Hunger-striking refugee 35-year-old Omid Sorousheh's desperate plea to be recognised as a refugee in Australia has been treated with contempt by immigration minister Chris Bowen, despite clear indications that he was close to death.
Omid has been on a hunger strike for 50 days on November 30. That day it was reported he had been finally airlifted from Nauru and returned to Australia.
But his condition was not known. The department of immigration said the transfer was temporary: 鈥淭he transferee will be returned to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre as soon as he is deemed medically fit to travel.鈥
This indicates the immigration department will ignore Omid's key demand to end his hunger strike, which is to have his asylum claim heard in Australia. Refugee advocates say to ignore this while possibly force feeding Omid violates his rights and adds significantly to his torment.
Omid began his hunger strike soon after being transferred to the government鈥檚 makeshift detention camp on Nauru. He had been suffering internal bleeding for weeks before his move from the island; other refugees watching him said he was skeletal and almost paralysed.
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Caring for the slowly dying man was near impossible with the remote island鈥檚 scant facilities. During a stay in the island鈥檚 only hospital, he began refusing water on November 22 and tried to cut the veins in his arms two days later.
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He was then discharged from the hospital. Refugees said in a letter titled 鈥淟ast breaths of Omid鈥檚 life鈥 that Nauru medical staff decided they could not treat him and he was put under guard in a tent in the detention compound. The refugees wrote, 鈥淭hey left him in tent in the hand of God. Is this the only solution for him?鈥
In his own message, Omid said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 stop it until they transfer me back to Australia or let me die here.
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鈥淚 want justice. I am human. I鈥檝e never wish this situation for any human in the world. I want FREEDOM and NAURU must be close[d].鈥
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He was soon re-admitted to hospital on November 27, but other detainees had not seen him and were not being told of his condition. A Pakistani detainee told 麻豆传媒 Weekly they were hoping he would be taken to Australia to 鈥渉ave his life saved soon鈥.
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But Bowen initially rejected such a proposal. He has refused to speak publicly about Omid, but the Sydney Morning Herald he told Labor MPs that 鈥渁ny decision to transfer hunger strikers to the mainland could act as an incentive for others to take similar action鈥.
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A deceptive claim, because 19 other refugees are already taking similar action 鈥 the second longest hunger strike has passed 30 days already. Five are now refusing water, several have collapsed and most are determined to follow Omid鈥檚 example. In the same letter from Nauru, the refugees said: 鈥淚s this the object of killing him to teach the others to stop the hunger strike? No, we commit that the death of Omid will drag more asylum seekers to choose the same way. The bitter reality of Nauru鈥檚 detention centre will shock the world.鈥
In addition to those suffering the effects the hunger strike, many more are now committing self-harm, with at least one more suicide attempt on November 29.
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The immigration department told ABC radio鈥檚 AM that 10 cases of self-harm were reported in a 24-hour period that day, but 鈥渁ll but one鈥 were 鈥渕inor鈥.
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Refugees reported men burning themselves with cigarettes, several hanging themselves, cutting and others staying up all night weeping. Australian refugee advocate Ian Rintoul said the camp was 鈥渋n meltdown鈥.
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Iranian refugee Mahdi told 麻豆传媒 Weekly by phone on November 27 they were all 鈥渄ay by day losing mental health鈥, but he explained the reasoning behind their determination to refuse to eat.
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鈥淵esterday, four people collapsed. Some of them are refusing medical treatment 鈥 they want answers, not just to prolong their suffering.
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鈥淲e do not want aid, or treatment, we want answers to the biggest question of our life: they don鈥檛 give us any time for the end of this process. When first here, [we were told] processing will start in six months. But after two weeks, [an Australian immigration worker] said processing will be done by Nauru government.
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鈥淭hey lie to us. They said to us, you are the first persons to start processing, you will be first, but now some will have bridging visas and live in Australian cities, and so why are we here?
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鈥淲e didn鈥檛 do anything wrong.鈥
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The new bridging visas, announced by Bowen to cope with the thousands who have arrived since August 13, will allocate some asylum seekers to live outside detention with limited financial support to await their processing.
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The visa status is a rehashed version of temporary protection, and refugees will be able to be deported or sent offshore at any time.
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Asylum seekers who arrived at the same time, or even on the same boat, as the men now suffering the squalor and isolation of Nauru will live outside detention. This has renewed the Nauru men's desperate bid to be heard and accepted as the refugees they are.
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Mahdi 鈥 who fled Iran 10 months ago because 鈥渕y beliefs are different to the government鈥 鈥 has kept an intermittent hunger strike for more than 20 days. When we spoke he hadn鈥檛 eaten for 10 straight days.
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鈥淚 feel very bleak, my kidney last night was in very pain, it as very pain[ful]. The weakness is too much. But I refuse medical, because I want to get answers.鈥
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He put the question he wants answered to the ABC panel show Q&A听 on November 26.
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Host Tony Jones asked Mahdi鈥檚 question, which he submitted via Facebook: 鈥淲hat is the difference between me and others who came after me. Now they are getting a bridging visa and going to live in the cities of Australia while I and 399 more must stay here on Nauru in a very bad situation? So, I mean, why are one group being singled out, the people who come afterwards they can come and live in Australia. Why is it happening like this?鈥
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Labor MP Penny Wong answered that when implementing discriminative policies designed to punish refugees that come to seek protection by boat, 鈥渞egrettably you do end up in the position鈥.
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Asked by Jones whether 鈥渋t [would] take one of them actually dying of starvation to actually change your position,鈥 Wong said the 鈥渆thical choices are so complex鈥, but evaded answer.
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Refugee advocates around Australia have rejected Labor鈥檚 compassionless stance on Omid's case and held solidarity rallies for Omid and the others on November 28 in Perth and November 30 in Sydney and Melbourne.
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Activists in Perth delivered a coffin and shovel to Labor MP Louise Pratt鈥檚 office to ask how many deaths it would take before the government abandoned its barbaric policy. In Sydney, the Refugee Action Coalition called a snap action outside MP Tanya Plibersek's office calling on her to act on her apparent support for refugee rights.