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REPORT

Giving six typicalAustralians theoppoftunity toexperience life as a ."i,"r#'r'"'refugee, the new *'lJl',iJo":SBS series Go BockTo Where You Cqme

From promises tobe eye-openingtelevision viewing

n reality shows such as IheAmazing Race and MasterChef,itt standard practice toseparate participants from

friends and family, confiscate their walletsand mobile phones, and throwthem intoan unfamiliar situation with people they've

But no program has done this quitelike Go BackToWhereYou Came From,which premieres on SBS thisTuesday aspart of Refugee Week. The new three-partdocumentary series thrusts six ordinary,strongly opinionated Australians into thewell-worn shoes of refugees and asylumseekers to challenge their preconceptionsabout the plight of displaced people livingin detention centres and refugee campsaround the globe.

Led by Dr David Corlett, a researcherwith the lnternational Detention Coalition,the participants are split into two groups

of three and sent to spend a week livingwith reallife refugees, before witnessingthe refugee experience first-hand in Kenya,Jordan, Malaysia, the Congo and lraq.Theyalso meet residents of theVillawoodDetention Centre in NSW the site of recentcontentious riots.

The immigration debate is a hot topicin Australia today, and this, says executiveproducer Michael Cordell, is preciselythe reason he teamed with SBS to makethe series.

"lt's one of the biggest issues facing thenationi he says.?n election campaign waspartly fought over it, and every day thereare headlines about refugees, boat peopleand asylum seekers.We were intrigued bythe idea of creating a social experimentthat immersed ordinary Australians intothe very heart ofthese issuesl'

Michael, a documentary veteran who'salso part ofthe team behind Bondi Rescue,

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8/3/2019 TV Week: Go Back To Where You Came From

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@ythink most Australians could bemuch better informed about the jissues facing those being held iin detention facilities aroundthe country."l thinkthere's a lotof misunderstanding, a lot of ill-informed opinion, and attimesa bit of racismj'he says.

With that in mind, the six peopleselected for the Go Backjourney werechosen for the diversity of their beliefs and

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their utter conviction in them.Cronulla lifeguard Adam Hartup,2Q was a prime candidate. A volunteerat the time of the 2005 Cronulla riots,Adam came to the journey withzero tolerance for asylumseekers."The way I saw itwas that we were payingfor these asylum seekersand refugees to keeplanding on our shore

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when we should be worrying aboutour own populationi' he says. "l saw theboat landings as illegal, and it sort ofoffended mel'On the other end ofthe spectrum,

Gleny Rag a 39-year-old country musicsinger and part-time teacher fromNewcastle, NSW, has always held theview that Australia has more than enoughroom for refugees."We should take ineven morej'she says.None ofthe participants knewexactly what they were in for whenthey met up with the produciion team

on the first day."l knew we'd be keptin the darkiGleny explains,"in ordertotry and recreate the situation refugeesfind themselves in - no knowledge ofthe future, the inability to make plans,dislocation from family andfrom the homelandl'For Adam, the

taste of what itmustfeel liketobe an asylumseeker was abig wake-upcall."lt's reallyhard to handyour life overto someone youdon't really know

and to trust themwith everythingihe says.Both Adam andGlenywere blownaway bywhatthey

learned, and both sayit's changed their livesfor good."Seeing whatrefugees go throughfirst-hand gives youa realJife experiencei'Adam says."lt waspretty humblingl'Glenyfound plentyto feel gratefulfor,too."ln Jordan, we

THEWAYThIHYWEREThe other participants came awayfrom the experience with newinsight on the immigration debate.HereS how they fu lt going in...

RayeColbey,63,a retireewho livesopposite a detentioncentre in the AdelaideHills, believed toomuch is spent on its residents."They get given everythingi' shesaid."All they do is complainl'RoderickSchneider,29,afinancial plannerwho lives in Brisbangquestioned what droveasy'um seekers to geton the boats in the firct place andsai4"llrere are UN camps on theway.llVhatb so bad aboutthem?"Darren Hassan,42"afatherof turofromAdelaidgisapractising Chdstian ofMuslimdescent Hefelt"people who come here withoutany documentation by boat should

be immediately orpatriated'iRaquel Moore,21,fromWestern Sydney,NSW, is a jobless, self-confessed racist.Shebelievedweshouldn'tallow in any refugees at all.'Youdon't know what diseases they'recarrying;'she said.

lraqis whose heads have been completelydeformed by bullets or shrapnel fire/'she says."They're still able to sing anddance, and you thinb'Wowilt makes ourlives feel very easy, and it makes me feelextremely appreciativei'Michael hopes that Go BackToWhereYou Came From will help to inform opinionsacross the country."lt puts a very human,emotional face on the whole issuej'he says."This series, on the one hand, is extremelyentertaining, but also is really worthwhilein contributing towards an importantdebate. We truly believe it's making themost of TV's potentiall'ss ffietrK T* wp.tsffifrYSU #effig Fm$ffirfSERIES PREMIERETuesday -Thursday 8.30pm, SBS ONE

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