[ Detained ]

Do you know what it is like to be detained? To be locked up, imprisoned?

Imprisoning someone is done to remove the right of freedom for one who has done a serious crime, or is too dangerous to let loose once proven to have committed one.

The right of freedom is an important one. It allows people to do what they want, which is an essential makeup of who we are. Assuming religious belief, people were created with the ability to choose what they want to do. Whether this resulted in positive or negative actions, our god allowed us the chance to do what we want.

Understandably for a majority in countries with laws, if you break a law, you should be imprisoned as punishment. What happens if you are innocent though, and still locked up?

I read somewhere that "It is better to let ten criminals go than to convict one innocent". The injustice of imprisoning someone when they have done nothing wrong is a crime in itself. That is what the authorities of the Australian Government is doing. They are locking up people indefinitely, for periods of time of, in some cases; nine or ten years.

The convicted crime? Claiming refugee status in Australia without the proper papers. Perhaps the most noticeable media coverage of this was the "Boat people". These refugees were eventually locked up, and probably still are today.

Even today, the injustice still stands. Mr. Howard has made only small amends to this; allowing temporary VISAs to refugees with children. Sure, this looks good on the face of it. But what about all those other refugees discriminated for not having children?

People should not be punished for fleeing their country fearing death, only to be locked up. In fact, these indefinite imprisonment is often equivalent to imprisonment terms of murderers....