Can you image a seven months pregnant woman be put in a van for a 14 hours drive from Sydney to Melbourne? This was what Australia Immigration Department and Serco guards did to a Chinese asylum seeker yesterday (23 Feb 2015).
On Sunday (Feb 22), Serco guards failed to transfer Shuang Wei (魏雙) and her husband, Chun He Ma (馬春赫), from Sydney to Darwin by plane because Shuang Wei collapsed at Sydney Domestic Airport.
The couple have been in detention around 16 months and Shuang is now 29 weeks (7 months and 1 week) pregnant. On Saturday (Feb 21), the couple were told by Immigration Department they would be transferred to Darwin the next day. Since it was on the weekend, it left them no time to get any legal support.
On Sunday morning, Serco guards came to their room and tried to forcibly remove them. Chun He resisted then Serco guards dragged and pushed him violently. His shirt was torn and he got bruises on his arms. Serco guards scratched him and there were some bleedings on his arms too. Eventually, he was handcuffed and taken away.
Serco guards also forciblly removed Shuang as well. There were bruises on her arms and she felt pain in her stomach. They threatened Shuang if she didn’t go with her husband to Darwin, they will be separated and she will never see her husband again. The couple was taken to the airport for 11:25am flight to Darwin. Shuang couldn’t hold her breaths when she was in the car to the airport. She collapsed at the airport due to the extreme anxiety. They were taken to hospital for Shuang to get some basic checkups. The baby was ok but some abdominal muscles were strained and she got some pain killers from the doctor.
Later in the afternoon, they were put in a hotel and stayed overnight. They were allowed to make two phone calls to their friends in Villawood in order to convince their friends that they will be sent back to Villawood soon.
Yesterday (Monday) morning, 8 Serco guards woke them up and lied to them that they were going back to Villawood. Then, Shuang and Chun He were put in a van with 4 Serco guards around 9am then drove all the way to Melbourne. They didn’t arrive Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre until 11pm last night.
Detainee protested on Villawood Detention Centre Rooftop (photo credited to Refugee Action Coalition)
In the meantime, on Sunday, detainees at Villawood were told that Shuang had collapsed at the airport and had been taken to hospital. They were told that the couple would be brought back to Villawood, but the couple were not been returned to Villawood yet on Monday.
Therefore, one Chinese asylum seeker, Feng Peng climbed up to the roof of Villawood Detention Centre around 9am Monday (Feb 23) to protest the forced transfer. Another Chinese asylum seeker, Wan Ping Tong, later also climbed up the fence to protest in order to find out where the couple was. Heng Qian Dai, the 3rd Chinese asylum seeker, argued with Serco guards and was pushed to ground and injured. Around 5pm protesters came down from the roof and fence. Now they are all held in Blaxland, the high-security section of Villawood.
Recently, asylum seekers have been transferred among different detention centres in Australia to separate them from partners, community and legal support. It is particularly cruel to transfer a woman so close to giving birth from friends and community support in Sydney.
Australia Immigration Department and Serco still want to transfer Shuang Wei and her husband to Darwin. How inhumane and disgraceful!!
Latest development as 27 Feb 2015:
The couple were transferred from Melbourne to Darwin around 11:45pm local Darwin time Thursday (Feb 26). They were put on a private/chartered plane with another three asylum seekers (one couple and a kid), accompanied by more than twenty Serco security guards.
HAS AUSTRALIA GOVERNMENT GONG MAD? HOW RIDICULOUS AND DISGUSTING!
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