In the circle of Chinese friends of new immigrants in Australia, the most important thing they often talk about is "take your identity?" The so-called "identity" originated in the United States. At that time, we all referred to the right of permanent residence as a green card. In fact, it was "permanent resident status". Taking or not taking a green card is the key to determining whether you can stay in Australia or not.
In Australian Chinese forum, "black people" is a topic that is often talked about. Black people are commonly known as illegal immigrants who either smuggle in here or stay illegally because of expired Australian visas.
Black is home to tens of thousands of Chinese in Australia, living in fear as they evade immigration checks.
Australia is an immigrant country, with about 1/4 of the country's 22 million people born overseas, but the growing number of illegal immigrants in recent years is a headache. Data on illegal immigration is difficult to count, but estimates: the number of black immigrants from China alone, at least tens of thousands.
According to Australia, illegal immigrants fall into several categories: non-visa stay, overstay and post-cancellation residence. Once found, they are sent to detention facilities where illegal immigrants are held, awaiting repatriation.
The current situation of "Black people" in Australia
There is little data on the size, scope and suffering of Australia's illegal workers, which makes it difficult to quantify the number of Australian illegal workers. According to an independent review by Australian legal expert Horwell (Stephen Howells), there could be between 50000 and 100000 illegal workers in Australia.
According to estimates by the Australian Senate in May 2017, visas for 64600 non-Australian residents have expired, or 20000 of them are in illegal employment. However, these figures do not take into account the large number of people who travel to Australia through (Visitor Visas), an Australian visitor visa. A significant number of these people are also in illegal employment. That number has doubled from about 30,000 black people two years ago.
Of the more than 64,000 people, nearly 2 / 3 have been in Australia for more than two years. Immigration said they now know that at least one person has been "black" in Australia for 40 years, and it is not clear whether the person is alive or dead. Of these triads, one in three has official jobs.
The country of the main source of the black people
- Malaysia: approximately 9440;
- China: more than 6500 people;
- United States: approximately 5710;
- Britain: about 3680 people.
- Second, Indonesia, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, with an illegal population of about 2, 200 to 2, 800. In addition, Germany, France, Japan and Fiji also have a number of illegal residents in Australia.
Earlier, the Australian Immigration Society had called on the government to consider giving these people a legal status. Instead of letting these people continue to live without sunshine, legalize their identities and learn more about them. In the late 1970s, Australia granted amnesty to nearly 8000 overstayers.
Since 2015, the Australian Immigration Service and Customs have been merged into the ABF (Australian Border Force), to defend the Australian border. Also this year, Australia's government set up a multi-agency professional working group, Cadena, to target and dismantle visa fraud, illegal work or labour exploitation in Australia.
In 2015, immigration officials planned to take to Melbourne's streets and randomly "chat" with passers-by. A spokesman for the Immigration Department said everyone needed to pay attention to their Australian visas and that anyone who broke the visa regulations would be arrested immediately and sent to the visa center. However, it was later complained unanimously by the public, and even parade protested. Finally, the plan was cancelled.
However, ABF did not stop them. In December 2016, with the efforts of various departments such as the ABF, Australian police, they arrested more than 20 black people on a farm in Melbourne.
In February 2017, at 3 a.m., Australian border forces seized another 27 illegal workers at strawberry farms in NSW and QLD. Of the 27 arrested, 13 have expired Australian visas and 12 have violated visa rules, according to reports.
In March 2017, ABF seized 50 black people in southwest Western Australia, most of them from Malaysia.
Australia's immigration minister said employers had a duty to ensure that their workers, both at sea and at home and abroad, were properly employed and paid accordingly. "the Australian Border Service is working closely with law enforcement agencies, and the Commissioner for Fair work will correct and impose sanctions on illegal acts," he said, adding: "the Australian Border Agency is working closely with law enforcement agencies. Similarly, overseas citizens entering Australia must comply with their Australian visa terms. "
While most employers strictly abide by Australian law's rules of employment, those who allow illegal workers to work in their own businesses face serious consequences.
If there is sufficient evidence that employers knowingly allow employees to work illegally or violate Australian visa rules, they face skyrocketing fines, or even criminal proceedings.
"Black people" is not a secret. We have it all around us.
In recent years, there have been few Chinese smugglers to Australia. Many have entered Australia on valid Australian visas such as student visas, tourist visas, and so on. Only after they have expired have they become "black people". It is not very difficult for highly educated and English-speaking people to get legal residency status in Australia, where many "black" people belong to poorly educated people.
The most frequently reported media reports are that Malaysians and Chinese are black in Australia and work in black jobs, while those in other countries are not many, such as poverty, or sometimes poor and war-torn Africa, sometimes rich and war-torn Middle East, Indonesia. Black people in Vietnam and other countries live legally as refugees by sea. As for their own story behind them, is it really because of the war? Or did it give smugglers tens of thousands of dollars to get on board, experience ocean drifting, and go to Australia? They are the only ones who know best.
