Sr Aileen Crowe FMM has launched a book arguing that Australia’s refugee policies continually place the nation outside international law, while Sr Susan Connelly RSJ’s new book attempts to understand why and how Australia contributed to the suffering of one of its closest neighbours, Timor-Leste.
Sr Aileen Crowe FMM with the cover of her new book. PHOTO: Franciscan Missionaries of Mary via CathNews.
Sr Aileen has helped refugees and their families for almost 25 years and before that worked as a missionary in Papua New Guinea for 18 years.
Her Acts of Cruelty book, which was launched in Sydney last week by former High Court judge Michael Kirby, focuses on refugees who arrive here by air.
Sr Aileen said human rights law needs to be firmly embedded in the Australian legal system before societal change is possible.
“If parliamentarians continue to introduce laws with cruel and unfair consequences, judges will continue to be constrained, tribunal reviewers will continue to be morally corrupt, and departmental assessors will continue to improve their performance ratings through fake assessment practices.”
Mr Kirby, who wrote the book's foreword, described Acts of Cruelty as “uplifting”, and a “story of human endeavour to help people tackle the challenge of arriving with valid entry visas who then claim protection under international convention”.
He said Sr Aileen has never forgotten the central message of the religion that has nurtured her when confronted with the claims of the vulnerable stranger who needs protection and a new life where that claim can be justified.
“I suspect, we will look back at the present time with disappointment at the way our generations have dealt with refugees and those who claim the protection promised for that status.”
Sr Susan Connelly RSJ at the launch of her new book. PHOTO: Catholic Outlook.
Meanwhile, in launching Sr Susan Connelly’s book, East Timor, René Girard and Neocolonial Violence: Scapegoating as Australian Policy, Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv described Sr Susan as a “gentle but relentless Australian advocate”, expressing his gratitude for her work which brings to light the often unrecognised impact of Australia’s action on Timor-Leste during World War II and its invasion by Indonesia, reports Catholic Outlook.
“I am grateful to Susan for presenting us with an interpretation of Australia’s role in the suffering of the Timorese people. She has used the remarkable theories of René Girard in a way that helps people to understand the deceit and violence that has caused so many deaths and so much suffering in that small, neighbouring nation,” Bishop Long said.
Sr Susan has been an advocate for the Timorese people for decades, first visiting the territory in 1996 when it was under Indonesian rule. She said during her frequent visits to the small nation, she became engrossed in their history and Australia’s history and relationship to the island.
“These experiences brought home to me the extreme oppression the Timorese people were suffering,” Sr Susan said.
“I heard stories of deep trauma and death. I felt the repressive silence, suspicion and distrust that pervaded the place.”
During her visits to Timor-Leste, Sr Susan discovered the work of French historian, anthropologist and philosopher, René Girard.
“I was enthralled by his insights into human imitation and rivalry, so often culminating in violence. His exposition of the scapegoating process suggested to me that his work would be an excellent tool with which to interpret my growing knowledge of the plight of the Timorese,” she said.
This article is drawn from a media release from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and an article by Mary Brazell in Catholic Outlook, the publication of the Diocese of Parramatta. Via CathNews.