By Anthony Barich
AUSTRALIA’S Catholic Bishops have renewed their call for an end to the mandatory detention of asylum seekers after the apparent suicide of members of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazara minority over the past fortnight.
The Australian Bishops’ Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) issued a statement on 31 March citing serious concerns for the mental health of detainees following an Afghan man’s death on 28 March.
The details surrounding the man’s death are being kept secret by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). The man died at the remote Curtin Detention Centre in Western Australia’s desert Kimberley region.
“We are all witnesses to the human cost of immigration detention. The government cannot deny that prolonged detention will likely result in instances of suicide,” ACMRO director and Scalabrinian Fr Maurizio Pettena said in the 31 March statement.
“The fact that five asylum seekers in the last seven months have died weighs heavily on the social conscience of Australia.”
As Australia already has one of the highest rates of youth suicide, the government must “affirm the dignity of all human life and regard the lives of youth in detention as highly as it regards the lives of young Australians”, he said. “Death in immigration detention is particularly tragic because the detainee’s last days are spent in despair, isolation and hopelessness, away from home and family. We will keep this man and his family very much in our prayers.”
The man’s death came a day after 1,000 Hazaras protested across Australia against the bloody incursion of armed Kuchis into Hazara areas of Afghanistan last week.
The ACMRO said it believes that choosing to isolate vulnerable people makes a difficult situation worse – and the Hazara asylum seekers are a case in point.
While the ACMRO said it is appropriate for the DIAC to keep the details of the man’s death confidential out of respect for family members, the Bishops’ office for refugees “strongly urges the Coroner to hold an inquiry to shed light on the circumstances surrounding his death”.
Refugee advocates had also warned that overcrowding at Australia’s newest detention centre – a remote former Royal Australian Air Force base on Cape York in far north Queensland – could spark more suicides, following the apparent hanging death of a 20 year old Hazara Afghan detainee there two weeks ago.
Fr Pettena warned that mandatory detention inflicts “extreme suffering and frustration on already vulnerable people”.
“Detention centres compound the anxiety and hopelessness of detainees who require extra support to compensate for the conditions they experienced in detention”, Fr Maurizio said.
“The government has a responsibility to ensure that when they detain asylum seekers, they also provide adequate medical services.
“This response must go well beyond first aid.
“Adequate medical care for detainees must always include access to medical doctors and professional counsellors. These services are best provided on the mainland in accessible areas.”