Death or Cambodia? Some refugees prefer the death option
Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 6:55 am
Australia's proposed resettlement policy doesn't seem to be going over too well with those on Nauru.
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/refug ... ru-protestRefugees in Nauru protest
Tue, 30 September 2014
Daniel Pye and Vong Sokheng
Refugees on Nauru have said they will reject Australia’s offer of resettlement in Cambodia after a protest on the island was staged at the Australian Embassy yesterday amid reports of three more incidents of self-harm and attempted suicide.
An Iranian refugee, who cannot be named and who was speaking on behalf of residents of the “family camp” on the island, yesterday told the Post that the widely held perception of Cambodia as a poverty-stricken and violent country meant that nobody in the camp was currently willing to voluntarily accept the offer of resettlement.
“The people here think of a bad image of Cambodia in their mind, because it’s a very poor country. There is lots of crime, a history of killings and abuse,” he said. “Nobody here wants to go to Cambodia.”
Cambodian officials yesterday confirmed that a pilot phase of resettlement is scheduled to begin later this year.
“We have nothing to lose – there will be suicides if it carries on like this. They will only be able to send our dead bodies to Cambodia,” the refugee said.
During a protest of some 80 people yesterday morning outside the Australian High Commission in Nauru, the refugees called on Canberra to issue them temporary protection visas (TPVs) as officials have said they will do for refugees on Christmas Island, who arrived on the same boats as those on Nauru.
“[Australia is] trying to force people to go to Cambodia; we can’t tolerate this. It’s a really dirty game they’re playing,” the Iranian refugee said. “[Yesterday], there were three more suicide attempts and self-harm [in the detention centre].”
Another refugee, who reportedly slashed his throat upon hearing the news that he would not be offered a temporary visa to Australia, has not been heard from, but the man’s 14-year-old daughter has taken to leading protests against the deal and has refused to drink or eat for two days after sewing her lips shut, the Iranian refugee said.
Another girl, who swallowed washing powder, causing her to vomit blood, was recovering in a Sydney hospital yesterday after being airlifted from the island over the weekend.
Yesterday marked the fourth day of protests on the island against the resettlement plan, which have been marked by a number of suicide attempts and self-harm among children.
Australian officials from the embassy in Phnom Penh and the office of Minister of Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison did not respond to requests for comment.
Morrison, who is seen as a rising star in the administration of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, signed the agreement over glasses of champagne at Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior on Friday at about the same time that some of the asylum seekers apparently tried to kill themselves.
The signing followed seven months of secretive negotiations between the two countries since the possibility of sending refugees to Cambodia was first brought up in February at a meeting between Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Prime Minister HE.
Bishop told ABC television on Sunday that the agreement would benefit Cambodia.
“Cambodia is very keen to get people into their country who can help them grow their economy,” she said. “I don’t think it’s for you or me to tell Cambodia that they can’t offer themselves as a location for refugees.”
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