Nauru open camp meaningless: young refugees attacked

Two eighteen year-old refugees have been attacked on Nauru.

The attack took place around 11.30pm on Wednesday, 30 September as the two refugees returned to their camp at Ewa.

The two men, an Afghan refugee, and Zijah, a Pakistani refugee, were ambushed as they were walking into the Ewa refugee camp, by up to 12 local Nauruan men.

Along with the abuse hurled at the refugees, the attackers demanded money and stole their mobile phones.

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Zijah was left with severe cuts on his knee, his hand as well as extensive bruising and scratches on his back from being knocked to the ground. (See photo above.)

The Ewa camp has also been the site of a rape and a number of attacks on single refugee women. A local witness to the attack called the police to the scene.

The boys themselves later went to the police station to make a statement. They also went to the hospital for treatment for the cuts and abrasions, when the ambulance failed to attend the scene of the attack.

“This has got to stop,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, “The situation on Nauru is badly out of control. The safety of the refugees cannot be guaranteed.

“There is no security in the community or the refugee camps. There is no lighting. The government has simply created camps where single women and young refugees are preyed upon with impunity.”

Responding to the announcement that the Nauru government intends to create an “open camp” arrangement for asylum seeker, Ian Rintoul, said, “The vicious attacks on refugee women in the community and these latest bashings make the ‘open camp’ arrangement a meaningless gesture. The Australian government is trying to avoid elements of the M68 case before the High Court starting 7 October.

“Some people found to be refugees are just too afraid to leave the detention centre. One Iranian refugee was savagely raped in May while she was in the community under the open camp arrangement.

“The whole of Nauru is a dangerous gulag if you are an asylum seeker or a refugee.”

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

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