Australian Immigrant Detention under Scrutiny as Young Somali woman sets herself alight in Australian detention
Photo of Hodan Yasin courtesy of CNN
The Australian government’s detention of asylum-seekers is coming under scrutiny after tragedy struck.
CNN reports that a 21-year-old Somali asylum seeker has set herself on fire at an Australian offshore processing center on the pacific island of Nauru, less than a week after refugee advocates say she was forcibly sent back there. The woman, named by refugee advocates as Hodan Yasin, is currently in a critical condition.
On Sunday, another refugee, named as Omid, died in an Australian hospital after setting himself alight on Nauru two days earlier.
Critics say the self-immolations reflect the desperation of refugees living under Australia‘s controversial immigration policy. Asylum seekers who arrive on Australian shores by boat are told they will never settle in the country, and are transferred to remote processing centers on the pacific islands on Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Hundreds of people, including children, have lived for months or even years in these detention centers.
Yesterday, the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees released a statement calling for the immediate movement of refugees on Nauru and Manus Island to humane conditions. Based on numerous visits over the past several years, the UN agency described the current arrangement as “completely untenable.” “There is no doubt that the current policy of offshore processing and prolonged detention is immensely harmful,” the UNHCR said.
KJ