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Australia accepts refugees, offers aid
For humanity: International aid agency Oxfam praises the Australian governmentâs decided to accept 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq and offer an additional US$44 million in humanitarian aid to the Syria crisis, saying it is a bold move in the right direction
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span class="inline inline-center">For humanity: International aid agency Oxfam praises the Australian government's decided to accept 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq and offer an additional US$44 million in humanitarian aid to the Syria crisis, saying it is a bold move in the right direction. (Courtesy of the Australian department of home affairs, via Associated Press)
International aid agency Oxfam welcomed the Australian government's recent compassion for refugees, following its announcement that it would accept 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees and offer an additional US$44 million in aid for the Syria crisis.
Oxfam said, however, that it was disappointed the government had not gone further.
Oxfam acting chief executive Pam Anders said the Australian government's announcement was a bold move in the right direction, and reflected the depth of public sentiment on the issue.
'Given this country's prosperity, as one of the richest nations on earth, we can and must do more,' Anders said in a statement on Wednesday.
'When you look at the scale of the problem, with 60 million people forcibly displaced from their homes globally, you can't help but be struck by the fact that we need to do everything we possibly can to help,' she went on.
Earlier, three agencies, namely Oxfam, World Vision and Save the Children, called on the Australian government to increase the country's overall humanitarian intake of refugees to 30,000 in response to the global refugee crisis. The new commitment to take 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees will take this year's overall refugee intake close to 25,750.
'This is a welcome increase to our refugee intake, however, rather than being a one-off response, this should be the norm. We urge the government to increase our annual intake of humanitarian refugees to 30,000 on an ongoing basis,' Anders said.
'We are so often referred to as a lucky country, but really we have no idea how lucky we are. Most have easy access to food, water, shelter and safety. For millions of people around the world who used to be in the same position, these are now luxuries.'
Oxfam says the additional $44 million will make a big difference to those displaced by this protracted crisis, but there is still room for further assistance.
The agency further says its analysis shows that Australia's fair share of funding for the Syria crisis for this year is around $144 million, which represents just 0.033 percent of the total federal budget. This means Australia needs to offer another $100 million if it wants to conform to Oxfam's expectations. (ebf)
