200 asylum-seekers missing after boat sinks on way to Australia

A wooden fishing boat carrying about 250 asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey, that was believed to be heading for Australia sunk 90km (55 miles) off the coast of Indonesia on Saturday.

The boat turned over, broke apart and sank in bad weather and huge waves of up to 5 metres in height off Indonesia’s main island of Java.

Indonesian officials say that only 33 people (30 men, one woman and two children) have been saved. More than 200 asylum-seekers are still missing and thought to be dead.

Lieutenant Alwi Mudzakir a maritime police official heading the search said bad weather and large waves are challenging the rescue operation "We fear that a large number of victims will not be rescued."

Indonesian police blame the accident on people smugglers because they put too many passengers on a boat that was built to only carry 100 people or less.

Survivors said that they and the other passengers came from Iran and Afghanistan, and had each paid smugglers between $2,500 and $5,000 to get on a boat and seek a new life in Australia.

 "According to them, they had flown from Dubai to Jakarta and took buses to an unidentified location in Java to board the boat. They said they were heading to Christmas Island," Mr Purwanto said.

While most estimate that 250 asylum-seekers were on board, some reports say there were 380 asylum-seekers on the boat.

One survivor from Afghanistan, 24-year-old Esmat Adine, gave rescuers an estimate of how many passengers were on the boat.

"He did not know exactly how many passengers there were, but he said that four buses with around 60 or more adult passenger each had turned up to the port where the boat set off from," a translator for Mr. Adine said.

Mr. Esmat Adine told the Antara news agency that during the bad weather the ship had started rocking violently from side to side, triggering panic among the tightly packed passengers.

"That made the boat even more unstable and eventually it sank,” he said.

Mr. Adine added that he and others clung to parts of the broken boat until local fishermen rescued them. He estimated that more than 40 children were on the boat.

Indonesia has more than 18,000 islands and thousands of miles of unpatrolled coastline, making it a key transit point for smuggling migrants.

Australian Government officials have warned asylum-seekers and refugees against attempting to go to Australia by boat because it is so dangerous. 

Last month, a ship carrying about 70 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan capsized in the same area off the southern coast of Central Java province, and at least eight people died.

Australia’s new Home Affairs Minister Mr. Jason Clare blamed people smugglers for the tragedy.

"They're in the business of making money and they don't care if it kills people or not," he said.

December is one of the most dangerous months to attempt a sea crossing to Australia.

The dangerous monsoon season begins December 1 and this tragedy has come just over a year since the Christmas Island boat crash which killed dozens.

A Year Since 50 Asylum-seekers died in the Christmas Island Boat Tragedy

A year has passed since a boat carrying asylum seekers crashed into the jagged cliffs off the coast of Christmas Island. The boat, known as SIEV 221, crashed into the sharp rocks early in the morning of December 15. 42 people survived but 50 drowned in the tragedy.

Among the survivors is Sayed Hossien Hossieni. His wife, son and wife’s cousin were among the 50 who drowned.

A year later, Hossien’s application for refugee status was approved and he was granted a permanent protection visa but he remains haunted by the deaths of his wife and son.

“The things I saw during the crash, the memories of my wife, my kid . . . I can't get those out of my mind,” he said.

“I am living my own nightmare.”

He has not been able to find a job and lives alone in a flat with nothing but some photocopied black and white photos of his wife and child.

In November he tried to end his life and is back in hospital again, still struggling to deal with his loss.

His wife was one of the 20 people whose bodies were never found. This is particularly hard for Hossien. “I still feel my wife's body -- because it wasn't recovered, I feel she is still there. When I go out to visit people, I can't stay long -- I feel I have to get back home, because Mariem will be waiting for me.”

The boat carrying Hossien and his family was spotted by Christmas Island locals just after dawn on December 15 struggling in the high seas. The Island’s port had been closed for days and the monsoon weather was the worst seen in many years. The boat was headed straight towards the Island. Had it then turned east it would have reached safe waters. Instead, it turned west and was soon dangerously close to the cliffs.

SIEV 221 was an Indonesian fishing boat about 15 metres long.  Before leaving Jakarta, the asylum seekers from Iran and Iraq were told that the boat was comfortable, safe and properly equipped. This was a lie. The only safety equipment on board was 20 to 30 life jackets and the crew were fishermen who had never made the journey before. There were 92 people on board. Another boat had collected the captain as soon as they had entered Australian waters, leaving the asylum seekers and inexperienced crew to make the most dangerous part of the journey on their own.

Christmas Island locals watched horrified as the boat was pushed towards the cliffs by the rough seas. They collected life jackets and waited for the rescue boats to arrive. The hospital was on standby. The boat crashed into the cliffs three times before it broke apart. People and wreckage were thrown into the swirling water.

Hossien remembers the chaos. “Before we hit the cliffs, I emptied a petrol drum and offered it to my wife to hang on to, but she said, ‘You look after the kid’.”

But it was too late. “On hitting the rocks, the planks cracked and slammed into people. About 40 to 70 people just tumbled into each other. As I was trying to reach my wife's hand, with all the people around we got separated,” he says.

Hossien made it to open sea and to the cliffs where he tried to hang on to a rope thrown by locals. When he realised the waves would crush him against the rocks he let go and swam back from the cliffs. He managed to find a life jacket thrown into the water by the locals and went to try to find his wife and child.

When the rescue boats finally arrived they could not get close to the wreckage in case they crushed people in the rough waves or crashed themselves. Instead they got creative, attaching life jackets and life rings to ropes to get to survivors. 41 people were pulled from the water and one man survived by jumping onto the cliffs. Only 30 bodies were eventually recovered.

