Ruth Halbert
artist, weaver
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Blog: Dear Prime Minister

On July 30 2016 I started writing letters to the Prime Minister of Australia to protest against the imprisonment and torture of the asylum seekers in the offshore detention centres of Manus Island and Nauru. I started with the intention of writing a letter a day for every person in detention until they are all freed. There are more than 1800 asylum seekers in off shore detention. These are those letters and any response from Mr Turnbull.

Bring all in offshore detention to Australia #302

Dear Prime Minister

I am writing to you on behalf of the 302nd asylum seeker held by Australia on Manus Island. The situation at the Reprocessing Centre (concentration camp) has dramatically worsened this week. Some men have been forced to move out of their accommodation and into one of the other already overcrowded buildings. Demolition of the buildings has started. Is it a coincidence that it is the start of Ramadan? After the well-documented year-long program by ABF, Transfield and Broadspectrum to make conditions for the men more and more draconian this violent disruption to the camp amounts to torture. As Imran Mohammad reported, the detainees have not been properly informed of what is happening, the rules keep changing so even those who try to make decisions are thwarted, and all this after four years of incarceration have damaged their bodies and their minds.

The majority of Australians (72%) support bringing the refugees here. Many of us are in direct contact either with the detainees, or with advocates who are. So we know that the statements made by Minister Dutton and his department are lies. For example, in the letter I received from DIBP yesterday, the first paragraph of page two reads:

“People transferred and accommodated at the Manus Regional Processing Centre (RPC) are treated with respect and dignity and in accord with human rights standards. The Australian Government has contracted appropriately trained and experienced service providers to ensure that residents’ needs are adequately met, including the provision of health and welfare services.”
— https://www.ruthhalbert.com.au/dear-prime-minister/2017/5/27/the-4th-reply-from-dibp

It is astounding how many lies have been crammed into those two sentences. All meaning of the words 'respect', 'dignity', human rights', trained', 'experienced', 'adequately met', 'health', 'welfare', 'services' has been completely degraded.

This is why I write to you, Prime Minister. There is no honesty, morality, or legality in the dealings, writings or announcements of Minister Dutton and DIBP. After 302 letters to you, I expect you to reply. And to act to bring the asylum seekers here now.

rhetoric, liesRuth HalbertManus Island, torture, human rights, violence, bringthemhereComment