of_the_right_wing_brain_new_study_proves_it_conservatives_see_a_different_hostile_world/

Differences in negativity bias underlie variations in political ideology

...one organizing element of the many differences between liberals and conservatives is the nature of their physiological and psychological responses to features of the environment that are negative. Compared with liberals, conservatives tend to register greater physiological responses to such stimuli and also to devote more psychological resources to them....
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9292100

Yes, because three year old Syrian boys are washing up on our beaches. :roll:

Almost zero deaths at our borders since this started, you can't argue with the facts.



Edited by 433: 2/10/2015 03:06:26 PM

Australia's new PM Malcolm Turnbull is facing fresh calls to shut down offshore migrant detention centres.
Australian of the Year and domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty said on Thursday the "unsafe" camps must close.
Nearly 450 staff at Mr Turnbull's former university have also expressed concern about claims of torture by government employees and contractors.
Australia intercepts all irregular boat migrants and holds them in camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Mr Turnbull has defended the rules, a central policy of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, by saying they are tough but save lives.
'Repugnant acts'
In a letter to Mr Turnbull, Ms Batty said those detained in offshore centres needed care, instead of punishment.
"The centres are, by their very design, unsafe and dangerous places. These centres cannot be patched up," she said.
The academics, meanwhile, said there was "overwhelming" evidence that "repugnant acts" including torture and abuse had been carried out the camps.
This week, the Australian Broadcasting Corp aired allegations made by a Somali woman who said she was raped by two men on Nauru - and that it took police on the Pacific island four hours to respond.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34421139

So now Rosie Batty is an expert on detention centres.

We are so stupid.

Yes, because three year old Syrian boys are washing up on our beaches. :roll:

Almost zero deaths at our borders since this started, you can't argue with the facts.

Many 'facts' are hidden from public knowledge. It's funny how people vote for parties, so they can outsource their thinking. No surprise that it's a right wing government doing the 'thinking' for them.

Many 'facts' are hidden from public knowledge. It's funny how people vote for parties, so they can outsource their thinking. No surprise that it's a right wing government doing the 'thinking' for them.

Can I ask what facts you are referring to?

Police sources say the gunman who shot dead a New South Wales police civilian employee was a 15-year-old radicalised youth of Middle Eastern background.

The lone shooter killed the employee as he was leaving police headquarters at Parramatta in Sydney's west around 4:30pm yesterday.

The offender then fired several more shots at officers as they emerged from the building to respond to the incident.

He was killed when the officers, who are special constables, returned fire.

In an emotional media conference last night, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione described the incident as a callous attack.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-03/nsw-police-headquarters-gunman-was-radicalised-youth/6825028

We don't know. The fact that we do know is that Operation Sovereign Borders withholds information from the public, such as what happens on water with boat intercepts.
Hence why I mention that it's funny that people prefer not to know, that they prefer to be less informed. That would actually be the definition of 'ignorance is bliss', for someone who has a basic grasp of the English vernacular.
There was a poll released earlier this year that of people who live in a democracy, a substantial percentage would prefer to live under a dictatorship (IIRC over 30%). Very scary & pretty sad.


Edited by Murdoch Rags Ltd: 3/10/2015 09:04:36 AM

yeah let's get rid of the governments policy immediately........most Aussies would be happy to see the refugees drowning at sea.....far better result](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

What are you talking about mate? Don't you know that racist right-wingers just LOVE to see brown people drown?

Going by the irrational hysteria to outsiders, I am sure plenty couldn't care less what happens to them.
Heck, the solution of my right wing voting father was to bomb the boats while heading to Australia.

Going by the irrational hysteria to outsiders, I am sure plenty couldn't care less what happens to them.
Heck, the solution of my right wing voting father was to bomb the boats while heading to Australia.

tell you what....sort your old man out and leave us be, your extreme views are those generated by your own upbringing....start there before lecturing us

Actually it's reality.
It's well known that right wingers are, on average, more racist, xenophobic & anti-immigration.
Apart from sociological research, Go Back To Where You Came From made that visually clear.

They also commit less crime, pay more taxes and are more likely to have a university degree that leads to employment.

Actually it's reality.
It's well known that right wingers are, on average, more racist, xenophobic & anti-immigration.
Apart from sociological research, Go Back To Where You Came From made that visually clear.

Although I am not really sure how this relates to immigration, yes right wingers do have higher levels of income. Although, to clarify, ABC Vote Compass did show left wingers have higher average levels of education. But I wouldn't be surprised if the degrees by right wingers typically lead to more employment. They do tend to value money more & hence you would expect that righties do these degrees, such as the field of commerce, that lead to higher paying jobs.

Although I am not really sure how this relates to immigration, yes right wingers do have higher levels of income. Although, to clarify, ABC Vote Compass did show left wingers have higher average levels of education. But I wouldn't be surprised if the degrees by right wingers typically lead to more employment. They do tend to value money more & hence you would expect that righties do these degrees, such as the field of commerce, that lead to higher paying jobs.

of course you are right....let's just for a second forget the handpicked people who were selected to get the biggest response and viewer ratings, pretty sure i could hand select a bunch of labor voting thugs from certain suburbs to prove you completely wrong.....you should or must be in media....just wanting to get a rise to sell a newspaper or a news headline......you are way to influenced by media reporting and need to use life skills ( not that i think you have any) to make better and more objective comments.....

How's that degree in Ancient History going?