Around 100 asylum seekers are once again being held at Australia’s offshore processing centre in Nauru, after numbers had dropped to zero last June. Among them is Mohammad Bashir Anjum from Pakistan, currently housed in Regional Processing Centre One (RPC1).
“They are treating [us] not really good,” said Anjum, who arrived in February. “No humanity, just treating like animal.”
Anjum ended up in Nauru after traveling by boat from Indonesia to Broome in north-west Australia. He fled violence, including torture and kidnapping, twice in Pakistan—once in 2013 and again in 2021, after a brief return from Brisbane.
He has no clear idea how long he will remain in Nauru, though an immigration official indicated it could be “many, many years.” Anjum said he has faced indifference from staff and limited access to healthcare and has unsuccessfully requested to see an eye specialist three times.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Jana Favero reported similar concerns about insufficient healthcare, mentioning instances where only nurses, not doctors, were available. Efforts to get more information from the government have been mostly unsuccessful, she added.
George Newhouse, a lawyer with the National Justice Project, said his organization is handling 40 cases involving psychiatric or physical injuries sustained by refugees and asylum seekers during their time on Nauru. “We’ve had many examples of individuals with serious illnesses like cancer not receiving proper treatment,” he said.
Nauru President David Adeang defended the treatment of asylum seekers, claiming hundreds of people are looking after their wellbeing. During a rare press conference, Adeang acknowledged that Nauru’s medical facilities may not meet all expectations but stated that serious cases are sent overseas for treatment.
Adeang dismissed criticism suggesting the processing centre had damaged Nauru’s reputation, arguing that it had addressed unemployment issues. He said journalists needed to be more balanced in their reporting.
Journalists have previously faced hostility in Nauru. In 2018, TVNZ reporter Barbara Dreaver was detained while interviewing asylum seekers. Anjum requested an in-person interview but had to settle for a phone call as he struggled to reach Nauru’s government for permission.
Local residents offering rides to the detention centres expressed mixed feelings, supporting the centres as economic boosts while fearing repercussions for interacting with journalists.
Another Pakistani asylum seeker, Umair Bacha, has been in Nauru for six months, spending three months in RPC1 and another three in the community. He mentioned that while community living was good, the allowance provided by Australia was insufficient.
Others, like Mohammad Saju Ahmed, have only been told the process will be long, possibly eight to ten years. Asylum seekers receive an AUS$460 monthly allowance and are prohibited from working.
Australia agreed in 2013 that boat-arriving asylum seekers would not be resettled in the country. In June 2022, New Zealand agreed to resettle 450 refugees from Nauru under the Australia Refugee Resettlement Arrangement, but those currently in Nauru are not eligible.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, in talks with Nauru’s President, deferred decisions on accepting more refugees to the Prime Minister. He affirmed Australia’s sovereignty over its borders when asked about the detention centres.
Asylum seekers in RPC1, including Anjum, have had their smartphones replaced with basic phones for “security purposes,” limiting their internet access severely. They can use email and YouTube, but most other services like Google and Facebook Messenger are blocked. Favero emphasized the importance of tools like WhatsApp for maintaining contact, stating restricted access worsens transparency issues.
Newhouse expressed grave concerns over the limited access detainees have to the outside world.
Australia’s Ministry of Home Affairs did not provide specific details about the detainees in Nauru, citing privacy and operational concerns. The Nauru government manages the regional processing arrangements, and all individuals transferred to Nauru are provided with a mobile phone and internet access, according to a departmental spokesperson.