Refugees are right to resist deportation

It has been a dramatic week at Villawood detention centre, with a suicide sparking off a spate of rooftop protests. These events highlight the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and the need to get rid of mandatory detention.

A September 24 Crikey.com.au article revealed: “Up to 27 deaths have occurred in immigration custody since 2000.”

Human rights advocate and paralegal worker Charandev Singh told Crikey: “It’s [about] telling the true story about the full extent of deaths in custody in our country ... There’s a death in custody in this country every [every] five days. There have been four deaths in custody in the last week alone… It makes no sense whatsoever to exclude them or be secret about them.

On September 20, Josefa Rauluni, a Fijian national, was due to be deported. Despite his handcuffs, he climbed on to the roof of a detention centre building, demanding he not be deported back to Fiji. Rauluni said that he had been active in the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement (FDFM), and could face repression upon returning to the jurisdiction of the Fiji military government.

Usaia Waqatairewa, spokesperson for the FDFM talked to Rauluni on the phone while he was in detention. Waqatairewa told Green Left Weekly that Rauluni had connections with the deposed government of Fiji. Rauluni requested a letter of support from Waqatairewa, as well as the deposed PM, to the Minister of Immigration for his asylum claim.

Waqatairewa said: “We are all sad and angry. I hope the Australian government takes note. A life has been lost because of the desperate nature of this case. The situation with a military dictatorship in Fiji can only fester.”

Rauluni’s nephew, Eddie, who was to be deported on the same day and witnessed the death, has still not been given any counselling. However, he was released on September 23.

Many other detainees witnessed Rauluni’s suicide. After his death, his body was left on the ground for five hours, which prompted a protest. Some Tamil detainees climbed the roof and refused to come down until they’d been assured of gaining refugee status and could be resettled in a country that is a signatory to the Refugee Convention.

Rallies were organised outside the detention centre in solidarity with the detainees. Many activists and people from the Fijian community came out in support.

Support was also shown by members of the local community.

The detainees protesting on the roof wrote a letter which stated: “We, the 11 asylum seekers on the Villawood detention centre roof kindly request the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship to accept our applications under the guidelines of the UN refugee convention. We will get off the roof if the Department of Immigration and Citizenship [DIAC] will give us proof of this undertaking in writing.”

Stating that some people in detention were already UN-recognised refugees, it continued: “This is a peaceful protest for freedom for refugees all around Australia and we will continue it. Further we would like to talk to a representative from the [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] … about our concern and be part of the negotiations with DIAC.”

The detainees threatened to jump after a deadline of 5pm on September 21 if their demands weren’t met. Approaching the deadline, negotiations began with two of the detainees who came off the roof. Eventually, all were coaxed down from the roof for negotiations. They are kept in a separate building away from the other detainees.

The deal made was that UNHCR would review their cases if they were rejected and make recommendations to the Australian government. This, and the release of Eddie, has proven that protests work, despite immigration minister Chris Bowen's assertions that the government would not give in.

Inspired by the protest, nine Chinese detainees, including a two-and-a-half month pregnant woman, occupied another roof on September 22. Despite constant requests, no water or blankets were given to them. Even other detainees who tried to give them help were stopped by security. All of the protesters cut themselves and one was unconscious.

A Chinese refugee, ironically named Baxter, who was detained in Baxter detention centre in 2006, was in contact with the Chinese on the roof. He told GLW: “I have seen many bad things at Baxter. My treatment in Baxter was bad, but this is unbelievable. No water, no blankets, nothing. It isn’t the humanitarian way.”

On the night of September 23, the pregnant woman’s partner got off the roof to negotiate with immigration and hasn’t been heard from since. Some have tried jumping, only to be stopped by their fellow protesters. Experiencing cramps, the pregnant woman has asked officials, "What is more important to you? Saving a person's life or just granting our request to see someone?"

Eventually, all the protesters came off the roof. Four were hospitalised, with two returned to Villawood under observation. It's believed all except one protester are now held in isolation in maximum security.

As GLW goes to press, 16 other detainees in the facility are on their eighth or ninth day of hunger strike.

On September 24, a rally of 150 supporters was held at Town Hall in solidarity with the Villawood detainees, calling on an end to mandatory detention and for the government to uphold its UNHCR obligations.