An Iraqi refugee, separated from his wife and children for more than
three years, held in Port Hedland then Villawood detention centre, gave
up hope of a life in Australia and agreed to return to Syria on February
28. A month before, he wrote a three-page appeal to a third country to
intervene and offer a future to refugees detained in Australia.
He wrote: “We cannot return to our homes, and the Australian government
will never release us. Some of us will be deported by force, but the rest
of us will remain behind razor wire for another year, and then another.
“We came here looking for freedom, safety and justice. Instead we found
nothing but traps, built of steel bars, bad laws and dishonest politics.
“Inside these cages, children have grown into adults. Young men's hair
has turned white. Babies have been born, taken their first steps, spoken
their first words, seen their first sights. Most of us, separated from
our families, have become like ghosts to our mothers, our wives, our children.”
Writing from Damascus, Syria, on March 20, he told refugee supporters
in Australia: “The situation here is more bad than I expected. Today I
have seen the first refugee from Iraq in the street where I live, they
were very tired and hungry and I took them to my house and gave them what
I could...
“The Syrian authorities give my family up to 1st of April or I face
deportation to Iraq. Please pray for me and my family and I hope to see
you one day in a better world.”
From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.
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