Monday, 20 June 2016

A Proposed Model for Resettling Refugees in Australia & a Template for Off-grid Encampments

 

A Proposed Model for Resettling Refugees in Australia
& a Template for Off-grid Encampments
 
Over the past 20 years I have been working towards a submission I am now making to the Australian government, detailing a practical strategy to help address the humanitarian crisis of millions of displaced people on the move in the world today(1), and to resettle those who have been identified as refugees, whether fleeing from war zones, persecution, intractable poverty or ever-increasing climate-change related environmental catastrophe.
 
As with Labor, I also agree that it is essential that the boat ‘turn-back’ regime must be kept in place for the time being, not to “keep our borders safe” but purely to stop unsafe sea voyages.  I strongly condemn offshore detention however, along with the vast majority of Australians(2) - it is clearly an obscenity to spend  $billions of taxpayers’ money further punishing already anxiety-ridden and often traumatised men women and children, and believe it to be completely unnecessary to maintain a deterrent to people smugglers.  Along with a far greater contribution to the UNHCR and the Red Cross to set up emergency camps where needed, a broader policy could establish well-resourced regional processing centres for asylum seekers in strategic places in South East Asia to expeditiously determine those in greatest needs of protection, in collaboration with the sovereign country’s governments. All those found to meet the very strict requirements for refugee status, could then be offered a range of re-settlement options of varying time-frames, according to their wishes - a temporary one where people simply wish for protection, ie if they wish to return home when conditions allow, or if they are simply unsure at that stage, or a permanent re-settlement option via this transitional model where people wish to become a citizens of Australia - the encampment template is similar, except for the terms of the contract. Where refugees already have family in Australia who undertake responsibility to support them, people can move directly into the community. Where there is no such social support already in place, people could be offered a choice of a regional or rural refugee village situated near a Volunteer Town who agrees to host the new settlement, ideally situated in regions where farm work is available – there would of course be generous government incentives for them to do so.
 
I have developed a comprehensive plan for a (mostly) self-reliant village-scale settlement whilst living off-grid in the Great Australian Bush for the past 20 years and researching/practising all things permaculture that integrates with and enhances the biodiversity of the surrounding native habitat via horticulture of native endemic foods and medicines. Innumerable successful long-established p/c community gardens (such as CERES in Melbourne ) and villages (such as Crystal Waters Ecovillage) around the world prove the concept fundamentally sound and truly durable in the long-term, socially economically and environmentally.
 
Government could establish these regional and rural Refugee Villages (I prefer the term: Transitional Off-grid Encampments for Displaced People) very economically using their capacity to employ economies of scale – local industries and businesses would benefit greatly from supplying the services and resources required.  A federal public servant could be stationed in council offices to oversee the scheme.
  
All that is required for the footprint of these villages is around 40-100 acres of cleared land with road access and a permanent water source. There are thousands of acres of degraded country around many rural and regional towns, country that no-one wants to take responsibility for to rehabilitate back to productive use, either for growing food or for wildlife habitat in areas where ecosystems are endangered – this is one way to effectively utilise that land.
 
The village is set up in encampment modules, each accommodating around 24 adults and children, arranged in a variety of designs according to conditions and needs. (diagrams on my blog: Worldatpolarity) Each module is composed of one very large shed, open on two sides (around $20,000);  two 12-berth bespoke caravans, one for two matriarchs and children, the other for adult workers; a wooden deck to accommodate a kitchen with gas fridge & dining area, ablutions block & compost toilet (Clivus Multrum design, maybe 3D printed); Extra bunk beds;  two large water tanks, one for potable rainwater mainly collected from the roof of the shed but filled by tanker if necessary, the other for all other uses including washing and watering the gardens, to be filled from the permanent water source. The encampment is powered by tri-generation; solar panels and wind turbines on the roof, with a generator back-up. A garage  is attached for the generator & batteries and  two multi-seated vehicles, one for the matriarchs and children, and one for the workers.
 
