“If such a thing as hell exists, it would be very similar to Nauru,” a 23-year-old Tamil asylum-seeker told ABC Television last week, after slashing her body in a failed suicide attempt. Written submissions to the Australian Senate Committee inquiry told of rape and sexual assault, of children self-harming, of guards trading hot water and drugs for Read more
Catholic education authorities in Sydney are encouraging students to speak out if they are unhappy with Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. Sydney archdiocese executive director of Catholic schools Dan White said these schools have a long-standing tradition of encouraging students to engage with social justice issues. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a Read more
Australia has sent 157 Tamil asylum seekers, including 50 children, to Nauru a week after religious leaders slammed policy in this area as child abuse. The group were held at sea for a month after their boat, which set sail from Pondicherry in India, was intercepted in June. They were moved to Australia’s mainland, to Read more
The Catholic Catholic Bishop’s Bishops of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands have elected Bishop Arnold Orowae of Wabag as its new President. The election took place at the Conference annual general meeting, held between 1-9 May 2014. The Deputy President is Archbishop Steve Reichert of Madang. The Central Committee, which is elected every three years, Read more
Work is underway in Papua New Guinea to come up with recommendations for the government on the best way to re-settle refugees, currently in detention at Manus Island. It will spend the next few weeks consulting non-government organisations, businesses and other community groups. The panel’s deputy chair is the Archbishop of Port Moresby John Ribat. Read more
There are 1296 asylum seekers being held in the Australian detention centre on the Papua New Guinea Island of Manus. Most are from troubled Middle East and Asian countries. The highest number is from Iran (533), followed by Afghanistan (134), Pakistan (104), Iraq (94). There are also 90 Sudanese, 47 Somalis and a handful of Read more
A former Salvation Army worker who provided welfare services at the Australian-run asylum seeker detention centre on Nauru says the situation of hopelessness at the camp was so bad he had to speak out. Mark Isaacs has described his experience in his book, The Undesirables which was due for for publication next month, but has Read more
The Archbishop of Rabaul in PNG says local community leaders on Manus had been left in the dark over the details for Australia’s offshore processing centre for asylum seekers. Archbishop Francesco Panfilo says he was surprised to discover when he visited Manus last year that community leaders had not seen any of the official documentation Read more
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands says it is appalled to hear of recent disturbances at the Manus Island detention centre resulting in death and injury for the asylum seekers. The The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands has consistently spoken against offshore processing in PNG Read more
Churches in Papua New Guinea say they are seeking urgent talks with both Australian and PNG authorities in order to gain access to the asylum seeker detention camp on Manus Island. The churches say they want to provide counselling and reconciliation services for those affected by the violence. Fr Victor Roache, General Secretary, PNG Catholic Read more