Last month I joined with Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) to speak at a series of public forums around the country to discuss the future for asylum seekers who remain in limbo in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. So far I have spoken in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart and Launceston, Adelaide, Perth and Benalla in Read more
Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) bishops are urging the government to do more to help resettle the country’s refugees and asylum seekers. Besides pushing for a definitive end to the detention of refugees on Manus Island, the bishops are also highlighting the plight of various groups in the country who have not gained refugee status. In Read more
A Manus Island refugee has been nominated for an international human rights award. Abdul Aziz Muhamat fled persecution in Sudan only to be detained by Australia in Papua New Guinea, where he became a spokesperson for hundreds of men held there for five years. Continue reading
Refugees receiving medical treatment in Papua New Guinea are no longer provided with interpreters, a Kurdish refugee says. Despite a promise that interpreters would be available, the English speaking Kurd said he had to volunteer to help patients and doctors communicate. Continue reading
The decency and integrity of two Manus Islanders, a Catholic priest and a retired army major, has impressed Kon Karapanagiotidis from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. He said their story shows us the power of people’s everyday humanity and decency. “These men highlight an important story that has been missed by many.” The two Manusian Read more
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made finding a solution to the Manus Island standoff a priority. The remaining refugees and asylum seekers of the Lombrom Naval Base insist that their new locations in Lorengau closer to community areas will be unsafe, and refuse to leave. During this crisis, the Turnbull government has become visibly Read more
About 20 protesters blocked the entrance to the Australian high commission in Wellington on Monday to highlight the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers on Manus Island. “The purpose of the protest was to prevent anyone inside from leaving”, Peace Action Wellington spokeswoman Emma Cullen said. “We’re shutting them down for as long as we can Read more
If you had been told thirty years ago that Australia would create the least asylum seeker friendly institutional arrangements in the world, you would not have been believed. In 1992 we introduced a system of indefinite mandatory detention for asylum seekers who arrive by boat. Since that time, we have accepted the idea that certain Read more
The Australian Bishops’ Delegate for Migrants and Refugees says the Australian government should accept New Zealand’s offer to take detainees on Manus Island. “It is time to find an alternative and conscionable solution, including accepting New Zealand’s offer of resettlement and bringing the remaining detainees on Manus Island to Australia,” said Bishop Vincent Long Van Read more
A 72-year-old Brigidine sister, Jane Keogh, is on Manus Island where she has been trying to help a mentally ill man at the East Lorengau Transit Centre. She says there is no help available for people suffering from mental illness. Last week an apparent suicide of a Tamil detainee was closely followed by that of Read more