Nauru refugees sceptical of resettlement deal with US, Sky reporter says after visit
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Version 0 of 1. There is widespread scepticism among refugees on Nauru about Australia’s refugee resettlement deal with the US, and allegations of violence on the island continue, Sky News reporter Laura Jayes has said after visiting the island. “There’s a lot of scepticism about whether the deal is real, for reasons that are quite complex – some are so weary about there being a solution to their situation that they’re managing expectations,” she said. Jayes and Sky News cameraman Josh Brown last week spent three days on Nauru, reporting on conditions for refugees and their reaction to the recently announced deal with the US government. Jayes said she was surprised to find at least one young man – a Rohingya Muslim – who said he didn’t want to go to “Trump’s America”. “Others I can tell are talking to advocates who are warning them not to sign anything, to be very wary of the deal … Others simply know the deal is not for them, that the US is only going to look at families.” Lawyers have warned refugees and asylum seekers engaged with legal action related to their detention about signing any agreement, because it may affect their cases. Sky is only the third Australian media outlet (after the Australian and A Current Affair) to be given access to Nauru and the Australian immigration processing centre since the country clamped down on access. Sky management said on Monday it would provide no information until the broadcast on Tuesday night regarding if or how they paid the $8,000 application fee for the Nauruan media visa. Jayes said she was given unrestricted access to the island, and spoke to asylum seekers, refugees, centre and service provider staff, Nauruan locals and government officials, as well as Australian Border Force officials. “Obviously for security reasons [inside the centre] there was always someone close by but not within earshot of interviews or shepherding us to interviews,” she said. Jayes heard a number of allegations from people of fighting and theft, and said the responses from police would be revealed in Tuesday evening’s report. Stressing it was her anecdotal finding, Jayes said a lot of violence she came across was “refugee on refugee”, and her report would examine a recent case of a refugee adult allegedly sexually assaulting a Nauruan minor. In August Guardian Australia published the Nauru files, which revealed more than 2,000 internal documents including numerous allegations and incidents of assault, abuse and trauma, particularly among children. Within the leaked cache were 19 cases of violence and sexual assault – including eight involving children – which were referred to police but no prosecutions made. The 2014 Moss review also substantiated numerous incidents of assault. Jayes said her assessment after visiting Nauru was that there was “some very serious allegations but there are some very minor ones”. “I think with the volume of allegations and incidents, often the headline betrays what the story actually is, but that’s not to say there aren’t some very serious allegations in there. “I can only go from what people tell me, and there is claim and counterclaim about what is alleged and what is actually true, and what actually can be investigated.” She said there was “no doubt” that some were living with severe psychological trauma, including among children. “I met a 13-year-old boy whose father said he hasn’t spoken in six months, he doesn’t really get out of bed ... That is tragic, utterly tragic. I saw the medication he’s on – he is on antidepressants and 13. I can’t imagine what kind of headspace he’s in. That’s the evidence I saw with children. But as anywhere children are so resilient.” Jayes said she wasn’t a psychologist, but it “wasn’t a great place”. “It’s not a bright happy place, and if they’re not working or going to school they’re kind of whiling away their days inside these little air-conditioned homes.” In the three-and-a-half day trip, Jayes visited the detention centre’s accommodation and community housing, which she said was air-conditioned but basic, people had freedom of movement and in some ways was seen as better than Nauruan housing because it was comparatively new. A few dozen men were still residing in tents. She also visited a newly built Nauruan school. Jayes said there were two young girls who were “happy and smiling” but who hid their faces and were timid when the cameras came in, something Jayes attributed to “a belief that if they are seen to be unhappy or not getting ahead it might help their cause to get off the island”. She said the children she saw weren’t interacting with Nauruan students but she didn’t witness any bullying. A young girl accused Jayes of only filming the “good school” and only wanting to show the good parts. “I said, ‘But darling, you weren’t in the old school. You were in the new school. Do you go to the old classrooms?’ She said ‘no, but some people do’.” Former teachers who worked at the Australian-run school inside the centre have previously told Guardian Australia the decision to shut it down and send students to local schools was one of the lowest points for children on the island. Several have since spoken out about the effect of indefinite detention on the children they taught daily. Nauruan locals were welcoming but particularly upset at negative portrayals of their country, Jayes said. Jayes interviewed the Nauruan justice minister, David Adeang, who she said also “expressed frustration” about sections of the media. The Nauru government has previously accused refugees, advocates and media outlets, including Guardian Australia, of fabricating stories. It has also misrepresented stories written by Guardian Australia in its criticisms. |