More Asylum Seekers Die Trying to Reach Australia

Boats carrying asylum seekers trying to reach Australia continue to sink due to damaged boats and bad weather.

The most recent sinking was off the coast of Malaysia on the 2^nd of February. At least eight people were killed. 18 people have been rescued and there may still be more people missing. The boat was carrying asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Four Pakistanis and one Afghan man were among the eight killed. It is understood that the asylum seekers had got to Malaysia by land from Thailand. A Malaysian Police spokesperson said none of the men had travel documents.

A 22-year old Afghan man, known only as Sayed was quoted as saying that the 11-metre boat was too small for all the people in the group but that they had been told it was safe. “The journey was initially smooth, but about two hours later, the sea became choppy and I could see water getting into the boat,” he said. “It was at this time that the boatman turned off the engine and everyone panicked. Suddenly, the boat started to sink. We all jumped into the water.”

Around the same time, another group of asylum seekers had to be rescued off the coast of Indonesia. This boat was carrying 54 ethnic Rohingya asylum seekers from Burma. They were believed to be heading to Australia but had to be rescued by fisherman after their boat broke down and was being battered by large waves. One of the fishermen involved in the rescue says the boat was damaged and its engine had broken down.

These recent boat sinkings come just two months after more than 200 asylum seekers drowned off the Indonesian coast. Of the estimated 250 asylum seekers on board that boat only 47 survived.

The Australian Immigration Minister, Mr Chris Bowen said these boat tragedies showed why the Australian Government needed to work with the Malaysian Government to break the business model of people smugglers. He said: “We believe the Malaysian arrangement is the best policy approach, both for Australia and for asylum seekers, providing, as it does, a clear deterrence to people getting on precarious boats and risking their lives.”

In 2011 the Australian Government agreed with Malaysia to send 800 asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia back to Malaysia. In return, Malaysia would send 4000 asylum seekers who had already been found to be refugees to Australia. The agreement was stopped by the Australian Courts in August.

Speaking at a conference on refugee issues in Melbourne, the Immigration Minister confirmed that the government would keep working to get the people-swap deal with Malaysia implemented. The Minister said the Australian Government was “convinced of its importance and virtue.”

Boat Arrivals, Australia and Human Rights

Australia’s policy of imprisoning all asylum seekers who travel to Australia by boat has been strongly criticized by human rights supporters. During a visit to Australia in May 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, urged the Australian Government to end the mandatory detention policy. Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned the policy, saying Australia needs to do more to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. Despite this, it is unlikely that the policy of mandatory detention will be changed.

Partly responding to the criticism of human rights campaigners, the Australian Government announced that asylum seekers arriving by boat could be granted Bridging Visas in November 2011. The Bridging Visas would allow asylum seekers to live in the community while their applications for refugee status were decided. According to the Immigration Department, however, bridging visas are granted on a case by case basis and priority is given to the most vulnerable and those who have been in detention for a long time. The behavior of asylum seekers in detention is also taken into account. Since November only 107 asylum seekers have been let out of detention on bridging visas and 4,409 people remain locked up.

The possibility of Bridging Visas for asylum seekers arriving by boat is a step towards a more gentle response to boat arrivals but it does not mean the end of compulsory detention. Historically, Australia’s policies towards boat arrivals have got harsher when the number of people arriving by boat increases. Mandatory detention laws were introduced in Australia in 1992 by the then Labor government in response to the increasing numbers of asylum seekers from Vietnam, China, and Cambodia trying to reach Australia by boat. The law said that Australian Courts were not allowed to review the decision to detain asylum seekers but said that they could not be detained for longer than 273 (approximately nine months). In 1994 the same government changed the law again, making it even harsher by ruling that mandatory detention could last indefinitely for anyone who came to Australia by boat without a valid visa.

In 2001, in response to the increasing numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat, the then Liberal Government (led by John Howard) introduced the Pacific Solution. Before 2001, the highest number of asylum seekers boats to arrive in Australia was 19, carrying a total of 660 asylum seekers. In 2001, 43 boats arrived carrying 5,516 asylum seekers. Responding to this increase, the Australian government declared that the Australian islands between Indonesia and the Australian mainland were no longer part of Australia’s migration zone and all asylum seekers arriving by boat would be taken to a detention centre on the tiny island of Nauru. Many of the asylum seekers in Nauru were detained for years. The number of boats arriving dropped dramatically.

