Update from the Australian government’s offshore refugee detention center on Nauru

 

11.05.16: Today is day 53 of ongoing peaceful protests by refugee families detained in the RPC3 compound at the Australian government’s inhumane offshore refugee detention center on Nauru. Refugees from other compounds at the center and asylum seekers who have been forcibly ‘resettled’ in the Nauru community have also been joining the daily protests for some time now.

A banner is being displayed by the refugees that says ‘WHAT’S HAPPENED WITH HODAN?”, in reference to the young refugee woman who self-immolated on May 2nd and was air-lifted in an extremely serious condition to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Hodan’s current condition is shrouded in secrecy, and her comrades on Nauru are extremely worried about her.

Breaking news being reported today is that a 26 year old Bangladeshi refugee man named Rakib who was detained on Nauru took his own life by overdosing on tablets. Rakib’s comrades say that he was driven to suicide by sheer desperation, the same desperation that is felt by all who are detained on Nauru.

Tomorrow in Melbourne, Australia, a day of civil disobedience will be taking place by people in solidarity with the refugee struggle in Nauru, Manus and other refugee detention camps run by the Australian government.