September 16, 2015
by Anne Miller
It seems South Burnett residents – at least those who express opinions loudly on Facebook – don’t want to offer a friendly welcome to Syrian refugee families.
Mayor Wayne Kratzmann sought feedback on the idea of re-housing some refugees at Wednesday morning’s Council meeting.
He’s now getting it in spades:
“Seriously ?!?!?! Are there not enough issues throughout the South Burnett now ? Housing, unemployment, crime, etc No way!!!”
“Yeah well done.. People are having a hard time getting work out here already…… Pull ya head in kratzy”
“No freaking way!!!!!!!!!”
“NOOOOOO we need to take care for our community first”
“Forget the stupid politics Wayne and look after our own people in the South Burnett.”
“No, support your own people before helping foreigners!”
“Send them to the city where’s there’s more jobs. Australias full.”
“The Government wants to give handouts pfft help us first”
“Put them up next door to him see how he likes it”
“HELL NO!!!! There are soooo many reasons why we shouldn’t take ANY “refugees”!
“Bring none in not wanted !!!!”
“Wake Up Kzatzmann (sic) and pull your head out of your a***, we have so many homeless in Our district an you want to bring in more….”
“Kratzman why dont you take a refugee family in and lead the way. Oh and next they will want a mosque built. No No No”
“No, ABSOLUTELY NO. How can you tell the difference between friend or foe? Look what happened in the Sydney cafe, it could happen right here. Im sure ISIS would be willing to use the crisis to its benefit, think about it. If a crazy can do damage like the incident in Sydney, what could a number of those crazy morbid gurus do in Kingaroy. Its a recipe for disaster economics and social wise.”
“All these bleeding hearts are all well and good, but beware of what you wish for, it’s always better the devil you know, and at the moment, there’s very little risk of seeing the flag of Isis flying in the streets of the SB, unlike what is already being seen in Europe.”
“Won’t be long and we won’t be called Australia anymore, we’ll be called “Stew-Land”. A bit of everything thrown in, all different colours and herbs …”
Many of the commenters feared Syrian refugees would lead to fewer jobs in the area, higher rates or a refugee “levy” (despite assurances of Federal Government funding), and a shortage of housing.
“Not much housing and no jobs around. Who’s going to pay for them? Another levy on rates no doubt.”
“Definitely not, the work isn’t there for locals let alone Syrians”
Some also suggested the government should look after the needy and homeless in Australia first:
“Look after true Aussies first!!”
“No, support your own people before helping foreigners! Enough people in the Burnett struggling to find jobs and adequate housing.”
There was also fear of “creeping” Sharia law, despite the fact the Federal Government has already indicated the refugees would be from “oppressed minorities”, ie most likely Christians:
“Next thing you will be telling us we can’t sell pork in the south Burnett cause it offends them and wanting us to build a mosque. No way”
“All Syrians are Muslim. Why are you even asking the question????”
“I feel for the Christian Syrians, but how can you weed out the Islamic faith to the Christians? It was only yesterday I was reading that a lot of the Muslims are now wearing crosses because the ones already in Europe are sending back messages to let them know what is best to be allowed in and to get accepted. France is lost to the Muslims as is Sweden these 2 once beautiful countries are on the verge of civil war. Besides if allowed here, how long before the Muslims are demanding swickers and piggerys are shut down? Also the shite Muslims are being killed by isis, as are the yadizis and the pershmegas. I have no sympathy for anyone of the Islamic faith. It is cruel and barbaric.”
“We will learn the hard way once car bombings an an beheadings in our towns then u will think twice on it send them back to there country’s”
And perhaps threats to newcomers:
“If this happens. I will definately (sic) call for our people to protect ourselves. Not a second thought.”
Suggestions have ranged from dumping refugees in the Simson (sic) Desert:
To sending them to Sydney:
One man suggested that anyone who was pro-refugee could not possibly be a true South Burnett resident:
A couple suggested perhaps Mayor Kratzmann at the Bunya Mountains or the newly-elected PM could help out:
Some posts could be described as neutral:
“Real refugees yes but the opportunist we seen on TV no way …”
“Maybe we should stop bombing their homes and they would stay there …”
“As long as you guarantee that they won’t take the little jobs available within the south Burnett and we get more police presence around.”
“So many Bigots in the South Burnett”
And only a couple of positive:
“Yes of course we should share this lucky country”
“Yes – aside from it being the right thing to do, more people = more jobs and more investment in the area.”
