Refugee Update
Apr. 29th, 2016 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamer_easyOmid, an Iranian refugee who set himself on fire on Nauru, has died in Brisbane. He was twenty-three. There must be an immediate inquiry into whether the lengthy delay in evacuating a severely injured man to medical assistance contributed to his death.
Manus Island internal gates locked, mobile phones banned despite earlier loosening of restrictions (ABC, 29 April 2016) Perhaps not surprisingly, given that those imprisoned now know that they're being held there against the law.
Australian government faces potential claims of more than $1 billion after Manus Island deal implodes (SMH, 29 April 2016) | The detainees will also seek compensation from Papua New Guinea.
Rich aid sweeteners at risk after Manus Island shut-down (SMH, April 29 2016) | Manus Island detention centre operator's shares placed in trading halt (GA, 28 April 2016)
Peter Dutton rules out sending Manus Island detainees to Christmas Island (SMH, 29 April 2016). Heaven only knows where they'll end up - PNG says that's our problem, and we say it's theirs.
Australia ignored its own medical experts' pleas to bring Nauru rape victim here (SMH, 28 April 2016)
I'm continuing to read Eichmann in Jerusalem. To simply or directly compare Australia's mistreatment of asylum seekers and refugees to the Holocaust would insult history. Nonetheless I keep getting a nauseating sense of familiarity. Of the refugees illegally imprisoned on Manus Island, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says:
Hanna Arendt quotes a Nazi circular:
This is a tough book to read, as fascinating as it is. Anything that gives the reader relief or hope for humanity is desperately welcome, and to me, the most encouraging thing is that when other countries resisted the Nazis' plans for the Jews - by refusing them, by sabotaging them - they would back down. Thousands of people survived because of this. It's possible to stand up to the most extraordinary cruelty and win.
Manus Island internal gates locked, mobile phones banned despite earlier loosening of restrictions (ABC, 29 April 2016) Perhaps not surprisingly, given that those imprisoned now know that they're being held there against the law.
Australian government faces potential claims of more than $1 billion after Manus Island deal implodes (SMH, 29 April 2016) | The detainees will also seek compensation from Papua New Guinea.
Rich aid sweeteners at risk after Manus Island shut-down (SMH, April 29 2016) | Manus Island detention centre operator's shares placed in trading halt (GA, 28 April 2016)
Peter Dutton rules out sending Manus Island detainees to Christmas Island (SMH, 29 April 2016). Heaven only knows where they'll end up - PNG says that's our problem, and we say it's theirs.
Australia ignored its own medical experts' pleas to bring Nauru rape victim here (SMH, 28 April 2016)
I'm continuing to read Eichmann in Jerusalem. To simply or directly compare Australia's mistreatment of asylum seekers and refugees to the Holocaust would insult history. Nonetheless I keep getting a nauseating sense of familiarity. Of the refugees illegally imprisoned on Manus Island, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says:
"We cannot be misty-eyed about this. We have to be very clear and determined in our national purpose... We must have secure borders and we do and we will, and they will remain so, as long as I am the Prime Minister of this country."
Hanna Arendt quotes a Nazi circular:
"'It is the nature of things that these, in some respects, very difficult problems can be solved in the interests of the permanent security of our people only with ruthless toughness' — rücksichtsloser Härte (my italics)."
This is a tough book to read, as fascinating as it is. Anything that gives the reader relief or hope for humanity is desperately welcome, and to me, the most encouraging thing is that when other countries resisted the Nazis' plans for the Jews - by refusing them, by sabotaging them - they would back down. Thousands of people survived because of this. It's possible to stand up to the most extraordinary cruelty and win.
no subject
Date: 2016-04-30 12:54 pm (UTC)(Also I sort of knew but was shocked again to realise just how late the gassing started. Before that they essentially killed people in sealed trucks, shot them, worked them to death, hanged them, denied them medical treatment... but it wasn't fast enough, so they found a new way. Scary.)