Letter from a refugee: ‘This is not tolerable for any human being’

Friday, August 19, 2011


The following message was received by Indymedia from within Curtin Detention Centre with a request that it posted on the site. Please circulate this cry for help and solidarity amongst your networks.

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It is known to all and history has also proven that Hazaras have always and systemically been target of national, religious and ethnic oppression and cruelty and yet thousands of people including women and children have lost their life and thousands of families have lost their guardian and thousands of children are now orphan, who do not just have access to education but also experiencing a horrible and miserable life.

Taliban, predominant Pashtuns, are the very actual face of national, religious and significantly ethnic oppression and cruelty who have taken the annihilation of Hazaras serious and have declared that killing of Hazaras is according to rules and regulations of Islam and hence mandatory.

Looting Hazara’s properties is same as their worship therefore consider it a gift from God and continue to their systematic oppression and harassment of Hazaras at any corner of Afghanistan with their barbaric attacks, counting it as their daily pray for god.

The media has always been reporting about the barbaric attacks of marauder Taliban, which have cost several lives and demolitions for Hazaras.

By passing each day, the situation for these people (Hazaras) is deteriorating.

These people whose way of living is becoming harder tried to continue life and along with their families they have left their birthplace and sought refuge from other countries to just survive from the barbaric attacks of Pashtuns/Talibs.

Hazaras, as seen in majority of European countries and even Canada have been seen to have requested for refuge and are now living in peace.

For the last three years that Australia has again opened the gate for asylum seekers, Hazaras traveling thousands of miles and going through 100% serious risks have escaped death to request protection from Australia and yet not every individual has conquered this deathly journey and even tens of people have lost their lives.

Most of these people have sacrificed their life and are now spending in Malaysia's appalling prisons with plenty of calamities and agony, a huge number is jailed in Indonesia and sadly a considerable number of them while carrying lots of hopes on this journey lost their life in depth of the ocean just like Boat SIEV 221 in a very sorrowful, painful and horrible way while sailing across Malaysia, Indonesia and Australian waters and turned into sea animals’ meal.

Luckily after spending three to eleven months of imprisonment in Malaysia and Indonesia, when we arrived in Australia, we thought Australia would embrace us and listen to our stories and treat our long time grief by granting protection, therefore we thought ourselves lucky and fortunate.

Since we deserved to be granted protection, we requested for protection from Australian government. But, after a while in contrary to its prior policy, Australia granted protection visa to a very few number and rejected most of us saying that: ‘The living condition for Hazaras in Afghanistan is fine now’.

While we had already explained the serious risks we are facing during our Immigration interviews.

We need to know that:
1. Is Australia not aware of how we (Hazaras) are being targeted in the most atrocious ways in Afghanistan?
2. Does Australia really don't know that Qarabagh-Jaghuri Express way is still blocked to Hazaras and traveling on this destination equals to death for us?
3. Does Australia really don't know that every day our children's faces are fogged with misery, deprivation and orphanhood?
4. Does Australia really don't know why Pashtun gave birth to Taliban and what was their target?
5. Does Australia really don't know that few months ago Taliban beheaded a number of Hazaras just like sheep?
6. Does Australia really don't know how Hazaras are being targeted in Quetta of Pakistan just for being Shia and Hazara.
And Does.... ? Does.... ? Does.... ? Does....?

Considering all these issues, how could Australia not grant us protection? This matter has turned into enigma for us which is never solvable.

The only good news we have been given by immigration department is that we may have more chances of granting protection visa in second stage called IMR (Independent Merits Review).

As we have escaped death from Afghanistan and returning to Afghanistan is just like suicide for us, we don't have any alternate choice but to suffer in detention centers.

Now that we have spent considerable amount of time taken from 3 to 20 months in detention centers, we still suffer from the amount of time and only God knows how much more time we have to spend here for no reason and without destiny.

Source,

http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/48559