The Refugee Action Coalition has called for an end to the inhuman Immigration Department policy imposed since the 19 July beginning of the PNG deal, under which pregnant women are separated from their husbands, to be sent from Christmas Island to Darwin.
The policy has been in place since 19 July, and a number of pregnant women have already been moved to Darwin Airport Lodge detention centre. But until now it has not been rigorously enforced, meaning some couples have been sent to Darwin together.
It is believed that up to 50 pregnant women on Christmas Island will be told today that they will be forcibly separated from their husbands and sent to detention in Darwin until they give birth. Once the mother and their new-born are declared fit to travel, they will be returned to Christmas Island pending removal to Manus Island.
“It is well known that Christmas Island does not have the medical facilities to care for pregnant women. But to separate pregnant wives from fathers and children is simply inhuman and should immediately cease. It is simply unbelievable that the government is implementing such a cruel policy. Some of the pregnant women are very recent arrivals.
“It is already causing considerable distress. One young, first-time, mother has threatened to begin a hunger strike if she is separated from her husband. There are others who have pre-existing mental health issues who will suffer severely,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
“The practice is fraught with serious issues. They will all be separated from the physical and emotional support they need. To make it even worse, we have been told that in some cases, that not only will wives be separated from husbands but also that children will separated – some staying on Christmas Island with their father while others will go to Darwin with their mother.
“In some cases, where women are five and six months pregnant, the separation policy will mean that mothers and children will be separated from husbands and fathers for many months.
“To make things even worse, because the post-19 July arrivals are kept isolated, and without access to the internet, the separated husbands and wives are only able to make phone calls to each other around every two weeks.
“The whole thing is callous in the extreme and should be scrapped. The prospect of being sent to Manus Island is adding to the families’ fears as children cannot take anti-malarial medication, so will inevitably succumb to the disease.
“The department’s policy is subjecting these asylum seekers to hell. Separating families and husbands and wives is a particularly vicious extension of the PNG solution.”
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
