Protesters yesterday rallied in Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, calling for an end to the country’s controversial South Pacific detention centers that house refugees who try to reach Australia by boat.
Particular focus was directed toward the well-being of children on the tiny island nation of Nauru, although refugee advocates said all refugees should be out of detention.
“It’s kids off, everyone off and bring them here,” Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition told reporters.
Photo: Medecins Sans Frontieres via AP
More than 1,400 people are being held on the Australian-run detention centers on Nauru and Papua New Guinea, some for years.
The rally organizers said thousands attended the protests in each city, but local media had smaller estimates.
There was no estimate from police.
Australia refuses to allow asylum seekers arriving by boat to reach the country.
It says the policy deters people smugglers in Asia from plying their trade and saves lives by stopping people sailing in unseaworthy boats from Indonesia to Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under increased pressure to immediately resettle children on Nauru, after aid agencies and doctors raised concerns of a health crisis.
Worsening mental health has left some of the children on Nauru in a “semi-comatose state,” unable to eat, drink or talk, said humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres, which was ejected from Nauru by the island’s government.
Morrison’s government is on the verge of losing its majority after a devastating by-election on Saturday last week, and key independents have said their support hinges on him freeing children on Nauru.
On Monday, 11 child migrants were evacuated from Nauru for medical treatment.
Australia first introduced offshore processing of refugees between 2001 and 2008 and started it again in 2012.
In 2013, it significantly toughened the policy, saying that even if people were found to be refugees they would never be resettled in Australia.
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