Asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island have written to the UNHCR in Australia, asking that instead of being resettled in Papua New Guinea they be sent to a country that is part of the official UN resettlement program.
One hundred and sixty one men who are being held on the island have signed the hand-written letter with their names and the six-character “Boat IDs” by which they are known in detention. They call themselves “detainees of Manus Island”.
“[The] prime minister of PNG claims that we damage their reputation,” they wrote. “He claims that we caused to damage the reputation of Manus people ... We are 100% happy to leave this country as soon as possible not to damage their reputation.
“There are just 27 countries in the world that participate in UNHCR resettlement program. We would like to [be] resettled in each [any] of these. PNG is not one of them.”
Writing to the “Australian people”, the men argue they have been detained for more than 30 months, at tremendous cost to the Australian people and damage to the country’s reputation.
“We wouldn’t like to come to your country if you are not happy,” they wrote. “We, we would like to resettle in UNHCR resettlement program’s countries.”
Representatives from the UNHCR visited the Manus Island detention centre last week and met the men detained there.
The men on Manus intensely follow developments in asylum policy, in Australia and internationally. Their letter mentions Operation Sovereign Borders, the Bali process and recent criticism of Australia’s asylum policies by North Korea at the United Nations.
PNG’s efforts to resettle refugees have proven problematic, and the country’s prime minister, Peter O’Neill, said his country could not resettle all the 900 men held on Manus.
“Who is going to pay for it? Certainly the PNG government does not have the resources to resettle the refugees,” he said in Canberra last month.
O’Neill has also said the Manus detention centre was a “problem” for his country and that he wanted it closed: “It has done a lot more damage than probably anything else.”
Earlier this month the foreign minister, Rimbink Pato, confirmed about 450 of 800 finalised applications for refugee status had been approved. PNG’s determination system has been criticised as unfair, with an analysis of Australian government data revealing just 58% of claims were approved, compared with 85% under Nauru’s determination process.
Pato said the Manus centre would remain open “for as long as it is required” but it was not intended for long-term accommodation and he wanted people to get on with their lives.
Early attempts to resettle a handful of men from Manus elsewhere in PNG have been fraught.
Of six refugees moved to Lae for resettlement, two have returned to Manus by choice, asking to be let back into the detention centre because they did not feel safe.
One of those, Loghman Sawari – who was erroneously sent to the adult men-only Manus camp when he was a 17-year-old – said he returned to Manus because he feared being attacked.
“I see many violent things there,” he said. “Now, I am not normal. I cannot sleep. I have dreams of fear.”
Sawari was briefly left homeless sleeping outside the Lae police station after a fight where he lived.
Guardian Australia was also told four men had returned to Manus from Port Moresby after selling their belongings to pay for plane tickets. The group allegedly returned to the centre seeking re-entry but were denied, and spent some nights homeless before finding accommodation.
There are 28 countries engaged in resettling refugees under the auspices of the UNHCR. (South Korea became the 28th when it announced a trial last year.)
The US was, by far, the largest acceptor of resettled refugees, with 52,583. Canada accepted 10,236, and Australia 5211. These figures represent only those resettled under the UNHCR program.
But the number of resettlement places available globally is fewer than 1% of the total number of recognised refugees. People are considered for resettlement based on their need for protection and risk of further harm. They are accepted under number of categories, including women and girls at risk, children at risk, survivors of torture and trauma, and a lack of foreseeable alternative durable solutions.
Of more than 14 million refugees of concern to UNHCR around the world, less than 1% are submitted for resettlement.
The UNHCR in Australia has been approached for comment.
Tensions remain high within the Manus Island detention centre after the forced separation of those men who have had their refugee claims recognised from those still being assessed or who have refused to submit their claims to PNG.
Incidents of self harm and physical conflict between detainees have been reported since the separations began, as well as claims of overcrowding in rooms as men were moved between compounds.
All requests to see friends in other sections of the detention centre – known as “inter-compound visits”, and previously routinely allowed – are being refused.
Security has also sought to clamp down on communications from within the detention centre.
One man wrote: “Last night was tragic. me n one of my boat mates who recently arrived from [a different] compound were hanging out in his room and we were sharing some clips on our phones and a Wilson guard stormed into room without knocking or anything and we both got caught with phone in hands. He send code black on radio n lots of Wilson arrived. My friend got angry n outta control, he was resisting the first Wilson guy not to come inside the room however the guy come on his blanket with shoes one where he sleep... a total mess, chaos, now my friend in Chauka. Just a phone, nth [nothing], have to fight with life to save it.”
Chauka is a separate section of the detention centre, where people are forcibly held if they are deemed “non-compliant”.
“I am still waiting for friend to come back from Chauka,” the man said from Manus. “Last night dozens of [th]em hold him, by twisting his arms, legs, dragging along the corridor like animal abt to slaughter. So sad, so feeling bad for him.”