By contrast, refugees, who left their homes completely and abandoned their homeland, were much more fortunate than those who had darkened. Because those who black not only gave up their motherland, but also was not accepted by their own "second hometown", most of them ended with tragedy, the perfect ending is very few, very few.
Black people in the ratio of men and women, women are far more than men.
Black men can only do three kinds of jobs, and are limited to them:
One: go to a remote farm.
Of course, it's for Chinese, or Asians, because Australian labor is too expensive, so shrewd Asians like to hire some black jobs. However, once they are investigated, the fines they bear are often sky-high. Therefore, ordinary "not shrewd" farmers are definitely not going to hire black workers;
Second: working in the city, the owner must be Asian.
Although Europeans, including those in Britain, Germany and Italy, have plenty of business people, they don't hire black jobs; with a black job, they save $5 an hour. But on one occasion, a fine of $50000, which they would count, is deep-rooted in the West.
In the process of working for Asians, the number of black workers in restaurants (often small restaurants) accounted for more than 90%. For example, of the 10 black jobs, nine are in restaurants, and the remaining one is likely to be done in Asian supermarkets;
Third: take 24-hour casinos as black workers in the base area.
Often, in the evening in the Chinese restaurant end of work, pay, in the casino on the familiar figure.
Lao Zhang, who has been in Australia for almost 30 years (estimated to be around 1990), is a black man, who does not have an Australian identity / green card. He used to be a white collar in a domestic company with a daughter in his family. I stayed in Australia on a business trip.
Old Zhang black in Australia, can not do anything else, because there is no Australian identity. He didn't want to go to the farm because he grew up in the countryside and planted enough land. So he did everything he could to find a relationship and enter a Chinese restaurant. Many people say: washing dishes in Australia, dry building, cleaning the road, cleaning the toilet, is the lowest level of work, the bottom of the people. And the black people are actually the bottom of the people, even to the bank to open an account can not open.
In the Chinese restaurant, starting with the dishes, he worked all the way to the chef. The student who washes dishes costs $8 / hour, while Lao Zhang only has $5 / hour. You can't complain, because the boss is willing to take you in at great risk, and you're too late to thank them, let alone complain. The result of the complaint is that you lose your job and your boss is fined. Not win-win, but both sides.
Lao Zhang once cut 200 kilograms of beef a day. You know, in a restaurant, cutting 200 kilograms of beef softens people's hands. This kind of naked exploitation is common to the black people, including those sex workers, and those who work on farms, are exploited by the boss layer by layer.
However, he is in such a gap to survive, in the beautiful and strange second hometown struggle. Relatives once told me that Lao Zhang has been sending money home for more than 20 years to support his family, including his daughter.
It is reported that the black people in Australia, usually part of the family and friends, part-time jobs; others are organized by specialized people, in the catering and construction industries.
"this kind of organization, although small in size, has a set of operational rules and is wary of outsiders." Around illegal immigrants, there are even "underground banks," responsible for sending money from "black work" to China.
Generally speaking, working in Australia requires an application for a tax number to get a tax rebate. But "black people" cannot do the work that needs to pay taxes. Most of them are in areas where Chinese people are concentrated, looking for jobs that don't need to speak English and that employers can pay in cash. Black workers often suffer from the boss's exploitation, pay less than regular workers, and do not enjoy any insurance.
According to reports, "black work" black people "usually live together, rent a very small house. Sometimes, to avoid immigration checks, you have to move home several times a month.
An article on a Chinese-language forum in Australia called "A Black Australian confession," said: "in order to save rent, there are usually a lot of black people subletting a flat together." Every day before we went out, we hung an old shirt in the window, whether it was sunny or rainy. If anyone gets caught, put it away, and those who come back late will know something is wrong. "
The Heart of the Black people
(The Conversation), an Australian online news review site, conducted an online survey of "illegal workers in Australia", involving a total of 46 illegal workers. Most of them are between 20 and 40. During the interview, an illegal migrant worker said:
"I didn't want to live in Australia. I came to Australia to earn money and feed my family. As a result, most of us will eventually choose to return home. Basically, we all came to Australia to make money to support our family. "
Another female illegal migrant worker said:
"I am a widow. Therefore, I have to pay for the children's tuition and living expenses. That's why I came to Australia, just to have the money to raise my children. "
During the survey, the vast majority of respondents came to Australia through tourist visas (no legal employment rights). Some interviewees reported that some black-minded agents targeted groups that could not afford visas to work abroad or who did not have access to state work. For example, a retired teacher in his fifties said:
"[in our country] those agencies are advertising. To be honest, the first time I saw an ad like that I could go abroad and make a lot of money, I thought it was an opportunity for me to work in Australia. "
It is reported that the interviewee and her husband pieced together, borrowed A $8500 to the agency before arriving in Australia, while her husband is still in the country because he is not retired. But it was not until she arrived in Australia that she realized that she had a tourist visa that was not allowed to work in Australia.
Encounter similar by domestic black intermediary deceive, there is also a young man. He was also tricked into Australia with travel visas by agents in his country to find out he could not legally work. The man's parents have been dead for years, and he has an 18-and 19-year-old sister to support.
