Book Review: The criminalisation of people smuggling in Indonesia and Australia: asylum out of reach

IF 2.4 2区社会学 Q1 AREA STUDIES

Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs Pub Date : 2023-03-20 DOI:10.1177/18681034231164171

Bilal Dewansyah

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Abstract

The criminalisation of people smuggling is the first comprehensive analysis of the smuggling of transit migrants from Indonesia to Australia and shows how this activity influences the relationship of the two countries. Those who follow Antje Missbach’s works will be familiar with her previous book Troubled Transit (2015), which analysed the conditions of asylum seekers and refugees “stuck” in transit in Indonesia. The reviewed book shifts the focus from “recipients” of smuggling services to the “facilitators” of such services. The main question is the following: “Who are the people who organise and facilitate unsanctioned maritime passages from Indonesia?” (p. 22). In answering that question, Missbach details the roles of multiple actors who facilitate the “unsanctioned journey” across the sea of asylum seekers and refugees from Indonesia to Australia; she also discusses the development of anti-smuggling strategies in the two countries as well as the enforcement and consequences for facilitators and migrants, who are seeking asylum. Written in a readable narrative style supported by rich empirical data, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the complex nature of refugee issues in both countries. The book starts with a vignette about Abraham Louhenapessy or Captain Bram, an Indonesian boat captain, who repeatedly facilitated human smuggling. Chapter 1 discusses how anti-human smuggling strategies are debated in terms of effectiveness and moral standing. It shows why the facilitation of unsanctioned maritime journeys continues even though some perpetrators have been convicted (as in the case of Captain Bram). The main findings of the book are presented in Chapters 3 and 4; Chapter 3 reveals in detail the characteristics of smuggling networks in Indonesia, paying particular attention to the actors and their different roles (organiser, middlemen, informer and operational staff). Chapter 4 discusses the criminalisation of people smuggling in Indonesian law as well as the punishment of offenders, based on 143 court decisions, interview data

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书评：印度尼西亚和澳大利亚的人口走私犯罪：庇护遥不可及

将人口走私定为犯罪是对从印度尼西亚向澳大利亚偷运过境移民的首次全面分析，并显示了这一活动如何影响两国关系。关注Antje Missbach作品的人会熟悉她上一本书《麻烦的过境》（2015），该书分析了在印尼过境的寻求庇护者和难民的状况。这本经过审查的书将重点从走私服务的“接受者”转移到了此类服务的“促进者”身上。主要问题如下：“谁是组织和促进未经批准的印尼海上通道的人？”（第22页）。在回答这个问题时，米斯巴赫详细介绍了为寻求庇护者和难民从印度尼西亚穿越海洋到澳大利亚的“未经批准的旅程”提供便利的多个行动者的角色；她还讨论了两国反走私战略的发展，以及对寻求庇护的协助者和移民的执行和后果。这本书以可读的叙事风格写成，并辅以丰富的实证数据，对于所有想了解两国难民问题复杂性的人来说，这本书是必不可少的读物。这本书以一个关于亚伯拉罕·卢赫纳佩西或印尼船长布拉姆的小插曲开始，他多次为人口走私提供便利。第一章讨论了如何从有效性和道德地位的角度对反人口走私战略进行辩论。这表明，尽管一些犯罪者已被定罪，但为未经批准的海上旅行提供便利的行为仍在继续（如Bram船长的案件）。本书的主要发现在第3章和第4章中介绍；第3章详细揭示了印度尼西亚走私网络的特点，特别关注参与者及其不同角色（组织者、中间人、告密者和行动人员）。第4章讨论了印尼法律中对人口走私的定罪以及对罪犯的惩罚，基于143项法院判决和采访数据

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来源期刊

Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations

CiteScore

5.00

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

8 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, published by the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) in Hamburg, is an internationally refereed journal. The publication focuses on current developments in international relations, politics, economics, society, education, environment and law in Southeast Asia. The topics covered should not only be oriented towards specialists in Southeast Asian affairs, but should also be of relevance to readers with a practical interest in the region. For more than three decades, the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs (formerly Südostasien aktuell) has regularly provided – six times per year and in German - insightful and in-depth analyses of current issues in political, social and economic life; culture; and development in Southeast Asia. It continues to be devoted to the transfer of scholarly insights to a wider audience and is the leading academic journal devoted exclusively to this region. Interested readers can access the abstracts and tables of contents of earlier issues of the journal via the webpage http://www.giga-hamburg.de/de/publikationen/archiv.