The survivors were taken to the Christmas Island Detention Centre where they were kept until their refugee applications were determined. A group of survivors, including Hossien, were briefly released from detention to attend funerals for some of those who had died. Nine bodies were returned to their families in Iran and Iraq for burials there.

Hossien’s friends and relatives back in Iran ask him whether they should use people smugglers to try to get to Australia. “Please do not take such a risk, it is not worth it,” he says.

An Unending Journey Turns Into a Nightmare for an Iranian Asylum-seeker in Australia

Hassan left Iran is search of a new life. Like others, he thought the long and painful journey to Australia as an asylum seeker would end when he got to Australia and was granted refugee status. Instead, his experience has been very different and is still not over.

Hassan arrived on Christmas Island in May 2010, just after the tension in the overcrowded and understaffed detention centre had exploded into violent protests.

By the time he reached Australia he was already depressed and wanted to return to Iran. But when he phoned his family they told him that it was not safe and that returning would put him and his family in even more danger.

While in detention, Hassan witnessed other asylum seekers try to hurt themselves on a daily basis.

The week before he arrived, a 20-year-old Afghan man hanged himself in his room. Hassan also tried to end his life after his application for refugee status was rejected and the interview to hear his appeal against the negative decision was cancelled at the last moment without explanation.

“It was very hard for me. The months in detention made me remember when I was in detention centres in Iran. I was hopeless about life. Nothing was good for me and I was wondering, 'Why should I stay here?’”

The first time he saw Australia was when he was taken to hospital after his suicide attempt. “I didn't know anything about Australia, about people, or houses.”

The medical staff who supported Hassan after his suicide attempt wrote that he “describes experiencing overwhelming anxiety symptoms, including flashbacks, panic attacks and poor sleep with nightmares, chronic persistent anxiety and restlessness (e.g. biting arm hairs) as well as low mood and hopelessness, which have been worsening throughout the duration of his 14 months in detention - especially since transfer from Christmas Island.”

His psychiatrist also wrote that “being in detention reminds [Hassan] of his time in a prison in Iran … and that even seeing the detention centre guards in uniform caused him to experience panic attacks and re-experience the trauma of Iran. He also mentioned particular rooms in Curtin reminded him of torture rooms in the Iranian prison.”

They tried to have him moved from the detention centre, pleading that the “detention centre environments generally would likely precipitate his depressive and anxiety symptoms and hope consideration may be given to Hassan regarding future hearings of his case.”

About three months later, he became one of the first asylum seekers to be allowed to live in the community with a bridging visa under the system put in place after the Malaysia Plan was stopped. But although he is out of detention, Hassan still does not have refugee status and is waiting for a decision following a review of his application.

A bridging visa is a short-term, temporary visa that allows those asylum-seekers who receive them to wait for an answer to their refugee claim free in the community rather than locked up in detention.

Australia’s Immigration Department will only give bridging visas to asylum-seekers who:

•                    Have been in detention for a very long time and have not received an answer to their refugee claim. A long time means between 1 to 2 years;

•                    Have been good while in detention and have not been involved in riots or protests;

•                    Have family or friends in Australia that they can live with; and,

•                    Have been approved by the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation.

A bridging visa does not give the asylum-seeker the right to stay in Australia forever. If the asylum-seeker is accepted as a refugee, they will be given a different visa to stay in Australia. If the asylum-seeker that has a bridging visa is rejected as a refugee, then they will be sent home.

By the 31st October this year there were 5,454 people in detention centres around Australia.  64% had been in detention for 6 months or longer and almost 40% had been in detention for 12 months or more.

Law enforcement increases as more boats arrive to Australia

The largest boatload of asylum seekers to arrive since 2009, and the sixth in a week, has landed on Christmas Island as officials from the Australian Government are visiting Indonesia to discuss new ways stop people smuggling.

There were 167 asylum seekers and crew on the latest boat, making it the third-largest boat to arrive since 2009. A total of 542 asylum seekers and crew have arrived this week. After a record 901 asylum seekers and crew were intercepted in November, December is expected to be even bigger.

Since the Australian Parliament forced the Government to abandon offshore processing, boats have steadily increased in size and frequency. By the 6th of December, 3920 asylum seekers have arrived.  This is the third-highest total on record and almost one-third of the total has arrived in the past six weeks.

By Monday 5th December, there were 1235 asylum-seekers being held in Christmas Island detention centre which is designed to house 1244. But the latest arrival and a group of asylum seekers who are still in transit will add another 240 people.

A spokesman for the Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, blamed the rise in arrivals on the Opposition, which has stopped laws being changed which would allow offshore processing and the Malaysia Plan.

The recent boat arrivals came as senior Australian Government officials were in Jakarta discussing “new ways” for Indonesia and Australia to work together to stop people smuggling syndicates and their bosses. They have discussed how to combat people trafficking and smuggling as well as ways to improve the age determination process for people smuggling crew. While there, Australia delivered three 16-metre speedboats to the Indonesian police. But Indonesian police officials said that they needed much bigger boats to fight people smuggling.

Australia has also been contributing to the Indonesian Maritime Security Board, helping the Indonesians to train their staff on maritime security and sea law. In addition, Australia has donated $2 million for a maritime radio communication network.

Speaking in Indonesia, Australian Government officials said they expected more boats carrying asylum seekers to leave from Indonesia in the next few months, despite the dangerous conditions during the monsoon season. “We're on the cusp of the anniversary of the Christmas Island tragedy and that's why the Government wants to work with the governments within the region to combat people-smuggling.”

Another Australian Government official said that there was now an “increased likelihood of people perishing at sea” as asylum seekers boarded boats in the monsoon period. A year ago, 50 asylum seekers died in a boat crash off Christmas Island in bad weather. Because of this, he also said Australia and Indonesia were developing new strategies to arrest people smuggling bosses, including the introduction of new laws in countries around the region.