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Around about the time the preceding article was written, the hunger strike on
Nauru ended. Clearly the people encouraging this self-harm realized that their
credibility was about to go stinky and grabbed the first face-saving
opportunity. The story is that they stopped the hunger strike when they realized an
independent team of doctors was going to visit Nauru. The logic is perverse
at best: 'there is no need to go on a hunger strike now that there will be
doctors here to help me with any medical problems that will arise as a result
of me being on a hunger strike'. Doh??!!? But now five failed Afghan asylum seekers who also never made it to
Australia have gone on hunger strike in Indonesia after being turned down by
the UNHCR. Presumably these Afghans feel insecure now the Taliban have been
overthrown, and also want to draw attention to their plight. Yup, even the
UNHCR choked at that one. Something one has to say for asylum seekers is they have a deep-rooted self
interest - enough to travel to a foreign country, break laws, and take risks to
improve their lives. People with that much self-interest rarely kill
themselves. Life will go on: media-whores will pose for the paparazzi;
drama-queens will collapse on set, gamblers will take a punt, and Asylum
seekers will continue to try their luck with the Australian Immigration
Department.
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