How does a nation prevent migrants and asylum seekers? The Australian government apparently asked itself that question about Sri Lankans and came up with a novel plan.
As it turns out, the South Asian island country has a keen interest in the signs of the Zodiak. Therefore, as reported by The Washington Post and first shared by BuzzFeed News, Aussie officials printed posters with phony horoscopes predicting doom and gloom for anyone trying to travel to the country.
Here they are, from BFN:
ARIES: Criminals will rip you off
If you attempt to illegally travel to Australia by boat, expect people smugglers to take advantage of you. These criminals will take your money and you will be returned to Sri Lanka with nothing.
AQUARIUS: You and your family will lose everything
If you risk everything you and your family have built together to pay for an illegal boat voyage to Australia, you will be stopped and returned to Sri Lanka. You will suffer hardship and have nothing but bad luck.
SAGITTARIUS: You will be in debt forever
If you illegally travel to Australia by boat you will be returned. Everything you risked to get there will be in vain and you will end up owing everyone.
TAURUS: You will be ashamed of your actions
If you illegally travel to Australia by boat, expect to be returned home where you will face the humiliation of failure in your community. Bad luck will strike you if you try to perform this illegal deed.
VIRGO: You will have legal problems
If you illegally travel to Australia by boat you will be stopped and returned to face the legal consequences. Going through with this illegal act will bring you nothing but bad luck and regret for your actions.
Are you deterred yet? So far, you’ve been robbed, deported, and plunged into debt. And not only that, but you’re ashamed of yourself.
Prepare for more, you unlucky immigrant:
CAPRICORN: You will put your life at risk
Deciding to risk your life on dangerous seas and unpredictable weather will be in vain. If you travel illegally to Australia, you will be returned to Sri Lanka and encounter a storm of bad luck.
GEMINI: You will lose your wife’s jewellery
Bad luck will come your way if you travel illegally to Australia by boat. Expect to lose everything you’ve pawned to pay for this pointless enterprise.
LIBRA: You will flush your money down the drain
Your luck is bad. You cannot illegally travel to Australia by boat as you will be stopped and returned, and all the money you spent getting there will be wasted.
CANCER: Family problems will occur
Luck is not in the cards for you. Do not try to travel illegally to Australia by boat, as you will be stopped and returned. You will lose everything your family owes to debt, and face family problems.
SCORPIO: You will waste your money
If you naively trust people smugglers’ lies and attempt illegal travel to Australia by boat, you will be returned to Sri Lanka and lose everything you put on the line to get there.
LEO: You will be filled with regret
If you attempt illegal travel to Australia by boat, you will be returned to face legal consequences for your illegal travel. Commit such a crime and expect nothing but bad luck.
PISCES: You will lose your family’s land
If you travel illegally to Australia by boat you will be returned. The money you got from mortgaging your family’s land will be wasted right before your eyes.
The government-branded ads were created for distribution across Sri Lanka, warning at the bottom, “YOU WILL BE TURNED BACK.”
The Australian government created a bizarre horoscope for distribution in Sri Lanka to deter people from seeking asylum in Australiahttps://t.co/VahPacpGSx
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) December 18, 2019
The posters — discovered thanks to a freedom of information application — were produced sometime between 2013 and 2019.
Australia doesn’t play games where immigration law is concerned. In compliance with its Sovereign Borders policy, officers turn back any boats containing asylum seekers without lending an ear to their claims.
In May 2019, Australian Border Force said Australia had returned 186 people to Sri Lanka since September 2013. By September 2019, that number was 204. Before 2019, the last boat to reach Australian shores arrived in 2014.
How would the “shrimp on the barbie” country’s border control sit with the American open-border set (see here, here, and here)?
President Trump has nodded to the nation’s disposition:
These flyers depict Australia’s policy on Illegal Immigration. Much can be learned! pic.twitter.com/QgGU0gyjRS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019
It seems some on the Far Left portray American border protection as some sort of aberrant scourge in comparison to the rest of the world.
The poster serves as a considerable reminder: Other countries keep vigilant watch over their entrances. Who they let in — and how — is a common national interest.
The most foundationally defining part of a nation is its boundaries. If those lines do not exist, the country begins and ends nowhere.
We have problems along our southern perimeter, and there are many opinions on how to solve them in an effective and morally just way. But as for the most basic notion of keeping control at the gates, it isn’t a question of whether some sort of border law is American; without it, there’s no America to begin with.
-ALEX
See 3 more pieces from me:
Find all my RedState work here.
And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member