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.
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