What really happened on Manus Island

Trigger warning: This document contains distressing content as we continue to shine a light on the heartbreaking impact of Australia’s cruel policies of detaining refugees – this time in relation to offshore detention and Manus Island.

The facts of Manus Island are extremely grim.

Seeking asylum is a human right.

Yet instead of honouring this international standard, Australia detained people seeking asylum in other countries in what have been called “offshore camps”.

This was called the ‘Pacific Solution’, introduced by the John Howard government in 2001.

Manus Island was one of these “offshore camps”. The 1,200 men who were held here for years were exposed to horrific treatment.

Their rights were not protected. They were not protected. They were not safe - facing attacks from locals outside the centre and from guards within the centre who were paid to protect them.

These cruel and isolating policies caused immense suffering for refugees who were detained here.

These cruel and isolating policies led to the deaths of 14 young men, including 23-year-old Reza Barati who was murdered and Hamid Khazaie who died as a result of medical negligence.

Australia completely failed in its international obligations to protect the rights of asylum seekers, instead exposing them to deliberate, punitive policies intended to deter other people from seeking asylum by boat.

Thank you to the Refugee Action Coalition, Sydney, for permission to use this article which explains the awful attacks on refugees which led to Reza Barati’s death:

This was a brutal attack, not a “riot”

On 17 February, local G4S personnel brutally attacked asylum seekers on Manus Island, armed with guns, machetes, pipes and sticks.

A fence was pushed down from outside, enabling PNG Police and the PNG ‘mobile squad’ to enter the facility. This resulted in the murder of Reza Barati, a 23-year-old Faili Kurd from Iran, and injuries to at least 62 other asylum seekers. One man was shot in the hip and others have lost eyes.

This account has been confirmed by several eyewitnesses including Azita Bokan, an Immigration Department interpreter who told the media, “There was blood everywhere. The number injured was horrific: people with massive head injuries, at least one with a slashed throat.”

This was an act of retribution against asylum seekers after they had been holding protests for a month, demanding that the processing of their claims begin. The day before there had been a major protest where 35 asylum seekers broke out of the detention centre. But on the night of the attacks there was only one small protest hours before the attack by 30-50 asylum seekers in a different compound from where the murder took place. Yet the media still wrongly refers to the event as a “riot”.

You can read the full article here

This UNHCR fact sheet outlines the ongoing security concerns that were raised about the conditions facing refugees held on Manus Island.

This Human Rights Law Centre article provides a helpful overview.