Neou Vannarin

October 07, 2015 2:22 PM

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA—

Two more refugees detained on the South Pacific island of Nauru are expected to arrive in Cambodia soon as part of a controversial resettlement deal with Australia.

The refugees, both ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar, will travel to Phnom Penh after meeting with Cambodian officials who traveled to Nauru.

Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, told VOA Khmer on Wednesday that the newest refugees were not the ones Phnom Penh had been expecting.

“Australia told us there are four volunteers — three Iranians, one Rohingya. When our officials got there, the four asylum seekers didn’t want to come, but two other Rohingyas volunteered to come instead," he said.

The date of their arrival was not given.

So far, only three Iranians are in Cambodia under the deal, following the return of one Rohingya man to Myanmar.

The first set of refugees has been living in a compound in Phnom Penh but will be released soon, Khieu Sopheak said.

source: http://www.voanews.com/content/two-more-refugees-headed-cambodia-nauru/2995592.html

This whole business is utterly ridiculous. The hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in order to keep a few refugees out is beyond belief. Australia could easily take in 1 million refugees give them a a bit of land in the north-west and they would be a big credit to the country. My farming friends there say they could employ thousands of them because of the high costs of farm labour which has has put them all out of business.
Unfortunately the whole matter is political expediency. There are unfortunately Australians who are very racist and who do not want nonwhite immigrants and Prime Minister's past and presence have taken a tough stand against these refugees in order to gain a few more votes. Australians seem to forget that they too were refugees seeking a better life. They should look at Germany who is happy to take in 1 million refugees. I don't want to hear replies about the fragile environment that cannot take any more people. With a bit of effort and planning, Australia can easily support a hundred million people.