Each ‘autonomous’ encampment of a family and extended ‘family’ group would be run by two matriarchs, with or without partners, who’s main job is to look after the children and their correspondence schooling – there would be a gradual social involvement with the local schools; English language courses would be provided for adults, tailored to each person’s level of need.  Adults would all be available as a work team or individually for any local seasonal farm work and any ‘Green Army’ type environmental projects in the district – at times of no work, adults would be expected to study. Food and household provisions would be delivered once a week according to the requirement of each individual, with menus drawn up by professional nutritionists in collaboration with the Matriarch’s input.  At a later stage, garden beds under shade-cloth can be added around the sides of the shed and seed & plant stock provided for people to be able to make a substantial supplement to their diets with a fresh and nutritious daily ‘green pick’.
 
Refugees who accept this option would be required to sign a one-year contract with the government, committing to an 8-hour day, 5-day week of work and study. Restrictions on movement will apply for the first year as would penalties for breaking the contract. I have drawn up a plan for this encampment model, right down to the finest detail and can provide full costings for the government to set up a template – it would not cost a lot to finance a prototype, which I am ‘shovel ready’ to set up right now on the 40 acres of land I live on. I imagine the Coalition would take a lot of persuading but I believe Labor may be more amenable. I think the Australian people would get behind such a scheme though, as the good people of many towns have already demonstrated a generosity and willingness to resettle refugees in their community.   
 
After the initial year contract has concluded, a broadening of the scheme could extend the contract to a more permanent residential model, one option being where professional permaculturalists (I propose our two p/c gurus, Josh Byrne and Geoff Lawton) and renowned earth builders draw up a plan for family groups to build their own earth-insulated homes on a small acreage, perhaps utilising tyres from dangerous dumps, locking in that carbon instead of risking huge polluting fires.  I myself have had plans drawn up to ABA standard for a 5-bedroom coursed-adobe dwelling (3) that can be owner-built for around $50,000.  They would become mostly self-sufficient in their own food requirements within ten years, at which time they will be integrated well and contributing into the local community.
 
Other applications for this off-grid encampment template include an adaptation for urban  Homeless Sanctuaries and Precincts, for a caretaker’s residence in Community Gardens, (4) and would be especially helpful for discrete Aboriginal communities on Homelands in remote locations. In fact, adapted to local conditions, this template could be offered to all First Nations (maybe included in a Treaty), to set up Bush Camps for the Ranger Program (5) wherever they are deemed necessary to manage the land - correspondence schooling could provide pathways to university via a co-educational curriculum (which I am currently developing) and promote scientific collaborations, of which there have already been many. (6)  Endangered plants and wildlife will only benefit especially with the advanced permaculture settlement model as the lifestyle integrates garden foods with bush tucker and the restoration of local biodiverse habitats.
 
Permaculture settlements have been tried and tested for decades, evolving with the latest technologies and informed by multi-cultural expertise and Indigenous wisdom, and have been proven to work exceptionally well; this is evidenced by the expanding number of successful ones in Australia and around the world. For refugees, it would cost far less than the current regime which condemns innocent people to the hell of indefinite detention. The whole plan has the potential to revitalise ailing communities, economically and socially, with the huge added bonus that people’s faith in governments and in humanity would be revived and restored in many cases.
 
Our government is displaying a near criminal lack of imagination concerning the current unprecedented number of displaced peoples on the move in the world, with particular regards to resettlement options in this country, no better demonstrated than by the disgusting comments made by the Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton.  If the government continues with its current asylum-seeker regime that denies people even the most basic human dignity, when alternatives such as this are eminently viable, I can foresee a time when the UN Criminal Courts will have no option but to prosecute them for cruelty and inhumanity towards some of the most traumatised and disadvantaged people on Earth. I personally believe it exposes a depraved mind that would choose such cruel fates for already suffering people seeking asylum, when compassionate options are clearly available.
 
This program could effectively and productively resettle tens of thousands of refugees in the future – a big country town could easily absorb a great number of extra people, with only positive benefits; it would reinvigorating society with able workers, grateful for the opportunity to have a safe, secure and happy future for themselves and their children, living in peace under the stars of the southern cross.
 
 
Maureen Brannan 905 Wilsons Road CLOYNA via MURGON Q 4605 ph: 0427710523
 
 
worldatpolarity.blogspot.com.au
 
 (4) http://worldatpolarity.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/ccooee-community-farm-initiative-for.html
UNHCR Australian Rep:  aulca@unhcr.org
Paul Stevenson:  access.psychology@gmail.com


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