A 14 Hours Road Trip for a Seven Months Pregnant Asylum Seeker

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!

Transfield Services AGM Protest

Press Release 05/11/2014

Transfield Shame: Stop the Cruelty at Offshore Detention Centres – Blood money boosts Transfield Profits

Refugee Action Coalition Sydney, along with Corner Link, gather in front of Museum of Sydney today to protest at Transfield’s  AGM against its inhumane and cruel management of the offshore refugee detention centres located in Nauru and Manus Island.

According to Guardian Australia, Government’s policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers has benefited contractors by up to $10bn since mid-2007. Of this, Transfield Services Limited has nine contracts worth a total of $2.46bn, including a contract for $2.1bn to manage the offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru.  An estimate of government spending on each asylum seeker which considered all costs (rather than just contracts) and put the cost of offshore detention per person at about $440,000 in 2013-14, and onshore at $239,000.

However, the protest organizer, Ian Rintoul of the Refugee  Action Coalition points out, “Transfield is trading in human misery and profiteering from the human rights abuses of the Government’s off-shore processing regime.

“The company cannot even maintain basic supplies of water and electricity on Nauru or Manus Island. Manus Island is an unsanitary hell-hole that killed Hamid Kezaie.

“Transfield is also responsible for routinely using physical force to intimidate and suppress peaceful protests inside the detention centres it controls.

“In recent weeks, peaceful protests in the family camp of Nauru have been attacked by Transfield thugs, who have also been responsible for assaults carried out during forced searches in the camp.

“We call upon Transfield to end its collaboration with the Australian Government’s offshore processing regime.

“The government’s current mandatory detention and offshore processing policies ignore Australian humanitarian obligations to provide protection to refugees. Blood money is boosting Transfield’s profits. It is a stain Transfield will never recover from.”

Transfield has already been the target of boycott by artists associated with the Biennale of Sydney that resulted in the Biennale terminating its links with Transfield earlier this year. Transfield is also the target of a superannuation disinvestment campaign because of its complicity in violating the human rights of asylum seekers.

Joyce Fu, from Corner Link said, “As a public company listed on ASX, Transfield Service has the obligation to meet its corporate social responsibility agenda. What has happened in detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island is not acceptable.

“This type of inhumane and cruel practice has seriously damaged its reputation and has shown its incompetence to fulfil a humanitarian role. Furthermore, it is obvious that mandatory detention and  offshore processing is based wholly on deterrence and the systematic denial of the protection that asylum seekers need.”

Contacts:

Ian Rintoul, Refugee Action Coalition, +61 (0) 417 275 713, rintoulian10@gmail.com (wwwrefugeeaction.org.au)

Joyce Fu, Corner Link- Taking actions to promote environmental and social justice, +61 (0) 405 365 493, jfu@cornerlink.asia

Stand with Cambodian People Against the Refugee Deal

Press Release 16/10/2014

On Friday (Oct 17), more than 1,000 of Cambodian people, monks, students, victims of land eviction and representatives of unions and non-government organisations, will march on Phnom Penh’s streets to demand the abolition of the refugee resettlement deal signed by Cambodian and Australian governments to permanently resettle refugees from Nauru in Cambodia.

Protesters will deliver their petitions to Cabinet, National Assembly, Australian embassy, American embassy, UN and EU.  They are seeking local and international intervention in cancelling this agreement which they say is not beneficial to either the Cambodian people, or the refugees.

Protest in Phnom Penh Cambodia (Photo from Equitable Cambodia)

The protest organizer, Mao Pises, Present of Federation of Cambodian Intellectuals and Students (FedCIS) says, “We do not discriminate any refugees coming to live in Cambodia, but I’m afraid that they will not be able to live in a dignity because Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world; the situation can be worst than their homeland country. Nowadays, many Cambodians are living in poverty and their children could not access education and without proper health care. All public services in Cambodia are much poorer than in Australia, including education, job opportunities (many Cambodians have migrated to Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, etc. to find jobs), health care, human rights (many Cambodians are suffered from been forced eviction and land grabbing), corruption and so on. The Cambodian government doesn’t take enough care of its own people, how can they take a good care of those refugees? I think Cambodian government and Australian government are jointly abusing the rights of those refugees if they still continue implementing the resettlement deal which they countersigned on 26 September. Cambodia is not the right place for them to resettle for the time being.”

Eang Vuthy, Executive Director of Equitable Cambodia, points out, ” We call upon the Australian Government to uphold its international obligation and respects the rights of refugees. We also call upon the two countries to reconsider this deal and ensure that adequate support and protection are provided to these refugees.”

