McAuliffe, Marie
Description
In recent years, large numbers of people have embarked on
high-risk sea journeys attempting to reach specific destinations,
including Australia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand and
the United States. In 2015, for example, over 850,000 people
crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, with many
continuing their journeys to eventually reach other parts of
Europe (mostly Germany, Sweden and Austria). Just over half were
Syrian refugees who had been...[Show more] living in Turkey, with Afghans,
Iraqis, Pakistanis, Iranians and a multitude of others making up
the remainder. Thousands of people perish en route every year
while undertaking irregular maritime migration, and many more are
exploited and abused during their perilous journeys. Added to
this are the long-distances some must cover, particularly those
from the Middle East and South Asia travelling to Australia.
This study examines the nature and extent of self-agency of
irregular maritime asylum seekers. In doing so, it focuses on a
population of maritime asylum seekers who, at face value, were
able to exercise agency and realise the goal of seeking asylum in
Australia. Using survey and statistical data on irregular
maritime asylum seekers who arrived in Australia over five
program years (June 2008 to July 2013), the analysis finds strong
complementarities among migration patterns of asylum seekers from
different countries and ethnic backgrounds. The migration
patterns and processes of a subset are examined more deeply in a
case study on Hazara asylum seekers who travelled to Australia
from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Through the application of a multi-faceted model of asylum seeker
agency, the study finds that a small but significant group of
‘proactive asylum seekers’ were far from passive, exercising
considerable agency in determining when, how, where and with whom
they migrated. However, considerable limitations on agency were
evident—particularly for females and young Hazaras—resulting
in highly skewed migration patterns and very specific and
sometimes singular migration processes being manifested. The
study also found indications that Hazaras had applied similar
migration strategies that had been developed within the West Asia
region during previous decades of displacement and migration.
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