Letter from Manus

To the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

We are protesting today because of children and women who are suffering here.

Because they think they are dying here day by day
We are always asking about who is responsible who is in charge.

Our situation is insane.

Our children go to school that has no air conditioning in it.

They bring all the women and children to here and they don’t treat them very well and because of the hot weather and they are battling in the hot situation and the children are losing their appetite.

They have difficulty in eating because they don’t like to eat because of the hot weather.

Our children have lost weight, people think Australia has respect to women and children but everything is not as we expected.

We are asking for air conditioning in the school for the children.

It is so hot they come and ask us why you have 2 fans in the room – we are dying we are hot.

Adult school =- air conditioning because it is hard to learn, no where to sit in the cool, cannot study, cannot sleep because of hot weather.

Children are only young, under 10 in this extreme heat.
People who get sick and old because of the heat. One of the women have a kidney stone condition and we have poor medical to help here. We have a women that has asthma, she became unconscious for 2 times, some people have reaction to skin because of the weather and the dust. Some people can’t breathe in this weather. Some people have dental problems.

Why they bring us here by force, why we don’t have a chance to say good bye to our friends? Why can’t we pack our own clothes and things?

After the rule of August 13, why 8.000 people came and why we are here 130 people.

And approximately 50 Iranian, 4 Afghan, are here.

What is your criteria to choose the people to go to Australia? Why you transfer the rebels and junkies who had lots of fights, you transfer them to the city and the innocent are here, who are mostly educated, high qualified in their jobs?

Australia has no empty camp to move us there and why are we here in a poor condition.

IF there is a rule why they move us in a country that has no rule for refugees?

If Australia don’t need us why they rescue us from the sea.
Why they transfer here by force. In unusual way.
We are suffering mentally and physically with the situation. Do you think it is humane to bring more people in the tents. There is not hygienic bathrooms. This place is completely old and I have nothing, even very simple things like doors and windows.

We don’t know how long we will stay here. We don’t have privacy.

Children education – and who is here and in Australia - where is the equality. We don’t have good teachers, no nothing, city better.

Our children all the time painting themselves in a prison behind the fences all they time crying and get depressed. They lost weight and depressed.

Why they place us in a high risk area to get a disease (Malaria) People are being bitten and have sores all over their arms and legs?

Our children our sensitive about the fobbing that is being done.

11 people after 3 months was transferred to here from Christmas Island and they have paper to prove that we were there for 3 months.

If they don’t need us, why won’t you let us go?

Why no one came here to talk about our situation
We are united and we would like to move from this place together in peace and freedom?

We need a journalist to talk to.

Water if not hygienic, not in high quality standard, run out of water.

We are suffering mentally and we think we are going insane and will be psycho in the future.

They talk about the place they live in – with lizards, mice and spiders. Our children suffer.

They give us pills and injections to calm down but it does not work and things will get better.

We need Air conditioning for the units because we are not sleeping at night and this is driving us crazy. We have no place to have rest. On Christmas Island we had air conditioning, we had washing machines , had refrigerator in our rooms.

Food here is not good, in Christmas Island the food was not good but we had an opportunity to get deserts and fruit and food for children.

We asked G4s to take the form from us with the complaints about these things and they just look and laugh and say just calm down. I asked for Robbin and Paul, call Matt from G4S to take request and they just looked at me and said nothing.

We are uncertain about our situation, we don’t know how long we have to wait here. We don’t know what would happen for our future. We think that no one cares about us and we are being punished because we are telling the truth. We never made trouble on Christmas Island and why the other people who caused the trouble, rebels they are transferred in the city?

Which country is going to accept us, how long will be in here?

We risk our life to come here to hope to have our freedom but we are trapped in a political way and they are sacrificing us to get their reasons?

What we are saying here is explaining the situation, it is not our only problem to bring us air conditioners and doors, we worry about our future.

We are requesting that the photos which are of us are given to us by email.

All people in the photo have given permission for their faces to be shown.

A response to our letter be made by close of Business Friday. If there is any problems meeting this deadline, please write back to us to inform us.