Every One Should (walk just one day in another person's shoe)!!

Jo and I just had the opportunity to sit down and watch the SBS Australia Television production of  'Go Back To Where You Came From'. This series looks at the asylum seeker/refugee situation from a humane perspective rather than a political point of view and from my personal position is compulsory viewing for all individuals no matter what their current stance on this issue.

Someone in the show said 'It is not one particular government's problem, it is the world's problem.', and I would have to agree. Having had the opportunity to work in an asylum seeker's centre in Switzerland that treats asylum seekers as people rather than criminals, I have had been given the grace to form friendships that I value and to grow in ways that allow me to express qualities like compassion, understanding, consideration and humility in more meaningful ways. Jo has also taken part in this work with me and we both think it is clearly the real purpose for our being in Switzerland. Holidays are fun but they don't last, they can educate your mind but not add meaning to your life.

With the political divide worldwide on this issue it is rewarding to see that some people at SBS Australia had the fortitude and courage (at home I would have said the 'balls', but that would be derogatory to the women of the world who most bear the brunt of man's error) to make a program in this sensitive way to educate and inform us all. It has certainly left me thinking along the lines of what more can I do so that I don't go to the next part of my existence with money rotting in some bank or insurance companies bottom line that could have been put to better use while I was here.

If you haven't seen the experiences of these six Australians and you are interested, you can buy a copy of the dvd online at http://www.dymocks.com.au.