Irregular Migration After the Sri Lankan Civil War: Understanding Australia’s Pull Factors

<p dir="ltr">The complex reasoning behind people’s decision to undertake irregular migration journeys are often poorly understood, particularly in the context of post-civil war societies. Following the official end of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, approximately 4500 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers arrived in Australia by boat between 2009 and 2013. This research provides insights into the underlying motivations and decision-making processes of irregular migrants during this time, as well as the possible lack of decision-making ability in arriving in Australia for those seeking asylum, thereby contributing to a nuanced understanding of migration dynamics in the post-conflict context of Sri Lanka. Drawing upon existing critical scholarship in human geography, migration studies and geopolitics, this research considers the influence of potential ‘pull factors’, such as favourable settlement policies, and existing diasporic networks for refugees. Applying a combination of qualitative research methods, including interviews with Sri Lankan refugees now settled in Australia, alongside an in-depth analysis of Australian government policies towards Sri Lankan irregular migrants in the post-2009 period, this research seeks to develop a richer understanding of the influence and importance of potential pull factors, as well as the contrasting effects of border and migration securitisation, in Sri Lankan refugees‘ decision-making processes to seek protection in Australia. This research concludes that a diversity of factors influence decision-making, however these supposed ‘pull factors’ are complicated by external factors typically created through forms of border securitisation.</p>