Java survivor pleads for compassion and a chance to escape the Taliban

A SURVIVOR of the Java boat sinking says there is no easy way for Afghans to reach Australia legally.

A SURVIVOR of the Java boat sinking and former US aid agency worker says there is no easy way for Afghans to reach Australia legally and is pleading with the Gillard government to process his claim for asylum.

Esmat Adine, 24, says he tried many options to enter Australia via official channels from his home in Afghanistan but was frustrated and resorted to taking the perilous boat journey in the hope of reaching Christmas Island. The former US Agency for International Development worker is now in an Indonesian immigration detention centre after he survived the December 17 boat tragedy which killed up to 200 people when their boat sank 40 nautical miles off Java.

Mr Adine said the Gillard government should process all of the 50-odd survivors' claims for asylum, despite the fact that they are still in Indonesia.

He said he had signed deportation forms to return to Afghanistan despite fearing for his safety because he could not face being detained in Indonesia for two years while his claim was processed by the UNHCR. He also had plans to seek asylum in Canada.

"If Australia doesn't accept my request I will deport myself and go directly to Kabul airport (and) to Canada," he said.

Mr Adine, who speaks English fluently, said he had previously tried to get to Australia on a student visa and wanted to study economics at Deakin or Melbourne Universities. He had also contacted Australia's aid agency, AusAID in an attempt to get a university scholarship.

"They told me I would be eligible to apply in 2013 or 2014 . . . It was too far ahead because I felt I would lose my life by that time," he told The Australian. He had also considered going to the UNHCR in Afghanistan but had been told he could not apply while still in his home country.

Mr Adine said he graduated from a business administration course in Kabul and had worked for USAID arranging visas and accommodation for overseas workers. He could not return home because he feared the Taliban.

"I couldn't do anything in my country because I wasn't free.

"I just wanted to have a free life, to have a life without any danger."

Linda Briskman, professor of human rights education at Curtin University, said it was almost impossible for Afghans to go through proper channels and secure a visa to settle in Australia.

She said the Gillard government should treat the Java sinking survivors compassionately.

"It's beholden on the Australian government to show some compassion and bring them in to Australia or assist in finding other countries that will resettle them," she said.

A spokesman for immigration minister Chris Bowen has said processing the survivors is the responsibility of the UNHCR.