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| Refugee held on Nauru pleads with Australia to let him see birth of first child | Refugee held on Nauru pleads with Australia to let him see birth of first child |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A refugee held by Australia on Nauru has pleaded with the government to be reunited with his pregnant wife in Brisbane, so he can be present for the birth of his first child. | A refugee held by Australia on Nauru has pleaded with the government to be reunited with his pregnant wife in Brisbane, so he can be present for the birth of his first child. |
| Mohammed Farahi has been held on Nauru for more than four years. His wife, Ahin (not her real name), is currently in detention in Brisbane, 24 weeks pregnant with their first child. | |
| On Nauru, Ahin was acutely unwell with hyperemesis gravidarum – severe morning sickness – and her pregnancy was further complicated when she contracted dengue fever. | On Nauru, Ahin was acutely unwell with hyperemesis gravidarum – severe morning sickness – and her pregnancy was further complicated when she contracted dengue fever. |
| Australian doctors have stated she is too unwell to return to Nauru, where medical facilities – especially the country’s obstetric services – are inadequate to treat her condition. | Australian doctors have stated she is too unwell to return to Nauru, where medical facilities – especially the country’s obstetric services – are inadequate to treat her condition. |
| But Mohammed has been told by Australian authorities he will not be allowed to support his wife when she gives birth, nor see his child. | But Mohammed has been told by Australian authorities he will not be allowed to support his wife when she gives birth, nor see his child. |
| “My wife is calling me every night, crying,” Mohammed told the Guardian. “She says ‘I want to come back to you but I cannot’.” | “My wife is calling me every night, crying,” Mohammed told the Guardian. “She says ‘I want to come back to you but I cannot’.” |
| Mohammed said he had made multiple requests to the Australian Border Force – and repeatedly pleaded with on-island case managers – to allow him to support his wife and to see his baby. | Mohammed said he had made multiple requests to the Australian Border Force – and repeatedly pleaded with on-island case managers – to allow him to support his wife and to see his baby. |
| “But they just refuse,” he said. “They don’t listen, they don’t care. This is my family. | “But they just refuse,” he said. “They don’t listen, they don’t care. This is my family. |
| “It is so horrible. Every day I am praying to die but I cannot do anything, just I pray every night.” | “It is so horrible. Every day I am praying to die but I cannot do anything, just I pray every night.” |
| Australia’s offshore detention regime has separated several families between Australia and the offshore islands of Nauru and Manus, some for years. | Australia’s offshore detention regime has separated several families between Australia and the offshore islands of Nauru and Manus, some for years. |
| But, with increasing government efforts to close the offshore regime, a number of families now face permanent separation. The Guardian understands there are at least four fathers on Nauru who have never seen their children and face the possibility of never being able to. | But, with increasing government efforts to close the offshore regime, a number of families now face permanent separation. The Guardian understands there are at least four fathers on Nauru who have never seen their children and face the possibility of never being able to. |
| The Guardian reported last month on the case of Iranian refugee Arash, who has never seen or held his infant daughter, Yusra, who is now seven months old and in community detention in Sydney. | The Guardian reported last month on the case of Iranian refugee Arash, who has never seen or held his infant daughter, Yusra, who is now seven months old and in community detention in Sydney. |
| He was sent documents by the Australian Border Force to relinquish custody of his child in order to be able to apply for resettlement in the US as a single person. He has refused to abandon his family. He has still not been reunited with his family. | He was sent documents by the Australian Border Force to relinquish custody of his child in order to be able to apply for resettlement in the US as a single person. He has refused to abandon his family. He has still not been reunited with his family. |
| “My daughter, she is innocent – she has the right to see her father,” Arash told the Guardian this week. “I have never held my daughter, never looked at her with my own eyes. Pictures are all I have of her. And they do this just to be cruel, just to cause pain to me and my family. To be heartless.” | “My daughter, she is innocent – she has the right to see her father,” Arash told the Guardian this week. “I have never held my daughter, never looked at her with my own eyes. Pictures are all I have of her. And they do this just to be cruel, just to cause pain to me and my family. To be heartless.” |
| Family unity is a fundamental principle of international and Australian domestic law. Australia is a party to the convention on the rights of the child, which states that children have a right to know and be cared for by their parents, and should grow up in a family environment wherever possible. It is also a party to the international covenant on civil and political rights, which says the family “is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state”. | Family unity is a fundamental principle of international and Australian domestic law. Australia is a party to the convention on the rights of the child, which states that children have a right to know and be cared for by their parents, and should grow up in a family environment wherever possible. It is also a party to the international covenant on civil and political rights, which says the family “is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state”. |
