Northam Detention Centre Protest

May 6th 2012 marks 20 years of mandatory detention. To commemorate this human rights tragedy, the Refugee Rights Action Network will travel to the newly opened Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Northam (about 1 hour North East of Perth) to broadcast our disgust with government policy and demonstrate our support for the refugees inside.

More details on meeting times and transport will be coming soon. Please come to a meeting (Monday nights, see website for details) if you would like to help plan. We hope to see you there!!

What's wrong with mandatory detention?
Australian law nominally respects the fundamental human right of people to seek asylum. The 1992, 1993 and 1994 amendments to the Migration Act, however, have made it a legal requirement to detain ALL people who arrive in Australia without a valid visa. This means that immigration officials have no choice but to detain people until their asylum claim has been finalised or a bridging visa has been issued. Australian law makes no distinction between people who are seeking asylum and those who overstay their visa, between adults and children and there is no time limit on how long a person must stay in detention. Australian courts do not oversee this process and are restricted in reviewing any decisions that are made within the system. People who have committed no crime are therefore able to be detained indefinitely without charge or trial and without any legal avenues of support.

Over the past 20 years there have been innumerable reports demonstrating the devastating mental and social effects of detention on individuals and communities. Detention causes mental illness and often results in self-harm, suicide and long term mental health problems. There is no argument from the Immigration Department that detention causes irreparable damage to the people they detain.

Why Northam?
The Yongah Hill detention centre will be housing fathers, sons and brothers who have made the journey to Australia to protect their lives and their families. They will be scared, confused and despairing. Many will have been moved from other detention centres and may have been detained already for months or years. They will have daily reminders of their lack of rights - being called numbers rather than by name, racially abused by detention centre staff, denied contact with the outside world and denied any form of meaningful work. They are told when to eat and when to sleep and most will have lost any hope that Australia will be the haven they were looking for.

Why Protest?
History has shown that the only meaningful changes made to detention conditions have occurred after protests. Protests demonstrate that we do not accept the lies of the Department of Immigration or the government. Actions at centres expose conditions, increase public awareness and stimulate further visits by human rights organisations. Most importantly, protests give hope to the people behind the wire.