Refugee Escape Game Infuriates Canberra

Independent (UK) ^ | 5-1-2003 | Kathy Marks

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Refugee escape game infuriates Canberra

By Kathy Marks in Sydney
01 May 2003

The Australian government has ordered its arts council to explain why it gave A$25,000 (£9,700) of public funds to the makers of a computer video game that challenges players to escape from a virtual immigration detention centre.

The game, Escape From Woomera, simulates conditions inside the camps where all asylum-seekers are held after entering Australia. Woomera, which was recently closed, was the most infamous of the centres. Players try to abscond by digging tunnels, scaling barbed wire fences or enlisting the help of refugee activists.

Philip Ruddock, the Immigration Minister, could barely contain his rage yesterday. He said the Australia Council was encouraging unlawful behaviour, adding that its brief was to promote Australian culture. "How does it do that with a computer game of this type?" he asked.

Michael Snelling, the chairman of the council's new media board, accepted that there was "some irony" in one arm of government funding a project critical of ministerial policy.

The game's developers had submitted a strong application. "We're well aware the project could be controversial," he said. "But we would be guilty of not doing our job if we didn't fund something that met all the criteria and ranked competitively."

Refugee advocacy groups also criticised the game, saying it trivialised the plight of asylum-seekers. Margaret Piper, executive director of the Refugee Council of Australia, said detainees who escaped relinquished all hope of being granted refugee status.

One of the game's creators, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Sydney Morning Herald: "We expect people to be upset. But there's been a lot of focus on the victimhood [of detainees] and we really want to focus on the bravery and heroism of these people."