| She is crying every day, ‘I can’t stay here, take me back, I need my husband’ | She is crying every day, ‘I can’t stay here, take me back, I need my husband’ |
| Mohammed Farahi told the Guardian that when Ahin fell pregnant she was acutely unwell and he feared she would die without intervention. | Mohammed Farahi told the Guardian that when Ahin fell pregnant she was acutely unwell and he feared she would die without intervention. |
| “When she was here on Nauru, she was vomiting, sometimes 20 times a day, losing too much weight. There is no food for her here she could eat. No vegetables, fresh fruit is not available in Nauru, or it is too expensive for us to buy.” | “When she was here on Nauru, she was vomiting, sometimes 20 times a day, losing too much weight. There is no food for her here she could eat. No vegetables, fresh fruit is not available in Nauru, or it is too expensive for us to buy.” |
| He and his wife initially considered termination because she was so unwell. But because termination is illegal in Nauru, and the lone hospital on the island routinely refuses to transfer patients for the procedure, Ahin’s pregnancy progressed. | He and his wife initially considered termination because she was so unwell. But because termination is illegal in Nauru, and the lone hospital on the island routinely refuses to transfer patients for the procedure, Ahin’s pregnancy progressed. |
| “The baby was moving inside my wife’s stomach, it was kicking,” Mohammed said. “Now, I love the baby. I love the baby. But here, she was hurting so much. She couldn’t eat anything. That’s why she had to go to Australia for medical care.” | “The baby was moving inside my wife’s stomach, it was kicking,” Mohammed said. “Now, I love the baby. I love the baby. But here, she was hurting so much. She couldn’t eat anything. That’s why she had to go to Australia for medical care.” |
| At 20 weeks pregnant on Nauru, and with her condition deteriorating, Ahin was taken to Brisbane, where she remains in held detention. | At 20 weeks pregnant on Nauru, and with her condition deteriorating, Ahin was taken to Brisbane, where she remains in held detention. |
| “She is crying every day, ‘I can’t stay here, take me back, I need my husband’.” | “She is crying every day, ‘I can’t stay here, take me back, I need my husband’.” |
| Mohammed, a member of Iran’s Kurdish ethnic minority, fled the country with his wife after facing systematic government persecution. | Mohammed, a member of Iran’s Kurdish ethnic minority, fled the country with his wife after facing systematic government persecution. |
| They arrived by boat on Christmas Island in 2013 and have been in detention, offshore and on, since. | They arrived by boat on Christmas Island in 2013 and have been in detention, offshore and on, since. |
| Both have been formally recognised as refugees, with authorities finding they faced a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland. They are legally owed protection and cannot be returned to Iran. | Both have been formally recognised as refugees, with authorities finding they faced a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland. They are legally owed protection and cannot be returned to Iran. |
| They have both applied for resettlement in the US but their case has stalled with their separation, and with progress of the US deal slowing. | They have both applied for resettlement in the US but their case has stalled with their separation, and with progress of the US deal slowing. |
| “I just want to be with my wife anywhere in the world,” Mohammed said. “They can send us anywhere but I need to be with my wife and my child. | “I just want to be with my wife anywhere in the world,” Mohammed said. “They can send us anywhere but I need to be with my wife and my child. |
| “In this place, I cannot sleep at all. I am very afraid, because of some of the troublesome thoughts that come to my mind. I have no hope for the future.” | “In this place, I cannot sleep at all. I am very afraid, because of some of the troublesome thoughts that come to my mind. I have no hope for the future.” |
| Other fathers on Nauru have been told they face permanent separation from their families. They have been told by Australian government officials they cannot apply for resettlement in the US as a family while they are separated from their wives and children. | Other fathers on Nauru have been told they face permanent separation from their families. They have been told by Australian government officials they cannot apply for resettlement in the US as a family while they are separated from their wives and children. |
| Fathers have been told they can either ask their wives and children to return to the island – where some have been assaulted or in defiance of medical advice – so the family can apply for US resettlement together, or sign forms to relinquish all custody rights to their child and to apply for resettlement as a single person. | Fathers have been told they can either ask their wives and children to return to the island – where some have been assaulted or in defiance of medical advice – so the family can apply for US resettlement together, or sign forms to relinquish all custody rights to their child and to apply for resettlement as a single person. |
| The immigration department does not comment on specific cases. But the department secretary, Mike Pezzullo, told Senate estimates there was a “general expectation” that refugees would return to either Nauru or Manus in order to be considered for resettlement in the US. | The immigration department does not comment on specific cases. But the department secretary, Mike Pezzullo, told Senate estimates there was a “general expectation” that refugees would return to either Nauru or Manus in order to be considered for resettlement in the US. |