“There is no merit to any of the comments about how Refugees will bring so many negative repercussions to our community. These people are not extremists. The majority are Christians fleeing persecution … These people are fleeing their country because they DON’T have the same beliefs of the likes of IS. Don’t you think an influx of people could boost businesses currently operating, create a need for new business and create more jobs? It would be nice to be part of a community that was forward thinking and not a stereotypically backwards country town full of bigotry.”
“Yep good idea we need a bigger population in the South Burnett & Kingaroy. You will find these people are intelligent and will quickly settle into the community & some will create businesses. That housing mess at Memerambi could be utilised for this exercise.”
Although what the owners of the Memerambi houses would think about this last suggestion is unknown!
The South Burnett Regional Council has invited residents to register their opinions via a short survey on Council’s website
Printed surveys will also be available at Customer Service Centres and at libraries.
- Related article: Mayor Seeks Feedback Over Refugees
These comments don’t surprise me. Parochial, narrow-minded Sunday morning Christians!
Those negative reactions are disgusting. Typical lazy xenophobic response ‘give us more hand outs and fix our problems’. 1st world problem: pothole in your road; Syrian problem: my family has been killed and my house bombed. Of course they should come here – most likely will be hard and honest workers not reliant on welfare. If we are lucky enough to resettle refugees there will be a tremendous building boom gifting our whole area an economic bonanza. But I can’t see it happening.
Wow, I would sooner have Syrian refugees and their families in my community than the xenophobic, self-centred tinea of humankind that have raised their heads and voices on Farcebook. Little do these (hopefully rare) myopic locals realise that with people, comes opportunities to stimulate economic growth by way of their demand for goods and services, not to mention several cultural and social benefits they bring.
The South Burnett like most rural areas today have languished under a system of political expediency that has hardened and shaped the prevailing opinion of today’s population. That opinion is not only directed toward refugees but the unemployed, the working poor, the aged and any minorities that fail to fit that ideal preconception of social conformities.
Security concerns driven by social conformities dominate our political system, fed by a media storm of nationalist fervor of social indifference to the destruction dished out nightly on our TV screens.
To these that have not seen the twisted corpses the blood, the body parts strewn across a blasted landscape, those that have not smelt burning flesh, seen the skin peeling charred and burnt beyond human recognition. The entire population of a village slain lying blotted maggot infested in the morning’s light. Amongst this a child crying, her little body racked by shell fragments her chest slashed as if by a samurai sword, her stomach beside her on the ground, the living dead as her time runs out.
Can the South Burnett accommodate Syrian refuges, that choice is your’s.
It is a human tragedy what is happening to these people. However it is a tragedy what is happening to the South Burnett and businesses. These Facebook comments in this article demonstrate that the South Burnett residents are hurting just as much as the refugees. Maybe Mayor Kratzmann and the other councillors need to stop doing media spin on the South Burnett and get down to helping their own community. People are hurting in the South Burnett.
Where are the jobs for the refugees? Where is the public transport? What about the health system in the South Burnett, can the system handle such an increase in demand on their services?
The mayor should open his door at the Bunyas. It is a beautiful part of the South Burnett. Let’s get our own region fixed first before we can help others outside our region.
I have to agree that Facebook has shown what a dreary and small-minded bunch a lot of us are (just as it has in Western Downs and Toowoomba, where the reaction is pretty similar).
The point our xenophobes miss – but which a few other commenters here haven’t – is that the Federal Government will be picking up the bill to resettle these refugees, and if we don’t resettle any here we’ll all still be paying for it, but it will be other areas that will be getting the benefits.
Post-war immigration fuelled our nation’s growth and prosperity for decades, and enriched Australian culture beyond measure. If our xenophobes don’t have any compassion in their hearts, then perhaps they should consider their hip pockets instead.
Sure we can bring them to Australia, we will bring along with them more crime, less jobs and a harder life for the locals… Take care of the locals!
I welcome refugees for their obvious and desperate need, their difference, their culture. An Icelandic author and professor who is welcoming refugees to her country puts it so well:
“Refugees are human resources, experience and skills. Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, our next soul mate, the drummer in our children’s band, our next colleague, Miss Iceland 2022, the carpenter who finally fixes our bathroom, the chef in the cafeteria, the fireman, the hacker and the television host. People who we’ll never be able to say to: ‘Your life is worth less than mine’.”
If only these South Burnett haters would put their names to their hateful, xenophobic rants, we could do a neat swap: exile THEM to Syria and welcome more refugees with their hopes and dreams for a better life. All of us who aren’t indigenous to Australia, are here because OUR ancestors had the same hopes and dreams for a better life. Luckily, for most of them, they were not in immediate danger. Today’s Syrian refugees are. I welcome them.