Dozens leave closed Australia refugee camp in Papua New Guinea
SYDNEY: Dozens of refugees have left a shuttered Australian camp in Papua New Guinea but hundreds more are refusing to move, detainees said yesterday, as New Zealand’s leader repeated an offer to resettle some of them.
Australia sends asylum-seekers who try to reach the country by boat to two Pacific camps on PNG’s Manus Island or Nauru for processing under a tough immigration policy.
Around 600 men refused to leave the Manus detention centre after it was closed on Oct 31 following a PNG Supreme Court ruling that it was unconstitutional, citing fears for their safety outside.
While some have moved to three transition centres on Manus, 423 remain holed up in the camp despite no water and electricity and limited food supplies, KurdishIranian detainee and journalist Behrouz Boochani told AFP yesterday.
Boochani said the men were “struggling with starvation” and rationing the little food they were allowed to bring in to the camp.
“The people are saying that we are determined to stay and they feel if (they) leave the prison camp and go to another prison camp (they) will lose everything and their lives,” he added.
Australian and PNG authorities insist all three transition centres built to house the refugees provide basic services including food and water.
But Boochani said those who moved there have complained of harsh conditions.
The refugee has also filed for leave to appeal a PNG Supreme Court ruling Tuesday against restoring basic services to the camp, with the case to be heard in court Monday.
PNG authorities have warned the refugees they had up to this weekend to go to the new locations or face being forcibly removed.
The deadline to move came as New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern repeated her offer to take 150 refugees from Manus and Nauru.