ABSTRACT

This article discusses the Australian government’s immigration policies in the context of the global refugee crisis in the years 2015–2016, as reflected and dramatised through the polemical novel by Australian author Jock Serong, On the Java Ridge (2017). This novel testifies to one of the most disturbing effects of globalisation, namely, the unprecedented scale of population mobility, mainly as a result of famine, climate warming, and war conflicts of all kinds. In this atmosphere of anxiety and fear, the unrelenting flow of refugees is seen not only as a menace to the rule of law and human rights but also as a destabilising element that might compromise the comfortable lifestyle of First World countries. This has led many governments, including the Australian government, to take measures to stop refugees and asylum-seekers from reaching their soil. As a number of criminologists suggest, some of these measures might be regarded as state crime, as they often violate international law and human rights on the pretext of reaching organisational goals. This article shows how Serong’s novel illustrates a number of shady immigration control measures allegedly taken by the Australian government which, following Michael Welch’s terminology, can fall into two main categories: “loud panic/the wall of noise” and “quiet manoeuvring/the wall of governance,” with a view to criticising this system and urging rich countries, in particular Australia, to take action on one of the most pressing problems plaguing the world today.

摘要

本文讨论了澳大利亚政府在 2015 年至 2016 年全球难民危机背景下的移民政策，这通过澳大利亚作家乔克·塞龙 (Jock Serong) 的论战小说《在爪哇山脊上》 ( On the Java Ridge) 得到反映和戏剧化。(2017)。这部小说证明了全球化最令人不安的影响之一，即空前规模的人口流动，主要是饥荒、气候变暖和各种战争冲突的结果。在这种焦虑和恐惧的气氛中，不断涌入的难民不仅被视为对法治和人权的威胁，而且被视为可能危及第一世界国家舒适生活方式的不稳定因素。这导致包括澳大利亚政府在内的许多政府采取措施阻止难民和寻求庇护者到达他们的土地。正如许多犯罪学家所建议的那样，其中一些措施可能被视为国家犯罪，因为它们经常以实现组织目标为借口违反国际法和人权。