Further Update on Manus Island

Manus Island, photo Global Panorama

Australia’s refugee detention center on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island officially closed yesterday. (We previewed the issue last week.) Australia has stopped providing food, electricity, and water to the naval base where refugees had been housed.

Refugees have been urged to relocate to a nearby city. But more than 600 refugees have refused to leave.

As the NYT and BBC report, the Manus Island detainees fear violence at the hands of locals. They don’t feel safe leaving the naval base.

That’s not an unfounded fear. Human Rights Watch has said that the refugees face “unchecked violence” from the community. Prior attacks have involved machetes, knives, and rocks, according to the BBC.

Australia says the men’s safety (all the Manus Island refugees are men) is a matter for Papua New Guinea to address.

-KitJ