Every time we turn on the TV we encounter horror stories of refugee families on the move because of war and tribal fighting. The spectre of mass starvation haunts parts of South Sudan and Somalia and civil war is raging in Nigeria, Yemen and Libya. The United Nations has requested $ 4.4 billion from international donors - including Australia - but so far only a trickle of about $ 984 million has been forthcoming. The world is suffering " donor fatigue " !
Front and centre on the news is the slaughter taking place daily in Syria and Iraq. These are the refugees that have overwhelmed Turkey, Greece and Italy and caused much of southern Europe to close their borders and refuse to settled even a few families. Hearts have hardened and basically the referendum decision in England to leave the European Union was a rejection of the EU basic principle of free movement of people across open national borders. There is a very real prospect that the EU may disintegrate if populist politicians get elected to office in some countries.
There is one aspect of these refugee hordes that stand out in stark clarity. So many families have an overwhelming number of children - usually one for every year they have been on the move. In their settled life most were barely able to feed the number they produced and many were destined for an early death, but despite this they continued to churn out new babies, year after year. For women in these benighted countries life seems to be nothing other than ever enduring pregnancy.
What seems to astonish people of the western world are the obstacles put in place to prevent world agencies distributing contraceptives and giving advice to enable these numbers to become manageable. Religious leaders in western countries have managed to place such an embargo on foreign aid and in much of what we term the " undeveloped world " a patriarchy is in place which denies women any sort of control over their sexual lives. Sadly, when such refugees do find a home in a western country nothing changes in that procession of churning out babies.
This has produced a " fear factor ". Despite clear evidence that education is bringing vast changes to the new arrivals living amongst us those that arrive with a tribe of kids are shunned. They struggle to learn English and find a job, despite similar fears, earlier waves have undergone this transformation and are now indistinguishable within the broad community spectrum. It is the kids who are the ones that eventually manage to bridge this tribal gulf.
We are certainly selective with our aid donations. When a cyclone hit Vanuatu in 2015 the outpouring from ordinary Australians was thirty times greater than the present relief for Africa and the Middle East. Vanuatu is one of our holiday destinations and we have an affinity for its people. Sadly, many see the people of Africa and the Middle East as a potential enemy who we may need to fight for survival in a generation or so ahead.
It would be helpful if this contraception and family planning stigma could be eliminated from our aid programme. Our national animal - the Kangaroo - has an instinct which allows it to cease reproduction when a seasonal famine makes food scarce. Unfortunately, such a safety procedure does not transfer to the human race and we go ahead exacerbating the numbers even when proven control measures are readily available.
Despite the wonders successive generations have contributed to our world of knowledge and we have managed to walk on the Moon we still seem determined to inflict other old sexual shibboleths on the emerging tribes still afflicted with the customs of the dark ages.
It seems that we jealously guard our sexual freedom, but deny the lifestyle changes it brings to those who still live in repression. Perhaps one of the main reasons they are forced to emigrate !
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