Australia criminalizing coming home; a “barbaric” move

Australian Parliament House (1)

Surendra Ullal

CHICAGO: A wave of indignation prevails among all Indians across the world at Australia’s announcement of ban on Australian citizens returning home from India; failure to comply with which one may incur a civil penalty of $66,600, five years’ imprisonment, or both. 

Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt, Prime Minister and Health Minister respectively of Australia  need to show better understanding of the situation  and immediately withdraw this questionable and irresponsible decree which appeared to be temporarily making some of its citizens “stateless” and abandoning them with no fault of theirs, according to Rajan Zed a community activist spearheading the indignation. 

If Australia was so worried about “worsening COVID-19 situation in India” and considered it a danger-zone, it should be sending special flights to evacuate its hard-working tax-paying citizens from India helping them to get home, who had made lot of contributions to the nation and society. Such a never-before-heard discriminatory plan that seems to have racial undertones belittling an entire community; said Rajan President of Universal Society of Hinduism. 

As an interfaith gesture; Rajan urged Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Mark B Coleridge, Anglican Church of Australia Primate Geoffrey Smith, Uniting Church in Australia President Deidre Palmer, and leaders of other religions in Australia to strongly condemn such ill-conceived ruling which separated the families.