Second group of Manus refugees fly to US

The second group of refugees to be accepted for resettlement in the US has left Port Moresby for the United States this morning (Tuesday 23 January) see photos of them leaving the Port Moresby hotel early this morning; a small group of the refugees in the departure lounge of Port Moresby airport.

Altogether fifty-eight refugees will fly today – 40 left on one flight this morning. In Manila, they will be split into two groups; one will fly to Los Angeles and then to New York, the other directly to New York.

It was a bitter-sweet moment for the refugees – who on the one hand, are happy to be gaining the freedom that Australia denied them more than four years ago; but on the other, they remain extremely concerned for those that are being left behind.

One refugee told the Refugee Action Coalition, “I am very happy to be free of the hell that the Australian government made for us on Manus. But we are sad for those who are still waiting so long. We can’t stop thinking of everyone who are still on Manus. We all need freedom.”

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713