SYDNEY– An Iranian refugee set himself on fire Wednesday during a visit by UN officials to Nauru, Canberra said, with four others reportedly attempting suicide.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton revealed the 23-year-old would be air-lifted from the Pacific island to hospital in Australia, but made clear that if he survived and recovered he would be sent back.
‘I can inform you that there was a 23-year-old male who had originally come from Iran, by boat, was on Nauru and outside of the detention centre, in fact in one of the settlement areas, had set himself alight, self-immolated this morning,’ he told a press conference.
‘He’s in a very serious condition and the plan is to provide an air-lift for him later tonight but he is in a very, very serious condition and his outlook is not good at all.’
According to the Guardian Australia, a man has suffered life-threatening burns after setting himself on fire, at a refugee settlement site in Nauru, in front of representatives of the UNHCR.
The governments of Australia and of Nauru – which recently began convicting people for attempting suicide – in response warned others against what they described as acts of “political protest”.
A screengrab of the 23-year-old Iranian man soaked in liquid, who set himself on fire during a UN visit on Nauru.
Video footage of the incident, seen by Guardian Australia, shows the 23-year-old Iranian man soaked in liquid, standing in a clearing and shouting to the people around him.
There were claims the video of the protests showed UN representatives on the other side of a fence. In it people shout “UN help us” and “ABF shame on you”.
The man who self-immolated has been identified as Omid, a recognised refugee from Iran. Omid turned 23 last December and is married.
According to one witness, Omid said: “This is how tired we are, this action will prove how exhausted we are. I cannot take it anymore.”
In the footage Omid then sets himself on fire. Amid screams from onlookers he flees but is chased by a group of people who tackle him to the ground and smother the flames with sheets and remove his burning and melted clothing. There are extensive burns across his body and head but he is clearly alive and conscious.
He has been taken to the Republic of Nauru hospital but medical evacuation to Australia is being considered, but the Australian immigration minister said his outlook is “not good at all”.
Peter Dutton said Omid was in a very serious condition and an airlift that night was planned. “But his outlook is not good at all.”
Dutton confirmed that a number of other people – believed to be five – attempted to self-harm on Wednesday night and one on Wednesday morning.
Dutton said that Australia’s policy was unchanged, and that if people were brought to Australia for medical assistance, they would be returned to Nauru “once that medical assistance has been provided”.
“If people think that through actions of self harm or harming a member of their family that that is going to result in them coming to Australia and then staying here permanently, then again I repeat the message that is not going to be the outcome.”
Two Iranian women have also been missing from the island since Sunday. There are fears they have drowned.
The Nauruan government gave no condolences, and labelled Omid’s act “a political protest to coincide with the visit by representatives from UNHCR”.
“Unfortunately we have seen protests like this during high-profile visits, as some from within the refugee community try and influence the Australian government’s offshore processing policies.”
The witness to Omid’s act said the man had met with representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday morning, who were on the island to interview asylum seekers and refugees. They have also been inspecting the Manus Island offshore centre. According to reports from detainees at both places, the focus has been largely on the mental health of detainees.
According to advocates, UN representatives on Nauru also witnessed another long-running detainee protest – now in its 39th consecutive day. Many have reported feeling they were prevented from meeting with UN representatives, or told there was nothing that could be done to help them.
There were claims the video of the protests showed UN representatives on the other side of a fence but this has not been confirmed. In it people shout “UN help us” and “ABF shame on you”.
Catherine Stubberfield, spokesperson for UNHCR’s Regional Representation in Canberra, told Guardian Australia that UNHCR representatives were undertaking a monitoring mission of conditions on Nauru for asylum seekers and refugees transferred from Australia.
“A particular focus of the mission is the seriously deteriorated mental health of the transferred asylum-seekers and refugees. UNHCR staff were at the refugee settlement site when an incident occurred that resulted in a refugee sustaining extensive burns to his body.
“UNHCR remains concerned about the grave mental health status of the asylum-seekers and refugees. Comprehensive measures are required as a matter of urgency to prevent further unnecessary suffering and address ongoing mental health deterioration.”
A letter written and signed by refugees and asylum seekers on Sunday pleaded for the Australian people to help.
“We are wondering why our lives were saved in the ocean, if we died in the sea it would be wonderful because we can’t cope with these inhuman actions,” it said.
“Your government took our joy, they took our hope, dreams and locked us up inside the fence.”
Canberra sends asylum-seekers who attempt to enter the country by boat to remote processing centres in Papua New Guinea or Nauru, with no hope of being settled in Australia.
The policy has been heavily criticised internationally, including by the UN, and in October Nauru’s Regional Processing Centre was converted into an ‘open centre’, giving its inhabitants freedom of movement.
The Refugee Action Coalition, an activist group, said four others attempted suicide on Tuesday evening by drinking washing powder and were being treated by medical staff on the island.
Canberra has long defended its policy of denying asylum-seekers resettlement in Australia, saying it has prevented deaths at sea and secured the nation’s borders. Rights groups have long criticised the policy and conditions in the camps.
Source: AFP, Guardian Australia, 27 APRIL 2016