Sarah Stephen
The seven crew members on two boats that made up the Flotillas of Hope spent 28 days at sea, travelling a distance of 4000 kilometres, only to be threatened with arrest and turned away from Nauru on June 20, World Refugee Day, by six Nauruan customs patrol boats.
At sunrise on June 20, the Eureka and the One Off sailed to within one nautical mile of Nauru's coast, carrying gifts which the crews requested to be allowed to deliver in person to the asylum seekers detained on the island. The crew had applied for visas before they set sail, which were refused.
They were escorted outside Nauru's territorial waters by the customs boats, which continued to harass the flotillas boats, ramming up alongside and veering them away from Nauru.
The One Off is heading to Vanuatu and the Eureka is on its way to the Solomon Islands before returning to Sydney.
Just days after the boats arrival, Nauru was plunged into a political crisis when President Rene Harris lost a parliamentary vote of no confidence. While there was some speculation that the new government, headed by President Ludwig Scotty, may close the detention centre, since Nauru relies heavily on the funding it receives from the Australian government for hosting the detention centre, this seems unlikely.
According to a June 24 ABC News Online report, new Nauruan foreign minister David Adeang said: "The detention centres, as you call them, are not really an issue at this time. We do not expect any major changes with the status quo. They do provide employment to a good number of Nauruans, which is paid employment, which can't be said to be the same for thousands of other Nauruans who work for the government."
As of June 27, 145 of the 180 Afghan asylum seekers on Nauru had been assessed as refugees and are due to arrive in Australia very soon. While this is a welcome outcome, it is disgraceful that these people had to endure imprisonment for almost three years before they could taste some freedom (albeit on temporary visas).
Aladdin Sisalem, released from PNG's Manus Island detention centre only four weeks ago, spoke at a World Refugee Day rally in Melbourne on June 20 and urged people not to forget those who are still held in detention. His words ring loudly for those who face being left behind on Nauru. Their future is uncertain.
While most of those still trapped on Nauru are from Afghanistan, there are also three people from Bangladesh, two from Iran, one from Pakistan, one Palestinian and 56 Iraqis.
The claims of the Iraqi asylum seekers on Nauru have not been reassessed since they were first rejected almost three years ago. They have been in detention on Nauru for up to 32 months. Their situation is becoming increasingly desperate, with deep depression and anguish. The decision of three of them to go on hunger strike on June 13 was a cry for help. They were joined by three more on June 15, and another detainee two days later.
On June 22, the ninth day of the hunger strike, four Iraqis were hospitalised. Several have collapsed into unconsciousness. All are suffering from back pain and dehydration.
On June 24, the hunger strikers wrote: "As the hunger strike enters its 11th day, we would like to re-emphasise that there will be no suspension of the hunger strike until getting us accepted as refugees. Otherwise, the death will be the only fate."
The June 24 Melbourne Age reported the government's decision to give temporary visas to four Iraqi asylum seekers on Nauru. The four are not among those currently on hunger strike.
The Age added: "Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone is also looking at granting visas to another 33 Iraqis on Nauru after the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] asked her to consider their cases on humanitarian grounds due to their vulnerability, having a female as the head of the family, or deteriorating health."
The UNHCR is also pressing the government to offer Iraqi asylum seekers detained on Nauru haven or bridging visas until it is clearly safe for them to return to Iraq.
While the Howard government is emptying the detention centres, it will claim that there has been no change of policy, and in some senses that is true. The government continues to fund the centres on Nauru and Manus Island, but Manus Island is now empty, and the number of detainees on Nauru look set to be reduced to little more than a handful in the coming weeks.
It appears that the Howard government is eager to bring its "Pacific solution" to a close — embarrassed at the continuing public criticism of the terrible suffering of those detained there. It is a tribute to the refugee-rights movement in Australia that we may soon be able to celebrate the end, even if unofficial, of this appalling chapter in the Australian government's mistreatment of refugees.
From Green Left Weekly, June 30, 2004.
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