Paddling for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PRAS) has initiated a project, Excised, which it hopes will generate nation-wide public interest in Australia’s response to asylum seekers, and in particular, the denial of asylum seekers’ access to Australian territory and its onshore protection determination process. PRAS is seeking the support and endorsement of businesses and community-based organisations to help make the project become one of real significance.

To view daily articles, blogs, audio and video of our kayaking journey visit http://excised.blogspot.com/

In mid July 2007 Simon Keenan and David Corlett (freelance writer and author of Following Them Home: The Fate of the Returned Asylum Seekers) will embark on a sea kayaking journey in and around Australia's 'excised zone' - those parts of Australia's north (including Christmas Island, Ashmore Reef and almost 5,000 other Australian islands) that have been legislatively cut off from the migration zone in order to prohibit any asylum seeker arriving there from applying for protection in Australia. Asylum seekers who are found in the excised zone can be forcibly transferred to Nauru or elsewhere where their applications for protection are assessed in a system without an independent appeals mechanism and which is not subject to judicial oversight. Nor do such people have a right to independent legal advice. There is compelling evidence that this system has led to the return of asylum seekers to situations where their human rights have been violated. Some have been killed. Those asylum seekers found to be refugees have no right to be resettled in Australia or any other country and can wait for extended periods of time in limbo while their resettlement is negotiated between governments. Excision and its denial of access to Australian territory and the onshore protection determination process remains one of the key outstanding issues in Australia’s response to asylum seekers.

As well as generating a good deal of public and media interest as we stop off at towns and cities all over Australia on the two-month journey, the project will be the basis for a documentary film (produced by Scarab Studio). We invite you to journey with us around the country… all you need is the internet! A new website is currently being built which will maintain an interactive webpage including a blog, maps, photos and travel log. We will post vision from our trip on other websites, including Lonely Planet's LPTV, Amnesty International's website and Youtube.

We hope to engage with as many people as possible, especially the younger generations under the age of 35.

Daily articles, blogs, audio and video of our kayaking journey are available at http://excised.blogspot.com/

If you would like to find out more or assist us with this project, please don’t hesitate to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it