Now is the time. If you’ve EVER considered that Australia’s policies affecting people seeking asylum are wrong, please SPEAK OUT. Please share this tragic news and encourage others to use their democratic power to change the cruel approach advocated by both the Coalition and Labor.
Yet another innocent person is dead because of indefinite offshore detention – there is no doubt about that. So no Australian should doubt that these policies are fatally flawed.
A couple of hours after the tweets above were posted, the Guardian reported in
‘Iranian asylum seeker dies by suicide on Nauru’ (click to read full article)
that Australia’s contracted medical services (IHMS) on Nauru had reported the young man, Fariborz Karami, as “severely traumatised” as a result of being held captive as a 10-year-old child in Iran. He was held for three months and every day threatened that he would be killed. Then, years later, Australia’s policies meant that he had been held on Nauru for over five years with no end in sight. Following his suicide, his wife and mother were both hospitalised and his 12-year-old brother Ali taken into care by camp authorities. (Ali made a poignant video plea for his family and others less than two months ago, saying he believed that there were no good humans left in the world.)
The following day, another Guardian article revealed that Fariborz had begged IHMS for psychiatric help for years and his worsening condition is evident across numerous request forms (see left), assessments and clinicial notes which reported a “decline in coping strategies” exacerbated by his long-running detention, uncertainty over his future, and concern for his brother and mother; as well as “increased suicidal ideation and agitation. Requesting medication to ‘help with suicidal thoughts”.
His deterioration was such that he began to disengage and when he declined to complete a mental health assessment, he told doctors,“IHMS has not been helpful at all … no-one steps forward for us, and we live in a hot tent and can’t breathe.” The report of that meeting noted that “He spoke of being angry at times in the context of his long-term detention”. It seems as if it became only a matter of time – without the help he needed or a clear future ahead – before he would attempt to bring his torture to an end.
The Prime Minister (02 6277 7700) and the Home Affairs Minister (02 6277 7860 ) must hear every Australian who recognises the truth about this treatment of people we are obligated to HELP.
Tell Malcolm Turnbull (02 6277 7700) and Peter Dutton (02 6277 7860) NOW:
No more torture. No more death. No more blood on every Australian’s hands. End offshore processing and mandatory detention now. To do otherwise is unAustralian.
Email Empathy 