Eurobodalla will hold a Silent Protest on Wednesday 23 August from 11 am to 1pm at Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis’ office in Nowra, to highlight deaths and medical negligence occurring in Offshore detention. “The death of thirty-one year Hamed Shamshiripour, found dead on Manus Island recently, is the latest in a long line of tragedies in the offshore detention regime for which the Australian government must be held responsible.” said Ms Bernie Richards of the Refugee Action Collective Eurobodalla “Many of Hamid’s friends in Manus and Australia, including myself, along with advocates and Doctors For Refugees appealed to authorities for treatment for Hamed for serious mental health problems. That treatment was not provided. “ “We even appealed directly to the Department’s Commonwealth Medical Officer Dr John Brayley himself, who advised he was looking into Hamed’s case eight months ago, but he didn’t. Hamid was a refugee in Australia’s duty of care and we let him down.” Ms Richards said. “Even people within the local Manusian community knew that Hamid needed mental health and had also appealed to authorities. I was personally sent photos of his body. As an ex-police officer, there are indications that Hamed’s death may not have been suicide and this really needs to be investigated independently”. The hostility of many of the local people in Lorengau to the refugees and the increasingly violent attacks on refugees illustrates why these people, who have asked for asylum from Australia, cannot be safely resettled in PNG. The publication of the Trump-Turnbull conversation about the US “deal” to take refugees confirms that this is unlikely to provide safety for the nearly 2,000 people on Manus Island and Nauru. Bernie Richards said that with the PNG authorities and Australian Border Force trying to force refugees out of the existing camp on Manus Island and into Lorengau and elsewhere in PNG, refugees are being placed in a more dangerous and untenable situation. “Further tragedy is inevitable unless the Australian government pursues a humanitarian policy and brings those on Manus and Nauru here”. For further information, please contact: raceurobodalla@gmail.com
