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Dark Victory by David Marr &
Marian Wilkinson
Allen & Unwin, Sydney,
2004
Marr and
Wilkinson have brought to
light the events surrounding
the Australian Government’s
refusal to accept illegal
immigrants, or boat people,
in 2001.
During
Operation Relex, as it was
called, there was a tight
control of media coverage so
the public was not aware of
all that happened, nor how
many boatloads of refugees
were affected.
A number
of reporters did take notes
and attempt to research the
full story to no avail; many
of these same reporters have
shared their research and
knowledge with Marr and
Wilkinson so that the story
could be told.
In August
2001, people were fleeing
from the Taliban in
Afghanistan and Sadam
Hussein in Iraq. Many of
these people fled into
Europe, but some attempted
to move through Asia and
seek refuge in Australia. At
that time, Australia
maintained a reputation as a
generous country for refuges
and immigrants, taking in
more people than any other
nation except Canada.
However, the Australian
Government only wanted to
accept people of it’s
choosing, not those who
arrived on Australian shores
“illegally.”
The KM
Palapa 1 was overloaded
and under equipped. When it
finally sent out distress
signals, it took two days of
political manoeuvring before
a ship, the Tampa,
was requested to collect the
survivors. This started the
Operation, and the people
were refused entry to
Australia, even for medical
treatment.
Dark
Victory
continues to describe the
events up to the November
federal election that year.
The books details how 13
boats tried to reach
Australia without success,
including one boat which was
lost along with 352 lives.
It also goes through the
political processes of the
time – election campaigning,
the September 11 tragedy,
Opposition errors,
miscommunications and
desperate attempts to divert
responsibility for these
people.
Many of
the details covered by the
book are unpleasant; people
were kept in horrible
conditions and treated like
refuse rather than refugees.
The book is an eye opener
into the Operation and
Australian politics; it is
both interesting in a
impersonal way and upsetting
from a humane angle.
Marr and
Wilkinson have presented the
story clearly and well; this
book deserves to be
recognised as part of
Australian history.
Tash Hughes is a Mum of two in Melbourne. She is also a writer and owner of Word
Constructions. Tash is available to write articles and profiles for any
business, as well as doing other business documentation projects. You can see
her site and services at
www.wordconstructions.com
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