dreamer_easy: (refugees)
This mess needs a posting of its own. The Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, stated that he was looking for ways to fast-track visas for white South African farmers. "...they do need help from a civilised country like ours", he remarked, lauding them as ideal potential migrants. This initiative has been challenged on two fronts: one, that the situation of white farmers in South Africa is not what the Minister says it is; two, oh what a giveaway, as Monty Python might say: Mr Dutton's concern for white people sharply contrasts with his treatment of brown refugees. His statement has its roots in the Rupert Murdoch-owned news media; their claims are echoed by white supremacist groups online.

The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, did not support (or oppose) Mr Dutton's call, and the Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, said there were no plans for special visas. South Africa denies the claim that white farmers are disproportionate victims of violence.

Ironically, if that's the right word, former PM Malcolm Fraser once said of Australia's offshore detention system that white South African farmers who arrived by boat would never be treated the same way. There are long-standing parallels to the history of racism in Australia and South Africa, which this article explores.

Meanwhile, in "civilised" Australia, migrants from an African background have been the victims of what has been called "media terrorism", fuelled by our politicians' lies.

dreamer_easy: (refugees)

Great news! Tamil asylum seeker family remains in Australia after last-minute reprieve (GA, 14 March 2018)
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/14/tamil-asylum-seeker-family-remains-in-australia-after-last-minute-reprieve
Priya and family were literally taken off the plane to Sri Lanka. Their local community in Bileola deserve credit for rallying around the family.

Good news, sort of! Judge orders Nauru refugee girl's transfer to Australia over suicide risk (GA, 10 February 2018)
The judge: “The injury or damage the applicant may suffer if an injunction is refused – death or a further serious deterioration in her health – carries far more weight in the balance than the wasted expenditure the commonwealth may suffer if an injunction is granted.”

Cuts leave asylum seekers in Australia at risk of destitution, say advocates (GA, 9 March 2018)
"Some of those who have had their status resolution support service (SRSS) cut arrived in Australia as unaccompanied minors, have since graduated from high school here and won scholarships to university. With the withdrawal of financial support, some have since withdrawn from university because they can not survive while studying." These are future Australians - it's in our own interest to see that they have the best possible education.

More on the mould: Home Affairs spent $50,000 on 'dangerous' mould cleaner to combat Nauru infestation (SBS, 27 February 2018)
The steam cleaner, a "giant water blaster", was unsuitable for cleaning tents.

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Bring Priya and her beautiful family back home to Biloela, Queensland. Sign the petition to save the asylum seeker family taken from their home in a dawn raid.
dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Following up on the report from Facebook:
Asylum seeker family removed 'without warning' at dawn in central Queensland, Tamil Refugee Council says (ABC, 12 March 2018)
The family have lived in Queensland for several years. Their daughters were born here.

Some good news:
Nauru refugee flown with son to Taiwan for critical heart surgery (GA, 13 March 2018)
"Fatemeh refused to leave her son alone and unsupervised on the island. He has suffered from acute mental health issues on Nauru, where unaccompanied minor refugees have faced significant violence." Presumably Taiwan was chosen because it is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, and they wouldn't be able to apply for asylum there.
dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Compiling a long list of links to post. This government's attitude to children stands out with painful clarity. So, for now:

Judge orders Nauru refugee girl's transfer to Australia over suicide risk (GA, 10 February 2018)
The judge: “The injury or damage the applicant may suffer if an injunction is refused – death or a further serious deterioration in her health – carries far more weight in the balance than the wasted expenditure the commonwealth may suffer if an injunction is granted.” Our taxpayer dollars actually went to fighting to keep a suicidal child on Nauru.

Nauru refugee caught between her son and 'high heart attack risk' (GA, 19 February 2018)
"Medical report says she needs to be moved urgently for treatment but border force won’t allow her son to go with her." Doctors have been calling for her to be moved for years. Her son is a minor. They have both been found to be refugees.

Child abuse redress scheme would exclude offshore detention victims, lawyers say (GA, 7 February 2018)
"A national redress scheme was one of the key recommendations of the landmark child abuse royal commission, offering a way to compensate survivors without forcing them to resort to costly and prolonged civil action." However, the government has proposed it only be available to citizens or permanent residents.

ETA: This terrifying account of the removal of a refugee family from a Queensland community will tell you what this government thinks of families.

