The judicial inquiry into the treatment of transferees for asylum seekers on Manus Island has been told that the center is more like a prison camp and that the detainees at one time were fed with worm infested bread and cereal.
That’s the testimony of three of the four transferees that gave evidence before the National Court in Lorengau yesterday. The four tranferees are Al Aussainy Murpada, aged 26 from Iraq, Barat Ali, aged 30 from Afghanistan, Abdul Qadir, aged 22 from Somalia and Behnan Satah, aged 28, a Kurdish national born in Iran. The four said they were treated like criminals and were thrown into Manus without their consent. Al Aussany the Iraqi was the first witness who told the court that at one stage he and his fellow transferees were fed with worm-infested bread and cereal. "We are provided with three meals a day however, the food quality is not good and is not sufficient. Sometimes at breakfast there is no milk, no cereals and no bread. Most of the times we find worms inside the bread," he said. "Lunch and dinner are the same type of food and there is no variety. We have only chicken and meat but no vegetables." The second witness, Barat Ali from Aghanistan who claimed that he fled his country because of threats from the Taliban said; "Except for the detention centre, which is like a prison without any level of privacy, I thank the PNG and Australian governments for looking after me which is better than what the Taliban would have done to me." Somalian Abdul Qadir said ever since his detention in Manus he has not been informed of his status, which is a mental torture. He claimed that there is no adequate medical attention and treatment given to him at the detention centre. The last witness, Behnan Satah, said he left his country to go to Australia because he was a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party, which is an opposition to the current regime. "I have been treated badly. Although we entered Australia illegally, we have done nothing bad in PNG," he said. "PNG should not have accepted us and Australia should not have asked PNG to sign the agreement to send us here. "The living conditions are not bad but it’s too hot as the fans are very small and there is no adequate level of privacy." The court has adjourned to today and 17 more transferees are expected to tell of their experiences at the centre. Post Courier/pngfactts Comments are closed.
|
Papua New Guinea Breaking NewsPapua New Guinea daily News updates Let Your Voice be heard: Submit your news articles, commentaries, letters , Photos, Media Releases etc to us on this email: pngfacts@gmail.com
Mining & PetroleumTop Links |