The Australian government is directly to blame for the deaths of at least 39 asylum seekers in a boat sinking off Indonesia last week, according to leaders in one of their home villages in Lebanon.
RELATED: Lebanese village in shock after boat sinks off Java
On tonight’s Dateline, Yaara Bou Melhem reports from Qabeit, near the Syrian border, on the anger over the deaths of 18 local people including a mother and her eight children. Only the father survived.
In an angry tirade, local Sheik Ali Khoder says Australia has gone from being a land of dreams and freedom to killing people for election propaganda.
"Listen Australia: they sought help and rescue and the guard kicked the boat out and told them 'Go back from where you came from'. Shame on you, Australia, shame on you," Sheik Khoder told Dateline.
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"Australia, which has been the land of dreams and freedom, humanity, justice since long ago; shame on you, that your new rulers would reach the stage of killing people and making this some of their election campaign propaganda. Is there a court for justice to try you, Australia?", he said.
Naser Khoder’s brother, Hussein, was on the boat when it went down. Hussein has been rescued, but he lost his wife and eight children.
Naser says poverty forced his brother to look to Australia as a place of refuge. They sold possessions and borrowed money to pay a people smuggler $80,000.
Naser said his brother said "We’ll all go. Either we all die, or we all live".
"We told him it was a journey of death," Naser said.
See Yaara’s powerful look at the human story behind the asylum seeker boat tragedy tonight at 9.30pm on SBS ONE.
