IN 2003, the Howard government made the decision that Australia would join with the United States, United Kingdom and Poland in invading Iraq.
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This “coalition of the willing” said the threat posed by dictator Suddam Hussein – both to his own people and the rest of the world – was too great to let him remain in power.
Hussein was deposed, captured and hanged, but whatever semblance of democracy exists in that country is tenuous and the violence rages on.
In 2015, the Abbott government committed to expanding air strikes from Iraq into Syria against the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group.
Islamic State, which has shocked the world with its unspeakably brutal executions, is made up largely of Sunni Muslim extremists.
It is estimated to have seized control over land in Iraq and Syria housing some 10 million people, with a stated aim of establishing a caliphate under strict Sharia law.
As a result, millions of men, women and children are attempting to flee these countries in a bid to escape the horror.
This near-unprecedented humanitarian crisis is not a Middle East problem or a Europe problem, but a global problem.
Australia, as an active participant in both the Iraq and Syria conflicts, has more responsibility than most to deal with the fallout.
Recent images of asylum seekers washing ashore on a Turkish beach, most notably Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, shocked the world.
Australians, like people in many other countries, demanded action and the Abbott government responded by promising to take 12,000 extra humanitarian refugees.
About 4000 of those will be placed in Victoria and some will no doubt settle in central Victoria.
That the Diocese of Sandhurst is willing to open its heart to these poor people shows tremendous leadership and compassion.
The Catholic Education Office’s commitment to finding places within its primary and secondary schools set an example for the rest of us.
If the central Victorian community embraces these new arrivals, then they too will embrace us.
- Ross Tyson, deputy editor