Members of the Margaret River community, as well as Shire councillors and supporters of the Amnesty Margaret River group, joined together on Wednesday evening to show their support for the campaign to close offshore detention centres.
Despite torrential rain and strong winds, a large contingent of members of the local community were present at the doors of the Augusta Margaret River Shire offices, many holding candles.
The South West supporters joined communities around the country who stood to show support for refugees and asylum seekers, including women and children, detained on Manus Island and Nauru.
Ahead of the candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening, the Mail published a letter penned by two locals, on the topic of offshore detention.
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Four years ago this week Kevin Rudd and his cabinet decided to re-open the offshore detention centres of Manus and Nauru. It was a desperate bid to compete with Abbott’s “Stop the Boats”.
From that time on whoever arrived by boat was transferred to an offshore camp. From the start, conditions of their detention were a direct contravention of Human Rights. The Coalition, with the approval and support of the Opposition has continued to apply the harshest treatments, on the pretext that it is a deterrent for other asylum seekers attempting to arrive by boat.
These people have committed no crimes. Most have made desperate escapes from war torn countries, persecution and unimaginable hardship. It is not illegal to seek asylum. They have not been charged with any offence. Indefinite detention is a form of torture. There are still 189 children in Nauru. Many children were born in detention, or in Australia and sent back.
Why should they be punished? How could such inhumane treatment be justified? And they remain in detention. No solution has been found, no valid resettlement option, no amnesty, only an ongoing series of human rights abuse. One of the policies of the immigration department has been secrecy and deliberate misinformation in order to hide the reality from the Australian public. They passed a law in 2015 forbidding health workers and other staff in the camps to reveal any abuse they may have witnessed.
Failing to comply could result in a two year imprisonment. Now and again, some of the facts have been released, such as the Nauru Files, some reports from Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission or UNHCR.
Recently the Government was forced to offer $70m compensation to Manus refugees for appalling treatment received in 2014-2015. It was the first official admission of both their responsibility and their guilt.
For them it was preferable to comply immediately and quietly rather than risk having further abuse revealed and many more millions of taxpayers’ money dispatched. There could well be more claims in the future. And they remain in detention
There have been weak attempts at finding other nations to accept the refugees. A very small number of detainees tried to settle in PNG, but all reports talk of violence, antagonism towards the refugees, extreme poverty and lack of opportunities for safe resettlement.
It’s no better in Nauru, as the island is dependent on Australian government’s payments towards the refugees’ upkeep. This is not to condemn the Papuans or Nauruans. The responsibility rests squarely with Australia. The so-called US deal, signed between Turnbull and Obama in 2016, has become a farce since the Trump election. Now the US has declared that they have filled their quota of 50,000 refugees, and as the Muslim ban has been reinstated, this would prevent most refugees being resettled in America.
Recent news stated that officials vetting refugees on Nauru have left abruptly without explanation after completing 50 interviews. Once again hope of resettlement has been dashed. And they remain in detention.
There has been much public opinion in support of the refugees and many campaigns led against indefinite detention. Our own Shire has adopted the ‘Welcome refugee’ status for our town, along with many others. And they remain in detention
The High Court of PNG declared the Manus camp illegal and unconstitutional over a year ago. Conditions are worsening in an attempt by the authorities to drive refugees out of the camp. What will happen to them when the centre is closed in October?
THERE IS ONE SOLUTION: EVACUATE MANUS AND NAURU NOW AND BRING THE REFUGEES TO AUSTRALIA.
Catherine River & Annie Malcolm