Australia Special: Today's Migrants and Memories of WWI
Reflections from Jon Donnison on refuge, refugees and public opinion on asylum Down Under; Judith Crosbie asks whether Australia is a country obsessed with World War One.
Owen Bennett Jones introduces a programme on aspects of Australian life, present, future and past.
In recent weeks, Jon Donnison's been from Sydney to Gaza and back again - and the extreme differences he experienced in each seaside city move him to reflect on Australia's history of migration, and how it's being played out today. Where once the country positively searched for likely immigrants - as long as they were white - public opinion now strongly backs measures to "stop the boats" and keep out any asylum-seekers trying to arrive by sea. And Judith Crosbie delves into Australia's experience of World War One - and why it's devoting so much emotion and funding to commemorating that conflict, following this year's centenary marking its onset.
Producer: Polly Hope
Photo: Detainees gather in Tasikmalaya in western Java, Indonesia, after their group of 34 asylum seekers from Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, heading for Christmas Island, was turned back by the Australian Navy. (BUSTOMI/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Wed 3 Sep 2014 19:50GMT主播大秀 World Service Online