These domestic agents make a lot of money under the guise of "working abroad." Despite false and misleading information, it is difficult for regulators to investigate these agencies.
Although it is widely believed that illegal workers in Australia are concentrated in plantations such as vineyards, the results of this online survey show that illegal workers exist in many industries, such as hotels and, massage, cars in Australia.
In addition, the findings show that there is widespread exploitation of illegal workers by some Australian employers and subcontractors. Some interviewees said: if they leave their jobs or have any complaints about their jobs, they will be at risk of being denounced by their employers and repatriated. One of the interviewees said:
"whatever the salary, we can only accept it. Although we feel that the salary is low, but we have no choice. "
Another interviewee said he had been employed by a subcontractor for three months and had not yet been paid. In the end, it didn't come to an end.
These problems are difficult to identify and resolve because many Australian illegal workers are repatriated once discovered and no one is really concerned about their working conditions and situation.
It is difficult to change "black" to "white"
Whether intentionally or inadvertently hacked in Australia, their Australian visas expired, are more passive.
At present, immigration authorities arrest 'black people' mainly by the people to report, in addition to unscheduled raids will be launched. For "black people" in Australia, once held in a detention facility, there are basically two outcomes: they are repatriated, and the other is that they remain in legal proceedings.
In the past, many illegal immigrants used Australia's refugee policy to "launder" refugee status. But Australia later tightened refugee approvals, making the road narrower and narrower.
For black people, marriage to Australian resident status is a "shortcut" to stay. By law, it is difficult to define whether marriage is true or fake, and many illegal immigrants have taken advantage of this gap.
In the past 80-90's, many girls were married to whites decades older than themselves in order to become Australian. In fact, many Chinese girls have received very good higher education in China, but in order to get green cards and marry some very low-level devils, they either do rough work, or drunkards, and some marry aborigines in Australia. There is no culture at all. Many people get divorced as soon as they get their status. This is the case in half of all divorces in Australia, and some children have to be married all their lives.
Now, more people are doing "love trading". For money, find a "fake marriage" for the purpose of emigrating to Australia. Although it is still your love I want, but this is no longer in the name of love, the subject matter of a very clear "business transaction." In other words, both men and women are only agreements marry, there is no emotional basis, once a certain purpose, can be agreed to divorce.
Rather than "fake marriage", the term "commercial marriage" has been accepted by more people because of its implication and the concept of equivalence and free exchange.
（分析研究经验做出结论） sum up
Australia is known to have tightened immigration policies over the past few years, and the days ahead will become increasingly difficult for illegal immigrants.
Australia's immigration policy changes may lead to more "black people" in the next few years.
Illegal immigration is a rather complex social problem. As a social group, the black people actually affect the whole society. The situation of the black people themselves is also worrisome. Their physical and mental health, their psychological distortion, but also more and more attention. Some of the tragedies that have taken place among them are indeed thought-provoking tragedies of the variation of human nature.
They choose to go away, far from home, away from relatives, often paying more than economic costs. If you think of this as a gambling, then they are betting almost on youth and life. They are also for a pursuit, an economic pursuit, or a political pursuit, even to change the living environment and change a living method.
However, they do not conform to the existing rules of the game, or affect and damage the interests of others. As a result, it is not tolerated and accepted.
As a vulnerable group, people have reason to sympathize with them and help them. It is also suggested that we should consider relaxing the residence policy and giving them a chance to stay from a humane point of view. In this way, it can also solve the problem of labour shortage, alleviate the pressure of Australia's aging population. In fact, Australia's illegal immigrants suffer both mental and physical suffering. They do most of the tiredest and dirtiest physical work. They live in fear all the time.
However, Australia's government also has their difficulties. They stressed that doing so would be extremely unfair to those who apply for immigration through formal channels. More importantly, loosening policy could give illegal smugglers and other stowaways the wrong message. That way, a large number of stowaways will pour into Australia. It is well known what this will bring to Australian society. Australia's resources, environment, social welfare, and the job market cannot withstand such shocks. In a word, it directly damages the interests of the people. The consequences are, in any case, unbearable.
It can be seen that society can never be so perfect. Tough policies are contrary to liberal, democratic and humanitarian values, but at present there is no solution. The best way, of course, is to dispel unrealistic fantasies by preparing for illegal immigration to Australia and keep them out of action. But in practice, it is not easy to do so.
In this regard, we can only politely advise them: think twice before acting.
Late night, Mid-Autumn Festival, New year Spring Festival. Neither of them can stay with their families. My hometown has become a place where I have never returned. What kind of life is this?
How beautiful is Australia? Is the moon of foreign countries really more round than that of China?
Zhang Ailing in the half of life in the "we will never go back", describe the lost more than ten years of lovers Gu Manzhen and Shen Shijun, after the reunion said the most moving, the most simple, but also the most bleak words!
The desolation of the world is included in it. A sentence, a few words, enough to lead to the world's thousands of bitter, broken liver, but still can not say the bitterness.
Author: Cynthia Gao Morning
Source: Australian Financial News Australian Finance