Organisers recite 8,000 pages to emphasise normalisation of violence for refugees held in indefinite detention

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Protesters have read aloud more than 2,000 leaked incident reports published by Guardian Australia of the Nauru files during a 10-hour vigil outside Australia House in London.

The protest at the Australian high commission was organised by members of the International Alliance Against Mandatory Detention.



The files, totalling more than 8,000 pages, include allegations of sexual abuse, torture and humiliation inflicted on children held by Australia in offshore detention.



“We want Australia to be internationally shamed,” said Sarah Keenan, who co-organised the event with seven other members of the alliance. “We want everyone to hear these documented incidents of abuse, self-harm, humiliation and squalor that is the everyday life for refugees on Nauru.

“The duration, monotony and repetition entailed in the reading of each file echoes the normalisation of the violence and tedium endured by refugees in indefinite detention.”

Fabien Cante (@FabienCante) #naurufilesreading kicks off @australiahouse - 10h performance documenting detention horror pic.twitter.com/0JVsDsbFYw

Kim Simpson (@AmatoryAnon) If you're in central, come and join #naurufilesreading pic.twitter.com/OCt2RiCIpW

Nadine El-Enany, another alliance organiser, said: “These detainees must be settled in the Australian community as is their right under international law.

“We have chosen to read the report out in front of Australia House because this narrative of abuse directly contradicts the image the Australian high commission seeks to convey of Australia as a progressive nation and a desirable destination for tourists, students, highly skilled workers and international investors.



“Nauru Files reading embodies the ongoing racist violence that has defined the settler colony of Australia since its inception.”

The Nauru files: the lives of asylum seekers in detention detailed in a unique database – interactive Read more

Dr Stewart Motha, a reader in law and deputy dean at Birkbeck, University of London, grew up in Australia with his Tamil family after fleeing persecution from the Sri Lankan civil war when he was 14.

“I witnessed the transformation in Australia from a place that embraced multiculturalism to one which was extremely fearful of outsiders,” said Motha, whose research includes Australia’s immigration system and its treatment of refugees.

But Motha, who is writing a book about state violence, admitted Australia might welcome the fact that the protest is highlighting the conditions in its immigration centres.

“Australia wants to deter refugees,” he said. “The cruelty of its detention camps is an intentional part of its immigration system: it’s something Australia wants to happen and to be known to happen, so those considering fleeing to its shores hear about it.

“Nevertheless, Australia’s actions are in breach of the country’s international obligations and they must be held to account for that by other signatories, including Britain,” he added.

Australia’s opposition Labor party says it will move to establish a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of sexual assault and child abuse at Nauru. However, the governing Liberal and National party Coalition says there is still public support for the policy to detain asylum seekers offshore.

The Australian immigration minister, Peter Dutton, has attacked news organisations, refugee advocates and Save the Children Australia, accusing the child rights agency of leaking the more 2,000 incident reports published as the Nauru files.

El-Enany said: “The Australian government detains refugees indefinitely [on these islands] as part of its offshore detention policy designed to deter refugees from arriving in Australia by boat.

“More than 500 refugees are detained on Nauru, including many children. Refugees on Nauru are regularly subjected to abuse, violence, sexual assault and rape. Self-harm and suicide attempts are common.”