Whilst researching for a news assignment, I attended an event organized by the activist group, Solidarity. There, I had the privilege of meeting a Syrian refugee who had resettled in Australia. Miream Salameh fled Syria more than five years ago at the start of the Syrian revolution.

“It’s a revolution, not a war”, she explained, as she shared with the group the impetus behind the Syrian revolt against the oppressive Bashar al-Assad regime.

But there was one thing Miream said that really surprised me. She said the United Nations does nothing for refugees. In response, I told her the UN had started a global petition for refugee rights which has garnered over 1.5 million signatories worldwide. Her response:

“I’m very sceptical of any efforts by the UN”.

Miriam recounted that whilst living in Lebanon as a refugee for a year, she was almost kidnapped once. Because of her refugee status in Lebanon, the police didn’t help her. Instead, it was two Syrian men who rescued her from the kidnappers.

It struck me that refugees are typically given food and medical aid, but not protection. While the UN provided Miream with food vouchers in Lebanon, what she really needed was protection.

As a woman living in Australia, I am protected by laws within Australia. But in order to have this protection, I need a visa. A visa granted me on condition that I would leave Australia after the course of my studies – that I have a country of my own to return to. If I were to awake one day to find that Singapore – a country with a population of 5.6 million people and a tiny land area – has been invaded by Malaysia (always a possibility), I would all of a sudden have an invalid visa and be forced to seek refugee status in Australia (and all the perks that come with it). All my assets held in the Singapore dollar would, overnight, be worthless. I would become poor and my landlord would turn me out. On the streets, I would be vulnerable to lewd characters. And with a rough sleeping ban in place, I would not be allowed to find refuge in well-lit public places like the Flinders street station or Bourke street mall.

Perhaps for the wealthy of this world, citizenry is of little importance. They (and their money) would likely be welcomed most anywhere in the world, and they would have no trouble finding safe lodging therein.

Take Australia for instance. I’ve heard it said repeatedly in the migrant community here: if you have sufficient money to buy a house in Australia, you are almost guaranteed permanent residency status here. Friends who have migrated here from China speak little English, but buying a house at Toorak for four million dollars took care of things.

If, however, you are poor and arrive in a boat rather than an airplane. Regardless of how dire your situation, you will be turned away or placed in a detention centre.

According to the UNHCR, there are 65 million people in the world today who have been forcibly displaced.

Out of this pool, 23 million are refugees. The UN has numerous reports of violence and abuse targeted at refugees.

Can Australia do more to help?

According to an article by the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia has slipped down the ranks to 17^th place in aid contributions. Australia’s aid contributions amount to 0.25% of its Gross National Income, which is below the average of 0.35% given by 29 other OECD countries. The United Kingdom gives 0.7% of its GNI.

At a recent fundraiser for Yemen, Australia’s 10 million-dollar pledge was 23 times less than the 139 million pounds which the United Kingdom had pledged. This modest response comes even as Australia had in December recorded its largest trade surplus since 1871.

Notwithstanding the financial scorecard, the greatest help refugees may need – as Miream expressed – is protection. And the surest way for countries to provide this may be to open their doors and let refugees live as legitimate residents of their country, albeit temporarily.

A research report released by the Refugee Council of Australia criticises the Australian government’s punitive treatment of refugees. It states that Australia has the capacity to take in more refugees.

There are many Australian-based organizations that are doing a lot to further the refugee cause, such as raising funds and conducting events and research. However, these doubtlessly commended efforts fall short of the one thing refugees desperately need – a safe place to live.

Dr Karen Block, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, shared with me during an interview that her department had just received a grant to research on the violence women refugees face. Karen too believes the Australian government can help by taking in more refugees.

Perhaps the Australian government could do more in helping those with neither agency nor protection?