No one chooses this course of action. It is forced upon them. Australians have always shown humanity and compassion towards refugees. It’s time our politicians did too

It would be easy, reading the political reaction to the news that more than 40 people seeking asylum have been taken to offshore detention in Nauru after arriving in Western Australia, to forget that we are talking about real people who have faced unimaginable circumstances.

The lives of people fleeing danger in their home countries were instantly politicised. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, invoked Operation Sovereign Borders; the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, hit back in an attempt to score political points; and commentators marked the political war of words, which often neglect the fact that it is a human right to seek asylum.

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.