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Nauru mould problem was of ‘epic proportions’, microbiologist says (GA, 24 February 2018) "Dr Cameron Jones, who was contracted by Transfield [in 2014], says his 225-page report on the problem was covered up... Former staff have said they have been left with cognitive impairment and chronic lung infections after living and working in contaminated buildings". Jones's report describes the combination of heat, humidity, and porous tent materials as an "incubator", and that those managing the camp "seemed unwilling to adhere to international or Australian mould standards". Mould continues to be a "pervasive problem" on Nauru. Gods know what it's doing to the brains of the children growing up in the camp.

Transfield feared riots over Nauru mould (AAP, 24 February 2018) Rather than validate the asylum seekers' complaints about the mould, they made Dr Jones take samples without wearing his protective equipment. Transfield may have misled Parliament about the problem.

Nauru detention mould sparks illnesses (AAP, 23 February 2018). An English teacher who worked on Nauru has been left with cognitive impairment and ruined health. Jones became ill after his inspection and at least twenty former staff members suffer ongoing health problems.

Nauru refugees, asylum seekers and staff exposed to 'highly toxic' mould. "At least 330 refugees and asylum seekers, including 36 children, still live in mould-prone tents on Nauru."
dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Small numbers of refugees continue to escape Manus Island and Nauru for the United States. Despite this excellent news, thousands are still being left behind, in increasing desperation. Also in good news: last year, Australia accepted a record number of humanitarian arrivals.

Last Friday, a group of refugees on Manus Island were attacked, allegedly by members of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

We keep refouling people - deporting them to danger. This Tamil asylum seeker, who may be tortured in Sri Lanka, is just the latest example. Meanwhile on Manus, asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected are being told that they cannot be deported because of the danger to them in their home countries, but that they cannot settle on either Papua New Guinea nor in Australia. Plus the US is not taking people from its list of Muslim-majority countries. Where are these refugees supposed to go? The moon?

I've wanted to comment for some time on the latest group of our fellow Australians the rest of us are supposed to fear and hate: Sudanese immigrants. As it turns out, the supposed rash of crimes by "African gangs" was - I can't do better than Overland's headline: Total and utter racist bullshit. "Right from the beginning, the whole ‘African gangs’ beat-up relied on errors, distortions and flat-out lies."

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Here's Human Rights Watch's report on Australia for 2017.

Struggling with my mental health a bit at the moment, but not as much as the poor bastard on Manus who recently made three suicide attempts in twenty-four hours. In a mental health crisis, I could literally walk to a hospital. There are no such facilities on the island.

Refugees needing medical care told to leave children alone in offshore detention (GA, 20 January 2018). "Several department sources, and sources on Nauru, have confirmed to the Guardian that it is “unofficial policy” to use family separation to encourage refugees to return to Nauru after medical treatment overseas. The department has said in public statements that families are separated during medical transfers to keep the number of people being brought to Australia as low as possible."

Manus Island security contract dispute leaves asylum seekers feeling 'unsafe' (GA, 17 January 2018) | "An absolute shambles": contract dispute over Manus Island security (AM, 17 January 2018) | Manusians living near detention centres say sewage running on to their land (GA, 13 January 2018) | Dutton refuses Senate order to release details of refugee service contracts on Manus (GA 18 January 2018) Can't think why.

Concerns raised over medical care on Nauru (AM, 13 January 2018). "Concern has again been raised about the medical care of a Rohingya refugee man on Nauru, who received head injuries in a motorbike accident in November. Abu Bakar recovered sufficiently to be discharged from hospital a month ago. But four weeks on, the 28-year-old's friends say he has trouble walking without feeling dizzy, he can't fully use his right arm, and has been prescribed Panadol for pain relief."

Refugee in 'medical emergency’ stranded on Nauru for more than a year (GA, 11 January 2018). "Doctors believe man’s transfer stalled because he may never be well enough to return to Nauru and Australian has a policy of returning refugees once medical treatment complete." My generally well-managed mental health problems can't be compared to our deliberately causing mental illness in refugees and then refusing to treat it. But you know, the government would do this to me, too, if they thought there were votes in it.

Beyond the Wire: The refugees brought to Manus Island and the local people share their stories (GA, 16 January 2018)

Administrative Appeals Tribunal criticised after rejecting asylum seeker’s appeal over homosexuality (GA, 18 January 2018). Bizarre homophobia overturned by the Federal Court. The problem appears to be the refugee equivalent of a hanging judge.

'Every day I am crushed': the stateless man held without trial by Australia for eight years (GA, 15 January 2018)

'I need my family': how a refugee held on Nauru is struggling to make a new life in Cambodia (GA, 14 January 2018)

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Partner of man due for deportation begs Dutton not to make her a single mother (GA, 30 December 2017). He's due to be sent back to Vietnam on New Year's Day, leaving behind his partner and baby duaghter.