| “While the general expectation is that they would return to their regional processing location, if there is a particular vulnerability, or for compassionate reasons, I can see there could be a circumstance where the minister or the minister’s delegate might allow them to come to a different view.” | “While the general expectation is that they would return to their regional processing location, if there is a particular vulnerability, or for compassionate reasons, I can see there could be a circumstance where the minister or the minister’s delegate might allow them to come to a different view.” |
| But Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said, in practice, the separation of family members was a deliberate, punitive government policy. | But Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said, in practice, the separation of family members was a deliberate, punitive government policy. |
| “The policy has destroyed and is destroying, families and relationships. It is a Sophie’s Choice situation; accept the anguish and trauma of separation from loved ones, or risk that return of a loved one to Nauru might scar their future and irreparably damage their mental health.” | “The policy has destroyed and is destroying, families and relationships. It is a Sophie’s Choice situation; accept the anguish and trauma of separation from loved ones, or risk that return of a loved one to Nauru might scar their future and irreparably damage their mental health.” |
| Rintoul said the separation policy was enforced more strictly now that legal action was often being taken to kept refugees transferred to Australia in the country. He said those left behind on Nauru were being used as “hostages” in an attempt to coerce family members back offshore. | Rintoul said the separation policy was enforced more strictly now that legal action was often being taken to kept refugees transferred to Australia in the country. He said those left behind on Nauru were being used as “hostages” in an attempt to coerce family members back offshore. |
| “The uncertainty of the US deal only adds to the anguish,” Rintoul said. “Families are being told that they will not be considered for the US deal until they are all on Nauru but are not being told whether or not they will be accepted by the US. So, they are effectively being coerced to return without knowing if they will ever be able to leave. | “The uncertainty of the US deal only adds to the anguish,” Rintoul said. “Families are being told that they will not be considered for the US deal until they are all on Nauru but are not being told whether or not they will be accepted by the US. So, they are effectively being coerced to return without knowing if they will ever be able to leave. |
| “This is magnified for anyone with children. There is no future for children on Nauru; there are severe limitations on health care which are about to get worse; and there is little hope for a proper education.” | “This is magnified for anyone with children. There is no future for children on Nauru; there are severe limitations on health care which are about to get worse; and there is little hope for a proper education.” |
| Spokeswoman for the UNHCR’s Regional Representation in Canberra, Catherine Stubberfield, said that in addition to both Nauru and PNG being inappropriate of places of even temporary settlement for refugees and asylum seekers, “some have endured specific instances of harm that make return even more detrimental”. | Spokeswoman for the UNHCR’s Regional Representation in Canberra, Catherine Stubberfield, said that in addition to both Nauru and PNG being inappropriate of places of even temporary settlement for refugees and asylum seekers, “some have endured specific instances of harm that make return even more detrimental”. |
| “To ask women who have been assaulted to return to the country of that incident, where no prosecutions or investigations have taken place, would be unthinkable. | “To ask women who have been assaulted to return to the country of that incident, where no prosecutions or investigations have taken place, would be unthinkable. |
| “Despite everything else she has been through, one refugee woman told UNHCR recently, ‘the greatest strain on my family’s well-being is our separation’. This echoes the sentiments of many.” | “Despite everything else she has been through, one refugee woman told UNHCR recently, ‘the greatest strain on my family’s well-being is our separation’. This echoes the sentiments of many.” |
| The UNHCR resettlement handbook states that, wherever possible, refugee family members should always be resettled together. But Stubberfield said refugees and asylum seekers within Australia’s offshore system faced a desperate decision between remaining in indefinite limbo and being relocated without their loved ones. | The UNHCR resettlement handbook states that, wherever possible, refugee family members should always be resettled together. But Stubberfield said refugees and asylum seekers within Australia’s offshore system faced a desperate decision between remaining in indefinite limbo and being relocated without their loved ones. |
| “While return of any refugees or asylum-seekers to ‘offshore processing’ locations is inappropriate given the lack of necessary services and support, in instances of trauma and other complications, any such requirement would be even harsher.” | “While return of any refugees or asylum-seekers to ‘offshore processing’ locations is inappropriate given the lack of necessary services and support, in instances of trauma and other complications, any such requirement would be even harsher.” |