Manus no comfort for detainees

ASYLUM seekers sent to Manus Island two weeks ago are continuing to refuse food and are self-harming in a desperate protest against their selection for forced transfer from mainland Australia to PNG.
They have said they will not stop until they are told how and when their refugee applications will be processed.
One 19-year-old man attempted to hang himself last weekend. This is the same man who had said a week ago: “Here is end of my life. I had lots of dreams but now all hope is gone. I am suffering from this.”
Two other men, one of whom had attempted to hang himself, according to detainees, have been transferred back to Darwin suffering from health conditions unable to be treated on the island.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Ci­tizenship (DIAC) insists there was no attempted suicide, and that the asylum seeker had hit his head.
One asylum seeker claimed they had been told they could not speak to the men or offer them cigarettes.
Whereas the other asylum seekers are allowed to access the internet for one hour a day, the new arrivals have been denied access to the internet. 
The Manus Island asylum seekers have welcomed a court action by PNG’s opposition leader, Belden Namah, to have the centre declared unlawful and for the detainees to be released or at least stop their transfers.
In a press statement, Namah said the centre was illegal under section 42 of the Constitution which lays down the limits under which people can be deprived of their liberty in PNG.
On Monday, the asylum seekers wrote to Namah telling him that on reaching Christmas Island, they were asked to sign documents that they did not understand.
They are seeking translated copies of these documents which they say were signed “under great duress”.
This letter was written after the first group of those transferred to Manus Island gave up an initial decision to refuse food after being told that “in Australia, people are free to protest and speak out and voice discontent about decisions and policies that they feel are unfair and unjust”.
In the hope that processing of individual claims would begin, they wrote: “We have decided to use our intellect and our humanity to appeal to all people who care for justice and fairness to hear our stories and support our cause.
“We have given up voluntary starvation as a sign of our respect for the democratic processes of Australia, and we put ourselves in the hands of these processes.”
In the letter, they described being forcibly removed to Manus Island.
One woman wrote: “At 6.30 in morning, they came to take us to a ‘meeting’. I didn’t have time to brush my hair or change my sleeping clothes.
“We were taken to a room where there was a large number of Serco (a specialised service provider engaged by the Australian Defence Force) officers. They were big, muscular men who looked intimidating, carrying sticks and spray.
“They were different to the officers we had come to know while at Christmas Island. They told us nothing, but did body checks and then put us on a bus.”
The asylum seekers were then taken to another area where they were separated into ethnic groups and told that they would be transferred to PNG.
The asylum seekers say they knew nothing about PNG and they were “not allowed to ask questions”.
Another asylum seeker wrote: “This was such bad news for us. We were told Serco would pack all our things and they would be sent with us to PNG. We waited a long time.
“Later, after about two hours someone came and spoke to us individually in family groups. Several guards were with us. We were told because we were healthy and had no family in Australia, we were being sent to another country.
“We were not allowed to see any of our friends to say goodbye. I was asked if I had any fears about going to PNG, I replied I was very scared about this.”
The same woman said she was “searched again, even under my tongue, my hair, behind my ears, our belongings were packed. We never returned to our room.
“Our property was not treated with respect. Clean things were thrown in with dirty things. Some items, important to us, were lost and never arrived in PNG.”
After waiting for many hours, they were put on ano­ther bus and taken to the airport, “feeling like criminals”.
They were accompanied by guards and federal police on the trip.
“When the plane finally landed in PNG, we were marched out of the plane one by one by the officers. No information was given to us on the whole trip. We became even more scared during this trip and wondered where we were being taken to.”
They concluded: “This experience was more traumatic for us than the boat trip we undertook to reach Australia. Then, our life was in the hands of nature. But here in Australia, where we expected just treatment, our lives were in the hands of people who made a choice to treat us in this cruel and demeaning way.”
Meanwhile the detainees, who have still not been allowed to leave the compound since they arrived last year, complain that they have still not received a reply to their letter to DIAC sent on Jan 7.
In the letter, they complained about lack of doors on sleeping huts and the impact of restrictions on their children who have “become more violent, are under severe mental pressure because they think they are prisoners”.
“They blame us for bringing them here and this is affecting our relationships with them. The children complain about the food being provided and tell us constantly they are unable to eat it because of the heat and it is not hygienic.
“As parents, we are so concerned and worried about the future and welfare of our children.”
In the letter they also complain that, as directed by DIAC, they had discussed their problems with International Health and Medical Services (IHMS), the company who are contracted to provide health services for detainees.
They explain that IHMS told them “that they can’t do much about our health pro­blems because they tell us that they have inadequate facilities and services available here”.
New Matilda attempted to contact IHMS, who did not reply by deadline. – newmatilda
lWendy Bacon is a contributing editor to New Matilda, a professor with the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, an activist, media researcher and blogger. She is also on the board of the Pacific Media Centre.