Let Immigration Minister Peter Dutton know that this young Australian family should be kept together. It's in the public interest. Email minister@border.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 7860.


dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Good news first: First Dog on the Moon on the rescue of cartoonist "Eaten Fish", who is now safe in Norway.

Manus refugee attacked for second time amid tension over Australian centres (20 December 2017, 10 am). This is the refugee who has never received the necessary treatment for the machete injury to his arm; he was attacked in Lorengau's market.

Manus Island protesters block access to refugee accommodation, supplies (ABC, 19 December 2017). They preventing food, medicine, and medical help from reaching the refugees at the East Lorengau detention centre, and are prevented refugees from leaving. Behrouz Boochani Tweeted on 20 December that the blockade had ended.

'I will kill you': video contradicts Peter Dutton's claim refugees on Manus were lying about being threatened by locals (GA, 11 December 2017). #TellUsTheTruth

A Moonlight Tour of the Damned (Mark Isaacs, 11 December 2017). The writer's visit to Manus. “Chauka [solitary confinement at Manus] was Australia’s Guantanamo prison. I was put in there three times. I slept in a shipping container. There was no air-conditioning, no breezeway, no door, no toilet door, no shower curtain, so the guards could watch you at all times. The bed was made out of wood. One time, they handcuffed me for seventy-two hours.” I also want to highlight this: "There are attempts to beautify the narrow corridors of shipping container bedrooms: love hearts painted on doors, colourful landscape murals, and little gardens." It gives the lie to the claims that the centre was in disrepair because of the detainees.

The next time someone tries to shift the spotlight away from the mistreatment of refugees by talking about homelessness in Australia, point them to Manus detainee Walid Zazai's Christmas message from manus to homeless people of Australia.

A Tamil man has been forcibly returned to Sri Lanka, where he is at risk of torture and rape, after missing the crash deadline to apply for protection in Australia. 29 Sri Lankan asylum seekers were flown back after their boat sank near the Cocos Islands.

Australia is wilfully damaging the health of children on Nauru to make a point – and it is appalling
(SMH, 12 December 2017). "When we visited Nauru as paediatric specialists three years ago, we were asked to see 30 of the 100 children being detained on the island. Among them was a six-year-old girl who had tried to kill herself and a two-year-old boy with such severe behaviour problems a doctor had prescribed anti-psychotic medicines. Their parents were in despair. They had fled persecution, trying to save their children from harm, but had ended up imprisoned on a remote island, without hope. We left with the view that these were the most traumatised children we had ever consulted on, far worse than children we had seen in Australia, Africa, Asia or Europe. Three years later, 43 of those children remain on the island."

Calls to adopt child abuse inquiry's recommendations on immigration detention (GA, 18 December 2017)

'This republic breaks all borders': a dialogue with Behrouz Boochani on Manus (SMH, 23 December 2017). Profound and inspiring philosophical, political, spritual. His manifesto is this Letter from Manus Island. Here's a review of Boochani's movie Chauka, Please Tell Us The Time, shot by mobile phone.

UNHCR Fact Sheet on Situation of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (UNHCR, 15 December 2017)

Does Australia run the most generous refugee program per capita in the world? (RMIT / ABC Fact Check, 21 December 2017). SPOILERS: No. Or, as Fact Check puts it, Misleading. #TellUsTheTruth

As others see us: UNHCR says Australia abandoned refugees, must clear up the mess it made (Eye Witness News, Jonhannesburg, South Africa)
dreamer_easy: (refugees)
So I could use some good news. Here's some.

First 30 Central American refugees arrive in Australia after fleeing gang violence (SMH, 16 November 2017). Welcome!

Second cohort of Nauru and Manus refugees to be resettled in US (GA, 15 December 2017). Around 200 refugees, mostly Rohingya, Pakistani, and Afghanistani, have been accepted. Iranians, who form the largest fraction of refugees detained offshore, are affected by the US's Muslim ban.

PNG Supreme Court rules major victory to Manus asylum seekers (Refugee Action Coalition, 15 December 2017). The court found that the detainees' human rights have been breached. "The finding opens the way to major compensation and also for consequential orders against both the PNG and Australian governments. Asylum seekers who missed out on compensation from the Slater and Gordon case will be eligible for payment for the breaches of their human rights."

Australia ratifies UN protocol, agreeing to mainland detention centre inspections  (GA, 15 December 2017). Prisons, juvenile detention centres, and psychiatric facilities will also be open to inspection - the last one is of personal interest to me.

