I agree Clod.
Once someone has been granted asylum/refugee status and is no longer an 'Asylum Seeker'; then they are given full support and assistance in settling. But as long as they are 'Asylum Seekers' they are treated like dirt under our feet, and they can sometimes remain in that limbo for years at a time: unable to work, or settle, or build a life whilst they await a decision that might send them back to the place they fled.
The mental and emotional stress we place these people under is obscene. The people who deal with them within the system often (mostly) treat them in a rude, off-hand, or downright aggressive fashion. They are treated as if they are criminals, from the moment they arrive.
In popular culture meanwhile, they have been demonized over the past twenty years or so, to the point that the term 'Asylum Seeker' feels almost bare without the addition of the word 'Bogus' at the front of it.
This whole thing has reminded me of a brilliant essay I read once. It's by the Australian SF author, Greg Egan. It's called 'No Sugar'.
Anybody wavering on the issue of asylum should read this piece. It's wonderful.
http://gregegan.customer.netspace.ne...GAR/Sugar.html