In 2008, the newly elected Labor government (this time led by Kevin Rudd) announced that it was ending the Pacific Solution but that some aspects of the detention system would stay the same. Asylum seekers arriving by boat would still have their refugee status determined offshore (on Christmas Island) but they would be let out of detention faster. In October 2010, the new Labor Prime Minister, Julia Gillard said that more changes would be made to the policy so that children and families could stay in community-based accommodation instead of the detention centre. However, since 2008, the number of boats arriving has steadily increased. In 2010 134 boats carried 6,879 asylum seekers to Australia.

Because the numbers of asylum seekers have increased so dramatically, it is likely that mandatory detention will continue to be used as a deterrent. Both of the major political parties in Australia remain convinced of the need for offshore processing and are just debating about where it will take place. The detention center in Nauru is one of the options being discussed. Amnesty International has said that the prospect of reopening Nauru is “horrifying” because “asylum seekers were locked up for years, away from lawyers, media, human rights advocates and community support. They were often not given proper information about what was happening and what rights they had.” Amnesty believes that there is a declining respect for the human rights of asylum seekers in Australia.

Asylum Seekers Clash in Australian Detention Centre

Fights amongst asylum seekers in Darwin have highlighted tensions in detention centres around Australia as more and more asylum seekers try to get into Australia by boat.

Several asylum seekers were taken to hospital after fights broke out on the 31st December at the Darwin Airport Lodge, a temporary detention centre for families. Approximately 60 asylum seekers were involved. More fights broke out the following day and another four people were taken to hospital. The Department of Immigration says all of the asylum seekers have now been returned to the Detention Centre.

It is not known what the fights were about but the incident is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. The company which runs detention centres in Australia, Serco, will also undertake their own investigation. The Immigration Department said that those asylum seekers found to have been involved risked failing their character test and may not receive refugee visas.

The Refugee Action Coalition says that tensions have been rising in detention centres because of delays in the bridging visa process. “There have been all sorts of promises made about people being allowed out on bridging visas by now but it just hasn't happened.”

After the Australian Government failed to get support from Parliament for the Malaysia Plan, it said it would introduce bridging visas for asylum seekers who had arrived by boat. Bridging visas are granted on a case by case basis and priority is given to the most vulnerable and those who have been in detention for a long time. According to the Immigration Department, the behaviour of asylum seekers in detention is also taken into account.

According to some asylum seekers, the policy of bridging visas gave many detainees hope that they would be allowed to live in the community while their claims were being assessed. However, since then only 107 asylum seekers have been let out of detention on bridging visas and the stress on those left in detention is increasing.

Statistics from the Australian Immigration Department that were published on November 30 say that over 4,400 asylum-seekers are currently in detention with 1,265 from Iran and 1,205 from Afghanistan. More than 1,540 people (35%) have been waiting in detention for more than a year to see whether they can stay in Australia or not.

Tensions are also increasing as more asylum seekers arrive by boat and are put into detention centres. 1080 asylum seekers arrived by boat in December. As of last Friday, there were 5819 boatpeople and crew in the country. There are currently only 1300 asylum seekers living in community detention.

The Immigration Department and Serco are trying to manage tensions through the introduction of a system of incentives, rewards and punishments. For example, asylum seekers deemed low-risk in Curtin Detention Centre in Western Australia are being moved to a low-security detention centre near Hobart. Asylum seekers who are “troublesome” are being flown to Christmas Island to be locked up in isolated cells not being allowed out at all or having any contact with other asylum-seekers for weeks at a time.

The main detention centre on Christmas Island is being renovated to increase the number of high-security cells from seven to over 50. Two accommodation blocks are also being converted into a fully caged compound for asylum seekers charged with offences or considered violent or likely to harm themselves.

Serco has also introduced community activities and volunteer work for asylum seekers that are well-behaved in Curtin. Low-risk detainees are now regularly taken for activities to the town of Derby, 50km from the centre. But an asylum seeker in Curtin explained that these trips did nothing to help him after 11 months in detention. “We are not children in here, you know someone you just give candy and make us quiet and happy," he said. “When you are locked up with no answers, your problems do not go away when you get taken on a bus ride or to the swimming pool.”

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.