ETA: Eaten Fish, Manus Island's refugee cartoonist, given sanctuary in northern Europe (GA, 19 December 2017)

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
You can donate to the Australian Red Cross to help refugees and asylum seekers in crisis in the community.

Border Force tells Nauru refugees to separate from family if they want to settle in US (GA, 6 December 2017)

Two beliefs struggle in my mind: the belief that what is being done to asylum seekers inside and outside Australia is being done because they aren't white; the belief that governments who set aside the law for some people will set it aside for all of us if it suits them. Tipping the balance in the direction of the latter: US once locked up white Australian immigrants in 'horror' camps akin to Manus and Nauru (GA, 20 November 2017)


Facts and figures (note the dates on some of these):

Asylum seekers and refugees: what are the facts? (Parliamentary Library research report, March 2015).

Fact sheets, statistics, etc, from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

Immigration Department's asylum seeker data breach costs taxpayers nearly $1m in legal fees (ABC, 13 July 2017) | Immigration investigation judged 'unfair' after asylum seeker data breach (SMH, 18 September 2015) | Scott Morrison ensured asylum seeker data breach probe failed, court finds (GA, 18 September 2017)

Australia has spent $9.6bn on asylum seeker policy in four years, says report  (GA, 12 September 2016) | Transfield's $1.1b offshore processing contract farce (The Saturday Paper, 17-23 September 2016): "A blistering audit of the offshore detention program reveals a system defined by untendered contracts and preferential deals raises billions of dollars’ worth of questions." | Missing documents, unskilled staff, poor value for money: Auditor-General lashes immigration detention (SMH, 14 September 2016) | Offshore detention cost taxpayers $5bn in four years – and asylum seekers remain in limbo (GA, 18 July 2017)

Scott Morrison may gloat but asylum seekers' boats haven't really stopped (GA, 11 December 2014). "For all the slogans and military operations, over 54,000 people have boarded boats across the Indian Ocean this year [2014], with around 20,000 in just the two months of October and November."

Meanwhile, overseas:

As Germany struggles to form a government, asylum rules emerge as a key dividing line
(WP, 2 December 2017). Temporary protection visas and family reunification. On a more positive note: German pilots refuse to carry out deportations (Deutsche Welt, 5 December 2017). "At the same time, refugees are appealing their deportation orders in record numbers - and winning."

Supreme Court Allows Full Enforcement of Trump Travel Ban (Snopes, 4 December 2017).

Trump casts immigrants as dangerous criminals, but the evidence shows otherwise (WP, 24 March 2017) "... immigrants, including those here illegally, commit crimes at lower rates than do native-born Americans."


dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Behrouz Boochani: I write from Manus Island as a duty to history (GA, 6 December 2017) | A message from Behrouz Boochani – Kurdish refugee and independent journalist (GetUp!, 26 November 2017)

Writer Mark Isaacs is posting many details of life on Manus on his Facebook, such as the role of Australian aid. From his blog: What It's Like Getting to Manus Island (29 November 2017).

I thought that MSF had been unable to provide any medical treatment on Manus since they were barred from the camps, but in fact they were able to treat a number of refugees at the hospital. On Twitter, Behrouz Boochani called for the AMA to go to Manus without waiting for the Australian government's permission; presumably they could also provide much-needed help (for locals, as well as refugees) in this way. Contact the AMA and ask them to talk to Papua New Guinea directly about visiting the island.

Matthew Phillips: Nothing prepared me for Australia's refugee camp (NZ Herald, 22 November 2017). "It was so oppressively hot we could hardly film indoors because the humidity fogged the camera lens. Men drag their mattresses outside to escape the sauna-like conditions in cramped sleeping quarters that are shared by up to 40 men. We saw evidence of months, if not years, of neglect of the facilities."

International complaint lodged over Australia's failure to investigate abuses by Manus contractor (Human Rights Law Centre, 27 November 2017). "The Human Rights Law Centre and OECD Watch have today requested the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to investigate the Australian Government’s handling of a complaint against its former security contractor G4S in relation to alleged abuse of refugees on Manus Island."


dreamer_easy: (refugees)
The critical issue, I think, is now getting medical attention the refugees on Manus, who desperately need it even more than before. However, MSF was unable to access the camp to deliver their services, despite permission from Papua New Guinea; and the AMA was not granted permission by Australian authorities, which given MSF's experience I think they were wise to seek. The problem is that doctors will blow the whistle on the men's suffering. Better that they continue to suffer, even die, as the government knows by now that a refugee death constitutes little more than a transient embarrassment.

