Former tennis champion turned broadcaster Jelena Dokic has urged Australians to consider the arrival of refugees to Australian shores with an “open mind”.
Dokic’s plea follows the arrival of 39 asylum seekers who were discovered near the small Indigenous community of Beagle Bay in Western Australia before being flown to offshore detention at the weekend.
The arrival of these men, supposedly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, has sparked renewed debate over whether Australia has lost control of its borders.
The former tennis star, a refugee who escaped war-torn Yugoslavia as a child in the 1990s, said she might not be alive today if it weren’t for Australia giving her the opportunity to settle with her family.
Former tennis champion and refugee Jelena Dokic (pictured) has called on Australians to keep an “open mind” following the arrival of 39 asylum seekers on Australian shores on Friday.
‘For me, I am a refugee. I was a refugee twice. “I came to this country when I was 11 years old and this country gave me and my family an opportunity,” Dokic explained on ABC’s Q+A Monday night.
“An opportunity where I wouldn’t be here today or be able to accomplish anything in life, and who knows, maybe I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t have that opportunity.”
Dokic said conversations about asylum seekers arriving on Australian shores should aim to find a solution rather than adopting negative rhetoric.
“It’s about protecting the borders, but not making it a negative thing and immediately having this negative conversation about people actually trying to come in and seek a better life,” he said.
‘The question is how do we solve this problem and give people the opportunity to come to Australia?
“We need an open mind because I would like more people to have the opportunity that I also had.”
The former tennis star said Australia can maintain a humane perspective while finding a solution.
‘I come from a slightly more human perspective as well. I think we can have both. I don’t think it has to be one or the other.
She appeared on the ABC quiz show saying conversations about the arrival of asylum seekers should aim to find a solution rather than adopting negative rhetoric.
Journalist and author Geraldine Brooks, who joined Dokic on the panel, welcomed the release of images of the latest asylum seekers.
“At least this time we were able to see them instead of removing them from public view, where we can dehumanize and demonize them,” Brooks said.
‘We saw who they were, simply people seeking a better life. They have been exploited by both traffickers and human traffickers.
‘Where is humanity?’
The comments follow an audience question on the show, questioning why the media has not corrected Peter Dutton’s ‘dog whistle line’ that Anthony Albanese is weak on borders.
Jelena Dokic (pictured with her parents) came to Australia as a child after escaping war-torn Yugoslavia.