Iraqi Hunger Strike On Christmas Island

Uncertainty And Fear Fuels Iraqi Hunger Strike On Christmas Island

Another protest hunger strike has begun inside the Christmas Island detention centre. Five Iraqi asylum seekers began a hunger strike last night. They are now on the football oval inside the detention centre with banners reading, "No Life Without Freedom" and "Where is the human rights," and "350 Iraqis die in 2001 for freedom, Today we join them."

The five men, all arrived on the same boat at Christmas Island on 10 December 2009 and have been waiting over four months for an answer to their asylum application.

"We have been waiting for over four months, and we have no decision" one of the hunger strikers told the Refugee Action Coalition.

"Baghdad is very dangerous. Our families and friends have dangerous lives there. We cannot go back. It is better to die on Christmas Island.

"Every time we ask what is happening we are told there is no decision, no decision. How long do we wait?"

Iraqi asylum seekers from the same boat who had been rejected at their first refugee assessment, staged a hunger strike at Villawood detention centre earlier this week.

"The government’s announced suspension of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims has raised anxiety levels rights across the detention centres. The decree has undermined any confidence in the refugee determination process. Asylum seekers are asking, ‘Who’s next?’ ‘What happens when the deadline runs out?’ " said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

"We expect there will be more protests in the coming weeks. There are over 300 Tamils who have now been waiting nine and ten months without a decision."

"The problems associated with the limited rights of off-shore processing are starting to emerge. Long term detention and off-shore processing have no place in a humanitarian policy.

"The government should be big enough to admit it has made a mistake. Asylum seekers need more resources to process more claims more quickly. Suspending asylum claims only adds to the anxiety and misery. Chris Evans claims the government will not head down the Howard path but it has already taken the first steps."

ENDS

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