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Sri Lankans win temporary reprieve from Australia

By WTOP Staff

KRISTEN GELINEAU
Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s government promised Tuesday not to hand over a group of asylum seekers to the Sri Lankan government without three days’ notice amid a court challenge and uproar from human rights groups.

The government’s pledge came during a High Court hearing held one day after Australia’s immigration minister confirmed that another boatload of asylum seekers had been intercepted by Australian border patrol and handed to Sri Lankan authorities in a transfer at sea last month. Refugee advocates and human rights agencies argued that the asylum seekers could face persecution in their home country.

Lawyers representing some of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on the latest intercepted boat went to the High Court to stop the 153 people on board from also being returned to their home country. They are currently being held on an Australian customs vessel.

High Court Justice Susan Crennan, who issued a temporary injunction late Monday night halting any further transfers, adjourned the matter until a later date following Tuesday’s hearing. In the meantime, the government’s lawyer, Justin Gleeson, said no asylum seekers would be transferred without 72 hours’ written notice.

The issue erupted Monday after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that Australian border patrol had intercepted a boat carrying 41 Sri Lankans off the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean in late June and handed them over to the Sri Lankan government on Sunday.

Tuesday’s court hearing marked the first time the government acknowledged the second boat’s existence, and Morrison — who is due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday for talks with Sri Lankan officials — still has yet to comment on where or when that boat was intercepted.

The hearing has no impact on the 41 Sri Lankans who have already been returned to their home country.

A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday detained five alleged people smugglers who were among the 41 aboard the boat. Twenty-seven other adults were accused of illegally leaving the country and were released on bail, while nine children were discharged. Most of those who were aboard the boat looked worn out.

Damith Kaldera, 48, said he acted as the spokesman for the asylum seekers with Australian officials because he speaks good English.

He said the group set out from Batticaloa, a city on Sri Lanka’s east coast, with the intention of going to New Zealand. Each asylum seeker paid 150,000 rupees ($1,150) to people smugglers, with the promise of paying another 450,000 rupees ($3,460) after finding a job in New Zealand, Kaldera said.

The attorneys representing some of the asylum seekers on the latest boat argue that their clients could face persecution in Sri Lanka, which emerged in 2009 from a brutal civil war between government troops and the now-defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Refugee advocates say ethnic Tamils still face violence at the hands of the military.

The temporary reprieve granted Tuesday was trumpeted as a win by one of the asylum seekers’ lawyers, George Newhouse, who said “a group of vulnerable men, women and children will not be sent back to their persecutors in Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lanka has arrested at least 4,300 people trying to migrate to Australia since 2009, according to the Sri Lankan navy.

Facing a surge of asylum seekers trying to reach Australian shores, the nation’s conservative government implemented a tough policy of turning back their boats. Until now, the vessels have been returned to Indonesia, where asylum seekers from across the world pay people smugglers to ferry them to Australia aboard rickety boats prone to sinking. Monday marked the first time the government confirmed it had screened asylum seekers at sea and returned them directly to their home country.

The seemingly quick process by which Australia rejected the refugee claims is also facing scrutiny. Rather than bringing the asylum seekers to Australia’s processing centers on the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea, the claims were assessed on board an Australian vessel.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, issued a statement Tuesday saying it was “deeply concerned” by the decision to hand the asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka, and about the fate of those aboard the second boat.

The agency questioned the at-sea assessment process, saying that without further details from the government it cannot say whether Australia is violating its international obligations to refugees.

“UNHCR’s experience over the years with shipboard processing has generally not been positive,” it said in a statement. “Such an environment would rarely afford an appropriate venue for a fair procedure.”

Gleeson, the government’s lawyer, said the asylum seekers were intercepted outside Australia’s territorial waters and therefore not subject to any obligations under the nation’s Migration Act, which sets guidelines on how asylum seekers are processed.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government’s tough asylum seeker policies were, in fact, an act of compassion.

“As long as the boats keep coming, we will keep having deaths at sea,” Abbott told Australia’s Channel 7. “So the most decent, humane and compassionate thing you can do is to stop the boats.”

___

Associated Press writer Jayampathi Palipane in Galle, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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