Malinga, Murali to discourage "boat people"

Ridma Dissanayake

Sri Lanka's cricketing legends Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, joined forces with the Australian government in a campaign to discourage people from taking dangerous boat journeys to Australia.

They have launched the "Don't Be Sorry" programme to make this effort a success. The campaign "Don't Be Sorry" is targeted at ethnic communities in Australia to advice of the dangers of such journeys, Australian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Brendan O'Connor said.

The message to be conveyed is that these people will not be able to obtain work in Australia and that almost 1,000 people have been promptly returned to Sri Lanka since August 13, last year, when the Australian Government adopted a range of new measures to combat people smuggling, he added.

The cricketers are part of a wider campaign which targets the Iranian, Iraqi, Afghan and Sri Lankan Diasporas. The campaign content is translated into six languages using ethnic press, radio, TV and online platforms to reach the target audiences throughout Australia.

Malinga and Muralitharan recently completed their Big Bash League cricketing commitments in Australia, and agreed to help the campaign because of their concerns for their countrymen, women and children who are dying at sea.

"If people want to consider travelling to Australia, our message is do it the right way; don't be sorry you didn't tell you friends and family to do it the right way," Malinga said in his message.

Muralitharan said that "In recent years, hundreds of people have lost their lives making the journey to Australia by sea. If you want to travel, do it the right way, the safe way. Don't be sorry."

The campaign asks Diaspora communities to tell their family and friends about the risks involved travelling to Australia by boat and that Sri Lankans without valid claims would be quickly sent home.

"We want them to tell their family and friends that the law has changed, which includes the "no advantage principle" whereby new arrivals are liable to be transferred to Nauru or Papua New Guinea, and be processed there no sooner than had they remained abroad and registered through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)," O'Connor said.

The Australian Government is also interacting at key ethnic community events around Australia, on social media and working directly with community leaders as part of its campaign