Putting aside all humanitarian, legal, and moral questions, as someone who relies every day on medical and psychological care to stay alive, I take this denial of health care personally. If they'll do it to refugees, they will do it to Australians like me - if they think they can get away with it. And right now, they're getting away with it.

There was our silence and their violence as Manus camp was evacuated (GA, 1 December 2017). Behrouz Boochani describes the evacuation of the original detention centre. On the same day he tweeted that two of the new detention centres lacked water, food, and electricity.

Manus Island case management staff forced to leave for their own safety after landowner protest (ABC, 28 November 2017). "Manus Province police commander, David Yapu, said the protest was by landowners linked to the company Peren Investments... 'The issue behind the road block was about the awarding of the contract for the case management.'"

Ethel, a Manusian woman, smuggled food and water into the now defunct camp. Amidst the tension and violence the compassion of locals for refugees and vice versa is remarkable and encouraging.

Writer Mark Isaacs Facebooked a photo of the refugee whose arm was broken by a machete blow and who has never received the needed treatment.

(Perhaps it's not surprising that guards working for Wilson Security on Manus have also had difficulty accessing medical treatment.)

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
First, great news: At least 70 refugees held on Nauru reportedly accepted for resettlement in US (GA, 29 November 2017). As many as 90 could be accepted in this round.

Back to Manus. MSF still don't have access to the refugees there. There's no sign of the AMA's offer of free medical help being accepted.

Mental health 'crisis' risk for Manus men (The Australian (!), 28 November 2017).

The East Lorengau camp has been blockaded by the owner of the land it stands on. All services, including medical appointments with IHMS, have been cancelled. That camp, designed to accomodate 280 people, contains 400.

Footage from Manus: Religious leaders visit the camp (GetUp!, 29 November 2017).

What It's Like Getting to Manus Island (Mark J. Isaac's blog, 29 November 2017). Insight into life for locals on the island.

Australia's final solution (Renegade Inc). Argues that both Australia and refugees could benefit from following Amsterdam's example, making refugees and their skills part of the economy. Also contains this profoundly disturbing statement: "FYI, they haven’t stopped the boats. I have been told by members of the defence force who work on refugee 'intercept vessels' of mothers whose children had died in their arms, being sent back out to sea to drift aimlessly towards… anywhere but here." I am terrified of what we'll learn when the facts of the turn-arounds become public.
dreamer_easy: (refugees)
The push is on to get medical help to the men on Manus. MSF still don't have access to the camps.

Manus Island: Top Australian doctors offer free medical treatment asylum seekers (ABC, 27 November 2017). Manus Island: health experts push for right to assess refugees and asylum seekers (GA, 27 november 2017). I don't like their chances of gaining permission: "We want to do an independent assessment so the Australian people can get a clear picture of what's going on." That's the last thing the government wants.

A refugee's pet dog was cruelly and needlessly killed en route to the new detention centre. This unrelated news item helped restore my faith in humanity a bit.

dreamer_easy: (refugees)
I fear that the news cycle may be moving on, but the crisis isn't over. Many of the men are now injured, some badly, as a result of their violent removal to the new detention centres, along with existing illnesses and injuries which continue to go untreated. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) are there but have been denied access to the men.

Manus Island refugees left 'homeless' with accommodation unfinished (9 News, 26 November 2017)

New centre at Manus still a construction site, says Tim Costello (GA, 25 November 2017)

Sign the Asylum Seeker Resources Centre's
open letter of support to refugees and asylum seekers.


dreamer_easy: (refugees)
Okay.

Demonstrations
tomorrow around the nation.

Manus detainees evicted (The Project, 23 November 2017).

Manus detention centre cleared of all refugees and asylum seekers (GA, 24 November 2017). "An officer yells at a refugee, 'Turn the fucking camera off,' before a rock is thrown at him." Some had their medications destroyed. At one of the new and still incomplete detention centres, about 60 men had nowhere to sleep.

Manus Island police use long metal poles to beat refugees and asylum seekers (GA, 24 November 2017)

Is there an award for magnificently dry headlines? Manus police pulled my hair and beat me. 'You've damaged our reputation,' they said (GA, 24 November 2017). Behrouz Boochani's account of the violent assault on the camp and his arrest.

'I'm not sure what they're going to do with me': Uncertainty awaits after month-long Manus Island standoff ends (SMH, 24 November 2017). "I'm not sure what they're going to do with me, how much time they will take, how long I will be detained again and how long I will be in prison camp,"

'We've tried to get information from the department': AMA's Anne Trimmer on health of Manus refugees (SMH, 25 November 2017)


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