An Iraqi refugee has been arrested for trying to break back into the guarded transit centre on Manus Island after deciding he could not cope with freedom in one of Papua New Guinea's biggest cities.
The Iraqi and an Iranian spent the night in custody in the Lorengau police lock-up after attempting to return to the centre, which was designed to accommodate those released from detention before they settle in PNG.
Loghman Sarwari arrested on Manus Island
One of the first refugees to be settled in PNG Loghman Sarwari has been arrested trying to return to the Manus Island transit centre.
Three refugees who have left Manus Island to try and rebuild their lives in Lae after being granted refugee status have returned to the island, saying they feel safer in the transit centre.
Twenty-year-old Iranian, Loghman Sawari, says he went with Abdullah, the Iranian, to the centre on Wednesday night but both were refused entry, prompting the Iraqi to try and scale the fence.
Mr Sawari told Fairfax Media the police were called and the pair were taken to the local police station where they spent the night before PNG immigration officials came and offered to assist their return to their home countries.
At one point Mr Sawari was released from custody and returned to the guest house where he had been staying in a distressed state but, after an altercation with the manager, he was re-arrested.
He said the Iraqi signed a paper permitting return, despite fearing for his safety. He maintains he refused, insisting it was not safe for him to go back to Iran. "I don't know what is going to happen," Mr Sawari told Fairfax Media from the lock-up.
"I'm not OK. I'm scared and I'm not sleeping."
Mr Sawari returned to Manus after being settled in Lae and starting a job, saying he felt unsafe and could not survive on the modest wage. He was briefly homeless before a refugee who has coped well with resettlement paid his airfare back to Manus.
He says he has been offered two options: return to Iran or removal to another province in PNG. But he sees both as too dangerous and wants to return to the transit centre. Late on Friday he was released and taken to a different guest house on Lorengau.
The PNG government maintains around 900 asylum seekers who remain in the detention centre have now had their claims assessed. This is disputed by asylum seekers who insist they have not submitted to interviews because they object to be being held in PNG.
Fewer than 70 have left the detention centre to reside in the Lorengau transit centre and only seven have left the centre to be resettled elsewhere, including the three who have since returned in apparent despair.
Mr Sawari was 17 when he arrived in PNG in August 2013, one month after the then Labor government decided to remove children and family groups from the detention centre.
He has the letter from Australian immigration officials confirming his age and telling him he would be "treated as a minor for the purposes of accommodation, placement and other purposes".
He remained in isolation until his 18th birthday, when he was told he would be staying.
The dangers in PNG's big cities were summed up in 2014 by Queensland Liberal senator Ian McDonald, a strong supporter of offshore processing. "You can't walk down the street of Lae, at all, the second biggest city, and [in] Port Moresby, you know you've got to be careful where you go," he said.
"Settlement areas of towns and cities are particularly dangerous," the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smartraveller website says. "Bush knives (machetes) and firearms are often used in assaults and thefts. Carjackings, assaults (including sexual assaults), bag snatching and robberies are common."
A PNG immigration official has declined to respond to questions about those who have returned to Manus, telling Fairfax Media: "We do not comment on individuals. PNG Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority (ICSA) continues to provide support to all refugees to enable them to avail settlement opportunities."