Asylum seekers at the Manus Island detention centre say they are prepared to die and donate their organs to Australians, with one detainee adding the move would mean at least part of them would taste freedom.
The message comes in the form of a letter written by an asylum seeker at the Australian-run facility in Papua New Guinea and obtained by the ABC after six days of protests.
“All asylum seekers on Manus Island in hunger strike ask you to hand over our medical records to organ donation organisation in case of our fatalities inside the cage,” said the letter, addressed to service providers Transfield and International Health and Medical Service.
“This way at least a part of us may one day feel sweet taste of FREEDOM.”
Protests are entering their seventh day with the detainees of at least one compound locking staff out and protest actions continuing in other compounds.
“We are in our hunger strike and if someone dies, we hope that you, we already give up our organs to Australian people to show like, we are honest people; we are loyal people; we don’t mean any trouble; just what we all need, a good life and a peace life,” one asylum seeker said.
The ABC has received several reports that PNG police mobile squad units will be deployed today to break up the protests.
The reports cannot be independently verified.
An asylum seeker said the police “swat teams” were known for their brutality.
“They said, maybe some team – they’re called swat team – will arrive tomorrow. And if anyone did trouble, we will uptake in every compound,” the male asylum seeker said.
“They are waiting for people in Delta to feel weak, because now in Delta 24 hours no water, no food, nothing.
“In Delta and Oscar if the swat team come in, they will beat the people very hard. And I know many people, they said we will not give up and I think some people will die.
“Because already the boys, they make the rope and they all ready to hang themselves. And I heard someone in the compound, they said, ‘we are ready, if they come in, we want to poison ourselves’.”
Photographs and footage have been sent to the media by asylum seekers showing men being carried away on stretchers who have reportedly fainted after days of hunger striking.
In one video, a man is lifted into what appears to be a dormitory at the centre.
On the back of the door graffiti reads: “The Aussie Nigga.”
The asylum seeker who sent the footage said he did not know which compound it was from or what it meant.
Racial slurs against Papua New Guineans were a factor in the riots that claimed the life of Reza Barati almost a year ago.
Separate photographs of graffiti written on doors read “Help us!!” and “Where is the humanity?” and “They killed our soul!!!”.
Banners hung at the centre asked for assistance from the United Nations and Red Cross.
The asylum seekers are protesting about the prospect of refugees being resettled in PNG.
Refugees advocates have said Manus Island detention centre managers have cut off the supply of drinking water.
Refugee Action Coalition’s Ian Rintoul said removing drinking water could have fatal consequences.
“Depriving people of water… might be associated with some kind of atrocious dictatorship but drinking water from people who are in a tremendously hot environment beggars’ belief that we have got a management on the island that would consider sinking to those kinds of depths,” Mr Rintoul said.
Asylum seekers said they were being denied food and water and had sent photos of men burrowing beneath a fence to reach crates of bottled water placed just outside the compound.
A spokesman for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said “food and water continue to be available”.
“However, normal services and supplies in certain areas of the centre have been affected by the disruptive behaviour of some transferees. Normal services are ready to resume in those areas as soon as the situation allows,” he said.
Asylum seekers have barricaded Delta compound and are not allowing staff to enter. It usually accommodates more than 200 men.
Other compounds remain open but asylum seekers are engaging in protest activities, with the situation at Oscar compound reportedly becoming volatile on Sunday evening.
An asylum seeker told the ABC two people drank mosquito repellent and another two drank detergent as part of their protest on Saturday night.
He said others were threatening suicide.
The Australian and PNG governments have said “non-compliant behaviour” would not change the outcomes for those seeking asylum, with resettlement in PNG the only option.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young urged asylum seekers not to harm themselves.
“The reports that I’m getting from inside the centre is that things are only getting worse. I fear for the lives of those inside, their mental health, the distress they’re feeling.”
This story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission. Find it here.
Top Comments
Sorry, but I don't have sympathy for people who act like this. I thought the point of seeking asylum was to be safe, they're safe now, they're being processed, they will get an outcome - they're actions only deter the government & middle-road Australians while encouraging the do-gooders & the clearly unbiased refugee action coalition.
Why is Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young not telling them to stop protesting their release from detention?. These asylum seekers have been granted permanent asylum in Papua New Guinea its time for them to move out of the detention center and get on with their lives.
Yes, precisely. They have been granted freedom - and release from the detention centre in Manus Island. But it's not to their liking. They've set their eyes on Australia instead. I can't help being sceptical about their intentions either. I think the refugees in Syria would give their eye teeth to be in their positions. And I think the good Senator should butt out!
Head over to the Smart Traveller website run by the Australian government and see whether you would still feel the same way once you read the travel warnings.
Here's an excerpt for you: "Travellers are reminded that crime rates in PNG remain high, and typically increase in the run-up to Christmas. When travelling, especially at night, you should consider travelling in convoy or with a security escort. We continue to advise Australians to exercise a high degree of caution in Papua New Guinea overall. We continue to advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Porgera township in Enga Province in the northern highlands.
We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Papua New Guinea (PNG) because of the high levels of serious crime.
Pay close attention to your personal security at all times and monitor the media for information about possible new safety or security risks.
We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Porgera township in Enga Province in the northern highlands at this time. Violence related to illegal mining at the Porgera gold mine has led to a number of deaths and injuries. On 2 May 2014, a State of Emergency was declared for Porgera township and will run for an indefinite period.
Large crowds and public gatherings should be avoided as they may turn violent.
Crime rates are high, particularly in the capital Port Moresby and in Lae, Mt Hagen and other parts of the Highland provinces. The violent attack on a trekking party in September 2013 demonstrates that serious crimes can occur in any part of the country.
There is a lot more but I'm sure you get the gist. Papua New Guinea is not safe for the locals let alone immigrants/refugees to that country. It's not about them 'not liking' where they are but more to the fact they've escaped persecution in their own country and have now ended up in a similar situation because of Australia's disgusting treatment of asylum seekers.
You are right PNG has a terrible reputation and so does many of the countries that these people come from, because unfortunately many of these countries don't seem to know how to live in peace in their own countries so it is very problematic for people like that to come to Australia, because how can we be sure that they won't be another Lindt cafe terrorist (he was a former refugee). The thing is I do understand that these people are in a desperate plight and I do feel sorry for them and I'm sure there are decent people amongst them but so many seem to have a propensity for violence and in the end Australia ends up having to take them in and look after many people who don't seem to appreciate it or want to try and fit in.
The irony is they want to come to Australia and perpetuate their own cultures yet they don't seem to see that their own culture is the problem and that maybe the reason why we live in relative peace here is because we have a different culture.
I know I sound hard hearted, I actually do feel very sorry for them I hate the idea of people suffering and I'm sure they are suffering but the problem is we have had so many issues with these people when they come here I feel that how do we know that these people will come and live here peacefully and respect our culture. It is ironic that they want to be a part of our culture but they don't actually respect it. Also as a woman why should I put myself out for men who are happy to treat women as second class citizens in their own countries? I am expected to treat them with kindness and equality when they wouldn't be prepared to do that for myself or my own kind - women.
I did not feel this way about the many other refugees from Asian and other countries because for the most part they came here and respected our culture and attempted to integrate, they kept the parts of their culture that didn't clash with ours.
On the other hand I feel very sad that these people are suffering and that they will be resettled in a country as violent as PNG, but to allay my fears the many Muslims here who do not integrate or respect our culture who insist on following religious rules that clash with our culture, those people would need to show some proof of change and respect for our culture before I would aid others of their culture coming here.
Those warnings are not for Lorengau, the largest town on Manus Island and their new home.