Riots at Australian Immigration Centre’s

Australia has seen a surge of asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Australia. Recent widespread riots at detention centres across Australia are a reflection of mandatory detention of asylum seekers, long processing time on applications and crowded detention centres.

People who come to Australia by boat are arriving illegally and according to Australian law, these illegal arrivals have to be detained in Australian detention centres. Most are first taken to the remote Christmas Island. Christmas Island is overcrowded and the mix of ethnicities is often explosive. There have been reports of attacks and injury between asylum-seekers. Earlier this year a Sri Lankan asylum-seeker had his teeth knocked out by a fellow detainee. Asylum-seekers are also attacking their guards. An Iranian asylum-seeker through boiling water on a guard as he tried to break up a fight between asylum-seekers. The Iranian is now facing criminal charges.

Overcrowding became a serious problem in Australian detention centres because Australia was not prepared to receive the record number of asylum-seekers that arrived last year. In 2010 134 boats came to Australia carrying 6,535 people. As of 20 April, 6300 asylum-seekers were detained in Australian detention centres. More than half of the asylum-seekers detained have been on the Island for 18 months.

A few months ago asylum-seekers caused extensive damage at an Australian detention centre in Sydney, setting alight buildings and attacking firefighters. 100 men were involved in the disturbances which raged throughout the night. Nine buildings were seriously damaged including a medical centre, kitchen and computer room.

Riot police were called in by the private security firm which runs the centre. Firefighters who tried to extinguish the blazes were pelted with roof tiles and bits of wood. An explosion is thought to have been caused by a gas bottle catching fire.

Police said tear gas was not used but pepper spray and “bean bag” bullets, were fired from a shotgun.

An Iranian man involved in the riot named Majid, said they had been forced into these actions because they had no other option. ”We were desperate,” he said. “We just want attention. We did not hurt anyone. We did not hurt firemen. We did not attack security. ‘‘I’m not an animal, I’m human. I’ve been in the detention centre for 20 months.’’

Seven detainees have been charged over the destruction at the detention centre. One of those charged is Iranian.

There was a similar riot on Christmas Island in March where buildings were set fire to and the police had to use tear-gas and bean bag bullets to end the unrest. Eighteen asylum-seekers were charged over the riots. The charges include burglary, destroying Commonwealth property, using weapons and harming or threatening a public official. The charges carry maximum penalties ranging from two years to 20 years in jail.

There is a lot of anger in detention centres and asylum seekers are trying to show that anger by protest or self-harming. Many people in detention have tried to harm themselves to bring attention to their cases.

One man made a lasso from wire and tied it to a vent on the rooftop before threatening to kill himself by jumping off. Fellow detainees held him back. Another detainee also sewed his lips together to protest against the way authorities had treated his asylum claim at the Christmas Island center.

Some also face serious mental health issues and actually commit suicide. Such as two young Afghan men who were found dead in their rooms at different detention centres in March.

Protests, riots, self-harm and suicide are all a result of frustration and anger felt by asylum-seekers. They have traveled a long way and have spent a lot of money and time and seen a lot of hardship to get to their destination but yet they face another challenge of overcrowded detention centers, long periods of detention, and at the end some of them don’t get any visa and are deported because they are not genuine refugees. Every year there are hundreds of illegal refugees who travel to Australia even though there are legal and safe ways to get there without being detained.