Christopher is too young to know he is different.

Key points: Up to 40 babies have been born to refugees and local women on Manus Island

Up to 40 babies have been born to refugees and local women on Manus Island The babies face an uncertain future if their fathers are transferred to other countries

The babies face an uncertain future if their fathers are transferred to other countries The children are covered under the medevac bill and could be transferred to Australia as 'legacy minors.'

In a patch of jungle on Manus Island, the two-year-old is happily passed between his mother and grandmother outside their humble hut, but his paler skin makes him stand out.

He is one of up to 40 children who have been fathered by asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island.

His mother, Flora Boyoeu, is no longer in a relationship with Christopher's father.

For children like Christopher, growing up on Manus Island with a foreign or absent father could make life difficult.

"I think about it and I worry about him," Flora said.

When the detention centre was closed in 2017, the refugees and asylum seekers were moved into Manus' main town, Lorengau.

Many of the men formed relationships with local women — some fleeting and some long-term — and dozens resulted in children.

As some refugees are resettled in the United States and others have the possibility of a medical transfer to Australia, the children's future remains unclear.

A spokesperson for the Home Affairs Department confirmed to the ABC the children were covered under the medevac law and could be transferred to Australia as "legacy minors".



How that would work and under what conditions they would be transferred remains unclear.

'I want to protect us'

Vali Papi wants to leave Manus Island with the family he created there. ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

Vali Papi is a regular at one of the Island's Seventh Day Adventist churches and he believes it was God's plan that he came to Manus and met his wife, Judith Andreas.

But now the Iranian refugee is desperately trying to keep his family together.

"I worry about my family and my family's future," Mr Papi said.

"I want to protect us and take us to — not just Australia — but anywhere. Maybe USA or New Zealand. Anywhere. I don't want to stay here."

Mr Papi does not think he can give his family a good life in Manus.

Cyrus' father Vali fears for his future ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

While he has a biological son named Cyrus with his wife, he has also adopted her other child, Gibson.

"I [also] want to take him anywhere I go. I love him," he said.

Ms Andreas is happy to leave PNG to be with her husband.

"He gave me life, and wherever he goes, me and my two sons have to follow him," she said.

"Hopefully I can go with her," Amin Abofetileh says. ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

Iranian refugee Amin Abofetileh is another father trying to ensure his wife and child can stay with him.

Mr Abofetileh has been married to local Kate Yang for three years and they have an 18-month-old daughter, Liberty.

"I heard they want to move the refugees to Christmas Island. Hopefully I'll be one of them. It's very hard for us, but hopefully I can go with her," he said.

He is also waiting to hear if he will be resettled in the US after going through the interview process.

"I tell them, if I want to go to the US, I have to go with my baby and my wife," he said.

Ms Yang broke down in tears when asked how hard it would be for her if she and Liberty could not go with her husband.

The ABC spoke with two other fathers who were also desperate to get any information about how to take their children with them if they leave, but not all the fathers are doing the same.

One woman is raising her child alone after the father returned to his home country.

Another was about to give birth, but her child's father has already resettled in the United States.

On Manus Island, land is life

There is a market that runs along the water's edge in Lorengau.

Locals sell fruit, fish and vegetables at makeshift stalls, as the waves lap at the sand.

Mr Papi says he can give his family a better life off Manus Island. ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

While many of the people here welcome the jobs that have come from asylum seeker processing, romances with local women are a point of anger and concern.

"We are happy with the jobs created for the men to go look after them — that's the good part," Lalu So said from behind her market stall.

"But the bad part is they're spoiling our daughters. I want [the refugees] to leave, because now the children [that the women] carried won't have a life here. They will be homeless," she said.

People at the market say the relationships have been consensual, but some of the women involved are only teenagers.

Ben Pokarup from the Manus Province Civil Society said the social fabric has been "totally destroyed" by the relationships.

"They will always take the back seat. They will have no say in anything at all," Ben Pokarup says. ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

He believes at least 37 babies that have been born, but there could be more.

"According to our custom and traditions, where would they fit in into the system? We are patrilineal community," he said.

The patrilineal society means things like land — which in PNG is 97 per cent privately owned — is passed down through fathers.

"Definitely the future looks very gloomy for them," Mr Pokarup said.

"They will always take the back seat. They will have no say in anything at all. There will be no recognition at all."

The Manus Provincial Police Commander Chief Inspector David Yapu is also worried.

"When these refugees leave the province and resettle in another country, who will be responsible for the mother? Who will be responsible for the children?" he asked.

The agonising choices for mothers of stateless children

As the children are covered under the medevac law, the Australian Government needs to identify them.

"The act requires the Secretary to, as soon as practicable, identify legacy minors and notify the Minister," the Home Affairs spokesperson told the ABC.

Wherever he goes, Iranian refugee Amin Abofetileh wants 18-month-old daughter, Liberty to come with him. ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

That could be difficult as not all the births have been registered and some of the parents are struggling to get birth certificates.

Amin and Kate have been trying for more than six months to get a birth certificate for Liberty.

"I think Immigration has stopped us getting our document, but I'm not sure," he said.

"We don't have any document or anything to prove she's my baby."

Ms Yang is now going to the capital Port Moresby to try to get a birth certificate.

She has had to go alone with Liberty as Amin — like almost all of the refugees on Manus Island — does not have travel documents and cannot leave the island.

"It's been so hard having a stateless partner," Ms Yang said.

Another refugee who is trying to become a citizen in PNG so he can stay in Manus with his family said he and his wife have also struggled to get birth certificates for their two children.

There are also questions about the conditions under which the children could be transferred.

It is unclear whether the children would be transferred to accompany a parent on a medical transfer, or whether they would be entitled to medical transfers of their own.

The Home Affairs statement only said that they could not be brought to Australia "for a temporary purpose" if they did not consent to the transfer.

It also said that the Minister would make a decision on whether to transfer the child "having regard to character and security".

"The Department continues to work through the legislative provisions as they apply to legacy minors," the department spokesperson said.

Flora says she's willing to let Christopher go with his father, if he's transferred to the US or Australia. ( ABC News: Natalie Whiting )

The situation is more complicated for the children whose parents are no longer still together, like Flora and her son Christopher.

Christopher's father wants custody of the baby, but Flora is confused by the medevac bill and what it could mean for her son.

"I want them to come and speak with me properly so that I will understand," she said.

"Now I don't know about anything. I am just here looking after the child."

Christopher's father is also waiting to hear if he will be resettled in the US.

Flora said she would let her baby go — if it was to a suitable country.

"If he is going to a good place, then I can allow my child to go live with him," she said.

"If it's a bad place then my child will not go with him."