Friday, May 16, 2008

Injustice for all...

The following has to be one of the most shocking, embarassing and shameful [for Australian Immigration anyway] stories I've heard of late and it's even worse when you consider this isn't an isolated incident.



Daighila are a hardcore/punk band from Malaysia and came to Australia to do a brief East Coast tour late last month, but upon entering the country ended up being interrogated for several hours and then placed in a detention centre for another 24. In a statement to fans on their blog they explain that:

"...They 'assumed' that we came to find jobs and become illegal workers. Despite the lack of proof to convict us and the fact that we've already booked a ticket back from Brisbane, they insisted that we allegedly came to find jobs like the other groups of Malaysians who were detained prior before we arrived. We also presented proofs that we have stable lives in Malaysia. But it was all ignored..."


The band were sent back to Malaysia without any reinbursment or refund for their already purchased return tickets and each member copped a massive fine. It's sad that this happens in the "lucky" country, especially because the band worked really hard to come out here. They weren't going to make any money off their shows, they were doing it for their love of music and the connection they've made with people through their music [whether you like the genre or not].

Sad indeed...

4 comments:

aaron said...

Wow this happened under the Rudd govt. get that up ya anti howard wankers. Or do I sense double standards coming along

tegaN said...

Incidents like this have been happening for years [Spunky Funggy in 2001 & one of the members of Peter,Bjorn & John in 2006 for example], they didnt just start with the change of government. We can only hope there will changes soon to stop things like this happening again.

Lesley said...

This really isn't a case of Rudd vs. Howard governments...

tegaN said...

yeah its a case of giant douches vs turd sandwiches LOLOLOL