Refugees relocated from Manus Island to Port Moresby say they have been attacked twice in less than a month

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Refugees who have been moved from Manus Island to the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby say they have endured two violent attacks in less than a month from local residents.

Two refugees have told Guardian Australia that in both instances, groups of local men have surrounded their compound armed with knives, iron bars and stones, and have threatened to kill the refugees inside.

They say that the first attack, which occurred at the end of February left one refugee with a broken leg, while the second attack, on Saturday night, resulted in a security guard being hospitalised.

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The second attack, on Saturday night, saw a group of local residents surround the apartment compound where 17 refugees are living, and hurl stones at refugees while yelling at them to come outside so they could kill them.

The refugees were moved from Manus Island to Port Moresby at various points over the last two years. More than 400 refugees and asylum seekers remain within Australia’s offshore processing regime, about 230 on Nauru, and about 180 in Papua New Guinea. Several dozen are undertaking the process for resettlement in America.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a refugee living in the compound said in the first attack, which occurred at the end of February, a group of 15 local men began assaulting a group of refugees and broke a refugee’s leg.

The refugee said the four security guards on duty stopped the men entering the compound. “In the process, one of the guards had his finger broken by a stone hurled at him, while the other three hid away in the compound.”

“They were shouting: ‘Get out or we’ll kill you, we don’t like you here. Go back to where you came from.’”

The refugee said several attempts to call their service provider, JDA Wokman, together with their case workers, were unsuccessful. JDA Wokman has a $72m contract from the Australian government to help former Manus detainees settle in Moresby. JDA Wokman could not be reached for comment.

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“One of the security guards managed to sneak down to the nearest police station at Four Mile, and was told by the police that there was no fuel to attend to the incident.”

At 3am, five hours after the attack began, a police officer attended the centre and fired shots to disperse the men.

“Everyone is living in fear, scared for their lives,” the refugee said.

An officer from JDA Wokman arrived the next morning and gave the refugees emergency numbers to call.

“We thought this was it, but the same incident happened again on the 7th March,” said the refugee.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Damage done to the exterior of the apartment compound where refugees are living in Port Moresby, which was attacked twice by groups of armed locals who want them to leave the country. Photograph: supplied

On Saturday night, the refugee said a group of nearly 20 men arrived at the compound armed with iron rods and knives to attack the refugees, they attacked a security guard, kicking him in the stomach, which led to his hospitalisation.

“They said: ‘Come outside, we need to kill you. You don’t need to stay here.’

“The emergency numbers we were given by JDA to call all came back with the response to just wait,” said one refugee. “The police arrived, stayed for a couple of minutes and left. Soon after they left, the men returned.”

“The same cursing and stoning continued until 4am in the morning. No one slept, everyone was too terrified to sleep.”

Guardian Australia visited the lodge and saw the damage to the lights and gates that refugees say was caused when the mob threw stones at them and struck them with metal rods and knives.

“We laid complaints at the police station but it is unclear what the police are doing to address this issue.”

Guardian Australia has confirmed with police that complaints have been laid but they were unable to provide further information on investigations into the matter. The PNG immigration department has been contacted for comment. JDA Wokman could not be reached for comment.