"He saw the mental health team once and was told he is in need of 'big attention' but he has seen no-one yet. That was two months ago." "My dad, me and my mum behind the fence at Nauru." Boy, 6 years. Drawings from young asylum seekers in 'The health and well-being of children in immigration detention' report. Credit:Australian Human Rights Commission Illustrations by the children are stark indicators of their anguish. One by a 7-year-old girl shows a small, bloodied body lying at the base of a building. It is captioned: "I jumped from the house to the ground and I died. My mum and dad are crying." The daily indignities of detention pile up. Guards reportedly ate ice-cream on an excursion; when children asked if they could have one too, they were told to buy it themselves. Detainees have no access to money. Families with children are woken for headcounts at 5am and 10pm each day; the playroom with toys is open for just one hour a day.

One Chinese mother and baby were taken to a pool but not supplied with swimming costumes, while adults were taken to a toddler pool. A mother of a two-year-old reported taking just one excursion in eight months. "That is Nauru. All the people sad. We have in Nauru tents and we don't have any houses. The fan is broken and it's hot. We don't do anything." That is "me dead. I died". Credit:Australian Human Rights Commission report A single microwave is shared by 400 people, the researchers found. Food offerings are repetitive, and children with growing bodies who like to "graze" are restricted to strict mealtimes. The chance to attend an Australian school is a relief for some children, but the salve is temporary. "I jumped from the house to the ground and I died. My mum and dad are crying." A girl, 7, held in detention at Wickham Point explains her drawing.

"When I am at school I am happy but back in detention I feel sick," said one boy. "At school the difference between them and me is more obvious" a teenage girl said, while a young boy reported being invited by his classmates to play after school, telling them "I can't. I'm in detention". "This is my life. Please help us." Boy, 9 years. Credit:Australian Human Rights Commission But if life in Australia is difficult, the prospect of returning to Nauru is a waking nightmare. Asked by the medical team about the stifling hot Pacific island, asylum seekers reported living with "snakes, cockroaches [and] crabs" and tents reaching temperatures of 55 degrees.

Parents and children live in tents with up to five families. Privacy, play space and relief from the heat is virtually non-existent. "Sometimes we have to walk in heavy rain for food and toilets… there are rocks on the ground – it's very hard to walk," said an asylum seeker. "Nauru is hell on earth," said another. "Before we die we have seen hell". One 16-year-old boy had a special message for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is contemplating returning 267 asylum seekers in Australia to Nauru, including almost 100 children: "The Prime Minister of Australia says he is saving our lives, but at the same time he is killing us." Follow us on Twitter