In a tragic day for the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) detention centre, there were two attempted suicides within hours of each other, this Wednesday, afternoon.
An Afghan man, 32, with refugee status tried to hang himself around 2.30pm, while a 17 year old Iraqi juvenile jumped off a roof between 3.30pm and 4.00pm.
The Afghan man has been in detention for more than three years and is being held despite being found to be a refugee. The Iraqi boy has been in detention around six months.
Both men have been hospitalised and are believed to have serious injuries.
“The attempted suicides highlight the on-going horror of mandatory detention,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
“Neither of these men should have been in detention. The Afghan man has already been found to be a refugee and should have been released.
“The Iraqi boy, arrived after the start of the Pacific Solution and has been held in mandatory detention without processing. He should not have been in detention either. His attempted suicide highlights what a mistake it would be for the government to use Curtin to hold families and children.
“Mandatory indefinite detention continues to take a terrible toll on asylum seekers and refugees. Detention centres are still factories of despair and mental illness.”
The tragedies come as refugee activists begin a national convergence on Perth and the detention centre at Yongah Hill for protests over the Anzac Day long weekend.
“Hundreds of protesters will be calling for an end to mandatory detention and the closure of all detention centres, including Nauru and Manus Island. We will also be calling for processing to begin for all those who have arrived since 13 August, like the Iraqi boy in MITA, and who have been left in limbo. ”said Rintoul.
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713; or Feiyi Zhang 0416 121 616