Protest in Phnom Penh Cambodia (Photo from Equitable Cambodia)

Joyce Fu of Corner Link, an organisation based in Australia with experiences working in Cambodia says, “More than half of Cambodian people are currently living under $2 USD per day. The entire country lacks access to some basic infrastructures, such as clean water, electricity and transportation. How could Cambodia take Australian refugees when it is creating refugees in its own country due to land grabbing from sugar cane and rubber plantation, dams and railway building and so-called urban development?.”

Ian Rintoul of the Refugee  Action Coalition comments, “This is a dirty deal which ignores Australian humanitarian obligations to provide protection to refugees. Cambodia is unable to properly support even its own citizens. We should not be shifting our responsibilities on to desperately poor countries, effectively bribing them to cooperate with Australia to undermine international human rights treaties.”

Dianne Hiles of ChilOut notes “Much of Australian Civil Society stands with the Cambodian people on this cause. We condemn the  Abbott government’s inappropriate, immoral and probably illegal deal. Cambodia is perceived as the 17th most corrupt country in the world, according to the Transparency International corruption index. The capacity of public education cannot coop with Cambodians’ own demand. It is most unlikely that the aid funding (extra $40 million over next 4 years) will be properly allocated to support the people, including children, it is intended for.”

We want to send out a strong message to the world, “This is not in our name!”

Protest in Phnom Penh Cambodia (Photo from Equitable Cambodia)

CAMBODIA? UNBELIEVABLE!

Shame  on Australia’s Refugee Resettlement Deal with Cambodia

Australia-Cambodia refugee resettlement deal

On Sep 26, Australian government signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Cambodian government in resettling refugees currently held in Australian detention centre in Nauru (an island country in the South Pacific) to Cambodia. In return, Cambodia will receive $35 million USD ($40 million AUD) over the next four years in development assistance, in addition to the $61 million USD ($70 million AUD) aid budget from Australia (2013 figure).

Protests were held by grassroots organizations and human rights groups both in front of the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh Cambodia, and outside the Sydney office of Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

A snap protest held on Sep 26 outside the Sydney offices of Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection to against resettling refugees who have been detained for fleeing by boat to Australia to Cambodia. (Photo by Peter Boyle)

Cambodia is ill-equipped to insure the wellbeing of refugees

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half of its population are currently living under $2 USD per day. According to Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, “Cambodia’s people still have some of the poorest indicators in the region for gender equality, access to clean water and sanitation, child and maternal health and poverty.” The entire country lacks access to some basic infrastructures, such as clean water, electricity and transportation. The capacity of public education cannot coop with Cambodians’ own demand.

Cambodia is the 17th most corrupt country in the world, according to the Transparency International corruption perceptions index. Half of the government budget comes from foreign aid. It is highly doubted that the aid funding will be properly allocated to the people in need.

Cambodia deal against UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (CRSR)

Cambodia has a poor record regarding its handling of refugees supposed to be in its care. In the past, Cambodia transferred asylum seekers to the original countries to executions. In fact, land grabbing due to sugar cane & rubber plantation, dam & railway building and so-called urban development, Cambodia is creating refugees in its own country. In January, five workers were killed by the police at garment unions’ general strike to increase the national minimum wage. There is no human rights at all in Cambodia.

Under the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (CRSR) which Australia is the acceded party, Australia has the humanitarian obligation to provide protections to refugees and should not shift its responsibilities elsewhere. The resettlement deal with Cambodia is violated the CRSR.

An activist holding a placard of “Official Traffickers” at the protest outside the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sep 26 to against Australian government’s ‘deal’ to resettle refugees in this poor and war-traumatised country (Photo by Kyle Cruz)

Money cannot buy morality

Refugees are persons who are fleeing persecution or the life-threatening effects of armed conflict. They are entitled to better treatment than being shipped from one country to the next. According to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, with 87% of refugees now being hosted in developing countries, developed countries should share more responsibilities. Since Australia is one of the richest countries in the world, it has a moral responsibility to provide protection and care to refugees.

It is immoral and injustice to pay/bribe other countries to fulfill the duty. It is just not right; morality is not tradable.

Call for the abolition of the deal

As the former Australian Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson said in an interview before the deal was signed, “This planned deal is inappropriate, immoral and likely illegal. It is inappropriate because Cambodia has no capacity within its social sector to take an influx of refugees. Immoral because these vulnerable people are Australia’s responsibility, and while we await the detail, it appears illegal in contravening Australia’s humanitarian and refugee obligations to vulnerable children and families.”

Australian people, especially those NGOs working in aids/development sector in Cambodia, should stand up and condemn Australian government refugee resettlement deal with Cambodia, to send out a strong message to the world, “This is not in our name!“.

Australian activists held a lunchtime protest outside the immigration department office in Sydney (Photo by Peter Boyle)