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Sammy J’s Satire Of Australia’s Refugee Situation Is Brutal

The best satire is filled with truth, irony, and humour.

Comedian Sammy J has provided critical satire of Australian politics over the past few weeks of the federal election campaign, in the form of a Play School spoof called Playground Politics. However his most recent episode on Australia’s refugee situation is perhaps the most clever, hilarious and brutal of the lot.

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Whilst Australia’s offshore detention centres have been something that politicians have desperately tried to keep off people’s minds in the upcoming election, Sammy J has ensured it’s something we’re all thinking about in this terrifically written piece. In only 24 hours, the video has already been watched over 300,000 times.

We start off in a boat with Sammy, and he invites us to come ‘be a refugee’ with him. Whilst listing all the ingredients it takes, including ‘a well-founded fear of persecution’, he spots a ‘Border Force Boat’. In a kids voice, he playfully remarks “But I’m allowed to seek asylum!”, quickly followed by the punchline: “Uh oh. Looks like we’ve sailed into a moral vacuum!”.

Soon we are invited to come ‘make an Immigration Detention Centre’ with him, in classic Play School style – on the floor, with all the materials set up. Dripping with irony, he uses a shoebox for the creation.

He continues to jibe at the government ignoring ethics, by using the first page of the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 as a ‘roof’ for the creation. As Sammy brutally mocks – “It’s not really standing up is it? Doesn’t look like it’s going to provide any protection whatsoever! That’s ok. We don’t really need it.”

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Channel 9 even pays a visit and he suggests that: ‘If anyone can save kids from the Middle East, it’s Channel 9!’, referring to the baby snatching scandal from earlier this year. 

He leaves us with a final observation of our own forgetfulness, a stark reminder that this issue will not go away until it is properly addressed. 

“Are you feeling sad? That’s ok. Maybe we can just put a lid on this for now. Maybe we can put it under the rug. If you haven’t got a rug you can just put it in another room, or anywhere out of sight! Then just sit down and try not to think about it. Might feel a bit uncomfortable, but you’ll get used to it!”

If there’s one thing you watch today, make it this: 

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