by Organization of Hazara Refugees in Curtin IDC
It is known to all and history has also proven that Hazaras have always and systemically been a target of national, religious and ethnic oppression and cruelty. Yet thousands of people including women and children have lost their lives and thousands of families have lost their guardians. Thousands of children are now orphaned, have no access to education and are experiencing horrible and miserable lives.
The Taliban, predominantly Pashtuns, are the very face of nationalistic, religious and ethnic oppression, and cruelty who have taken the annihilation of Hazaras seriously. They have declared that killing Hazaras follows the rules and regulations of Islam and hence is mandatory.
According to their perverted religious views, looting Hazara properties is a worshipful act and they therefore consider it a gift from God to continue their systematic oppression and harassment of Hazaras in every corner of Afghanistan. They consider their barbaric attacks equal to their daily prayers to Allah. The media has always been reported the barbaric attacks of the Taliban marauders, which have cost Hazara lives and looting of their properties.
Every day, the situation of the Hazaras is deteriorating. These people, whose way of life is becoming harder have left their birthplaces with their families and sought refuge from other countries to just survive from the barbaric attacks of the Pashtuns/Talibs. Those Hazaras who have escaped from Afghanistan to achieve refugee status Europe and even Canada are now peaceful and productive citizens in those lands.
For the last three years, since Australia again opened the gate for asylum seekers, Hazaras have traveled thousands of miles, taken serious risks, and narrowly escaped death to request protection from Australia. Many have failed, and scores of innocents have lost their lives.
Most of these people are now jailed in Malaysia’s appalling prisons under unspeakable conditions. A huge number are jailed in Indonesia. Sadly, many lost their lives in the ocean just like Boat SIEV 221 dying slow and terrible deaths when their boats sank with no help able to arrive in time to save them from the shark-infested waters.
Luckily after spending three to eleven months of imprisonment in Malaysia and Indonesia, when we arrived in Australia, we thought Australia would embrace us and listen to our stories and treat our long time grief by granting protection, therefore we thought ourselves lucky and fortunate.
Since we deserved to be granted protection, we requested protection from the Australian Government. But, after a while, contrary to its prior policy, Australia granted protection visas to only a small number. Most were rejected with the government saying that: Living conditions for Hazaras in Afghanistan are fine now. This was in denial of our detailed and documented evidence of thee serious risks we presented during our Immigration interviews.
We need to know that :
1. Is Australia not aware of how we (Hazaras) are being targeted in the most atrocious ways in Afghanistan?
2. Does Australia really don’t know that the Qarabagh-Jaghuri Express way is still blocked to Hazaras and traveling on this road equals death for us ?
3. Does Australia really not know that every day our children’s faces are fogged with misery, deprivation and orphanhood?
4. Does Australia really not know why the Pashtuns gave birth to Taliban and what was their target?
5. Does Australia really don’t know that few months ago that the Taliban beheaded a number of Hazaras just like sheep?
6. Does Australia really not know how Hazaras are being targeted in Quetta, Pakistan just for being Shia and Hazara?
Considering all these issues, how could Australia could not grant us protection ? This matter has become an enigma without solution for us.
The only good news we have been given by the Immigration Department is that we may have more chances of receiving a protection visa in a second stage called IMR ( Independent Merits Review).
As we have escaped death in Afghanistan and returning to Afghanistan would be suicide for us, we have no alternate choice but to suffer in detention centers. Now that we have spent a considerable amount of time, sometimes 3 to 20 months in detention centers, we still suffer and only God knows how much more time we have to spend here for no reason and without destiny.
We thought and still believe that Australia is a real humanitarian nation and really gives value to human rights, but things are upside down here in detention centers specially in Curtin IDC. With much grievance, we want to say that these people in detention center are experiencing horrible psychological and mental problems such as depression, insomnia, lack of endurance, self-wounding, horrible nightmares, and many other traumas. With every passing day the condition is getting worse. Suicide attempts are increasing, and in the past two months, two of them succeeded, one by hanging up himself and the other one died of severe depression. Another who jumped out the window of his room survived and is now in Perth Hospital. Similar deadly incidents are happening weekly in Curtin IDC.
We need to know how long must we consume depression tablets and other depression medicines and how long must we line up at the mental health department here ? How long do we have to consume Dethop 25 and Dethop 75 mg, Mirtazapine 30 and 45 mg, Axit 15 and 30 mg and other tricyclic antidepressant and MAOI ? Why do we have to suffer from the side effect of these medicines such as unusual and disturbing dreams, thinking abnormally and other mental difficulties ? It’s obvious how long it takes us to recover from this condition. As a matter of fact in Curtin, we are more familiar with the mental doctors than to our Case Managers.
This policy of the Immigration Department is creating hate and disgust in the heart of these people and the only way to wash out this hate is to stop our mandatory detention, give us hope, and let us join our families; let us feel that we are also human beings.
We are calling for your help and for humanitarian assistance because we are experiencing a bleak situation here in Curtin IDC. We are requesting you to please consider and be more compassionate about us, because there is now a huge chance of human catastrophe.
We once again point out that the problems and frustrating situation we are dealing with is not tolerable for any human being. Therefore how can you accept that our families struggle with loneliness and we remain behind razors deprived of human rights, liberty and with no destiny?
We hereby request from the Australian Government specifically from the Immigration Department to please amend its current policy, to end our sufferings, and free us from the detention centers.
We need assistance and help from United Nations, Independent Organizations in Australia, Human Rights Commission of Australia, Red Cross, Refugee Rights Actions Network, Media in Australia, Refugee Action Collective, Refugee Council, Act Now, Asylum Seeker Resource Center, Indymedia and any thoughtful human not just from Australia but from around the world.
FREEDOM IS WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR—
WE ARE ONE OF YOUR KIND, SO PLEASE HELP US.
Organization of Hazara Refugees in Curtin IDC