http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/alex-pagliaro/ Alex Pagliaro is a Refugee Action Coordinator for Amnesty International’s Refugee Campaign, helping to ensure that the rights of refugees and asylum seekers are protected in Australia. Alex has also been a Refugee Case Worker with Amnesty International and worked in Tanaznia for a year. en Copyright 2013 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-are-386-men-being-held-hostage-on-nauru/ “Why are we here? Why don’t they just tell us why we’re here? The not knowing will kill us, the not knowing is destroying our minds.” Nearly every man I met on Nauru asked me the same questions. This man gripped a piece of rope as he spoke. He told me that it was this rope that he had cut the night before as he pulled down his friend who had attempted to hang himself. He sat quietly as I thought about what I could tell him. What is the answer to his question – why are these 386 men on this small Pacific island when they arrived in Australia asking for protection? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Alex Pagliaro) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-are-386-men-being-held-hostage-on-nauru/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-are-386-men-being-held-hostage-on-nauru/#item10078 Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:00:08 +0000 Alex Pagliaro | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-the-expert-panel-should-say-about-our-asylum-crisis/ Stopping the boats sounds like a quick and easy solution to the problem of asylum seekers. If the boats don’t come, people won’t die at sea and the problem will pushed further away from Australia’s mind eye. If only it were that easy. ‘Stopping the boats’ actually means helping to fix some of the most complicated and devastating situations that exist in the world today.  As long as Hazara in Afghanistan (or Rohingya in Burma, or Kurds in Iran, or Tamils in Sri Lanka) face persecution, violence and death, they will flee. And as long as they face abuse and destitution in places like Malaysia, they will flee. And some will flee to a place that offers them protection and dignity, like Australia. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Alex Pagliaro) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-the-expert-panel-should-say-about-our-asylum-crisis/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-the-expert-panel-should-say-about-our-asylum-crisis/#item9206 Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:50:06 +0000 Alex Pagliaro | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/three-sensible-ways-to-fix-a-silly-immigration-system/ Last Friday the Parliamentary Inquiry into Australia’s Detention Network finally released its report. The three most important recommendations – a time limit on detention, transparency around ASIO decisions, and an independent guardian for unaccompanied children – are also the most controversial. Elmo doesn’t think the three recommendations are that controversial Unfortunately, this controversy is entirely fabricated and not at all based in reality. Enshrining these recommendations in Australian law would a) bring us closer to treating refugees the way a humane country should, b) save Australia tens of millions of dollars in detention costs and c) stop us destroying the mental health of thousands of people, 90 per cent of whom will end up as Australian citizens. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Alex Pagliaro) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/three-sensible-ways-to-fix-a-silly-immigration-system/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/three-sensible-ways-to-fix-a-silly-immigration-system/#item8163 Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:30:56 +0000 Alex Pagliaro | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-harrowing-look-inside-australias-detention-centres/ I’ve just returned from two weeks visiting some of Australia’s most remote detention facilities. In eight different centres across Christmas Island, Curtin, Perth and Darwin I met with hundreds of asylum seekers caught up in Australia’s policy of indefinite detention. If people in Australia were able to replicate my harrowing trip and come to any conclusion other than detention is a cruel, expensive and unnecessary farce of a policy, I would be shocked. Unfortunately, one of the problems with these centres being so remote is that most Australians will never get this opportunity. So let me tell you what I saw. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Alex Pagliaro) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-harrowing-look-inside-australias-detention-centres/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-harrowing-look-inside-australias-detention-centres/#item7844 Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:30:46 +0000 Alex Pagliaro | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/christmas-island-proof-the-whole-system-is-broken/ Australia’s immigration detention system is at breaking point. Events on Christmas Island over recent weeks are a clear expression of the frustration and despair felt by asylum seekers, some of whom have spent over two years behind bars in remote, overcrowded centres, waiting for their claims to be processed. The escalation of turmoil follows months of increasing unrest in detention centres around the country. Incidents of self-harm, including hunger strikes and attempted suicide, have been steadily rising. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Alex Pagliaro) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/christmas-island-proof-the-whole-system-is-broken/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/christmas-island-proof-the-whole-system-is-broken/#item5421 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:50:50 +0000 Alex Pagliaro | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-talked-the-talk-on-refugees-but-walks-with-a-limp/ Yesterday, after rampant speculation, Prime Minister Gillard announced the Australian Government’s new approach to asylum seekers. This speech could have been used for yet another disappointing political point scoring exercise, but Amnesty International was hoping that the Prime Minister would use this opportunity to reframe the debate and remind Australians that seeking asylum is not a crime but a basic human right. At 11:03 Julia Gillard started well by announcing an end to inflammatory politics about asylum seekers. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Alex Pagliaro) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-talked-the-talk-on-refugees-but-walks-with-a-limp/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-talked-the-talk-on-refugees-but-walks-with-a-limp/#item3499 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:00:22 +0000 Alex Pagliaro | Author bios | The Punch