Record payout for refugee who sewed lips - Australia/Refugees & Migrants/Iran/Sri Lanka
Damien Murphy; 12/1/08
The Iranian who came to symbolise the debate over asylum seekers during the Howard government era has been awarded compensation of more than $800,000, double previous payouts. Parviz Yousefi, 40, gained national attention for sewing his lips together, attempting suicide four times and going on hunger strikes after authorities separated him from his wife and son at Woomera detention centre. He was kept in custody for three years as the government decided whether the Yousefis were genuine refugees despite medical recommendations that he should be released into appropriate care.
Refugees’ long wait set to end
Jewel Topsfield; 12/1/08
Twenty-one Sri Lankan refugees held on Nauru for almost a year will be resettled in Australia on Tuesday, in time to celebrate the Tamil new year. Immigration Minister Chris Evans said yesterday the men were the first of a group of 75 Sri Lankan refugees on Nauru who would move to Australia in the coming weeks as part of the Government’s commitment to close the controversial detention centre on the island. The Tamils were among 83 Sri Lankans taken to Nauru after the navy intercepted their unseaworthy boat in international waters last February. Seventy-five have been found to be genuine refugees, but were told by the former government they would not be allowed to resettle in Australia and would remain on Nauru until another country was found for them. David Manne from the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre welcomed the new Government’s “humane and commonsense” decision to allow the men to settle in Australia.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/refugees-long-wait-set-to-end/2008/01/11/1199988589982.html
Asylum seekers need a fair go, too
Editorial; 12/1/08
During the latter months of 2007 representatives from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission inspected all of Australia’s onshore immigration detention centres — except for Baxter, which was closed at the time of the scheduled visit — to assess the operation of the facilities and the physical and mental wellbeing of the detainees. The commission’s report, released earlier this week, makes for disturbing reading. While noting broad improvements in the conditions under which detainees are held and how they are treated by staff (with the notable exception of Sydney’s Villawood), the commission expressed grave concerns about the ongoing mental health of people at these facilities. While the scaling back of excursion programs and visits to family and friends exacerbated the situation, it stated that the major contributing element to the problem is the length of detention and the uncertainty of its duration. With this in mind, the commission has made a range of highly sensible recommendations that would help get unauthorised asylum seekers out of detention quicker and into more humane community-based accommodation through the expeditious processing of visa decisions or the issuing of bridging visas that give them access to education, training and employment.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/asylum-seekers-need-a-fair-go-too/2008/01/11/1199988584210.html