Case of Saudi refugee in Thai hotel will be assessed by Australia
Australia’s government said yesterday that it will assess the resettlement case of a Saudi woman who fled from her family now that the United Nations has deemed her a refugee, taking the woman’s high-profile quest for asylum a step forward.
The Department of Home Affairs confirmed in a statement that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had referred 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun to Australia for consideration for refugee resettlement.
Alqunun arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Kuwait last Saturday, and planned to continue to Australia, where she held a tourist visa. But after being detained by Thai authorities, she refused to board a flight back to Kuwait, barricading herself in an airport hotel room.
After grabbing worldwide attention with dramatic posts on social media in which she said she feared for her safety if made to return home to her family, Alqunun was eventually placed in the care of the UNHCR as her bid for refugee status was considered.
Australia’s home affairs department said it would “consider this referral in the usual way, as it does with all UNHCR referrals”.
Indications from Canberra suggest Alqunun may receive a sympathetic hearing. “If she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa,” health minister Greg Hunt said before the UNHCR referral.
The case has highlighted the cause of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Several female Saudis fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home. Human rights activists say many more similar cases will have gone unreported.
The influence of the internet on Alqunun’s case was noted by several human rights advocates. Elaine Pearson, of Human Rights Watch in Australia, said it was encouraging that Alqunun was able to highlight her situation using social media, and she hoped more Saudi women might act similarly.
“The unique thing about this case is that she had access to social media, and was able to report on it and bring the world’s attention to her plight,” said Pearson. “I think there are many cases like this that go unreported.”
A similar point was made by UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch, who said that what was different in Alqunun’s case was that “the wave of all of the voices of solidarity and support came together, joined up in terms of caring for this individual.”
Thailand’s immigration police chief, Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, said that Alqunun’s father and brother arrived together in Bangkok on Tuesday but Alqunun refused to meet them.