<p>The end of the 20th century bore witness to an unprecedented rise in the flow of refugees and asylum seekers to the western world. The abrupt end of the cold war and the dramatic collapse of communist governments of Eastern Europe attributed to economic debt, a failure of political reform, and the insidious rise of extreme nationalist tendencies heralded the break up of the former Yugoslavia and subsequent civil war. The sinister concept of ethnic cleansing became a horrifying reality for many of our European neighbours who had previously enjoyed a civilised existence.</p>