Metaphoric borders and curtailed agency : the case of Sri Lankan boat asylum seekers in Australia

Abstract

The end of the war between the armed forces of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Elam in 2009 led more and more Sri Lankan asylum seekers, mainly Tamils, to flee Sri Lanka by boat, and to seek protection in Australia. I examine the experiences of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who came by boat living in the Western Suburbs of Sydney on temporary Bridging Visa E. The asylum seekers included in this study are those who came by boat on or after 13 August 2012 and who are thus affected by "fast track" processing system. In developing this analysis, I examine the effects of asylum policies on the lives of asylum seekers within the exclusionary politics of asylum in Australia. This research emphasizes the need to situate asylum seeker stories in broader questions of race, language, belonging, ethnicity, border, identity, temporariness, and alienation, all of which shape the experience of refugee migration in Australia. Multiple research methods - semi-structured interviews, life histories, autobiographical method and participant observation were used to collect data from three main participant groups: asylum seekers, community, and legal service providers. Instead of reading asylum seeker issues from a conventional perspective, which is often confined to bureaucratic and legal insights, I adopt a narrative-based approach to investigate the problems associated with Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Australia.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English