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A LIFE BEHIND BARBED-WIRE

XX1X WORLD CONGRESS OF OMEP: World Organisation for Early Childhood Education

CHILDREN IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION IN AUSTRALIA: A LIFE BEHIND RAZOR WIRE

Father Peter Norden, S.J

Policy Director, Jesuit Social Services

Adjunct Professor, School of Social Science and Planning,

R.M.I.T. University, Melbourne.

BABY GHAZAL, BAXTER NO. 390

• Born in Australia in immigration detention

• Yet, she is not an Australian citizen

• While her parents were moved from one detention centre to another, baby Ghazel was conceived and born to no land!

15 YEAR OLD, ALI REZAI

• Escaped from the Taliban, in Afghanistan

• His boat in distress off the Australian coast, October 2001

• Australian Government directs a Norwegian ship, ‘The Tampa’, to rescue them

• The ship’s Captain refused permission to land his passengers on Australian shore

• Ali sent to Nauru for almost three years

MANDATORY DETENTION POLICY

Australia’s policy of mandatory detention for those arriving onshore, seeking asylum or refuge, including infants and children:

• 90% are eventually granted a visa

• Average period in detention for children:

1 year, 8 months, 11 days

U.N. CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

“The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a

child shall be … used only as a measure

of last resort, and for the shortest

appropriate period of time.”

Australia a signatory in 1990

NATIONAL INQUIRY

Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC):

National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention

May 2004

HREOC REPORT MAJOR FINGINGS 1

“Immigration detention centres expose

children to enormous mental distress –

which confirms the need to ensure that

(this occurs) as a last resort and for the

shortest appropriate period of time”.

MAJOR FINDINGS –

AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT:

HREOC REPORT MAJOR FINDINGS 2

“The Commonwealth’s failure to implement the

repeated recommendations by mental health

professionals that certain children be removed

from the detention environment with their

parents amounted to cruel, inhumane and

degrading treatment of those children in

detention.”

IMPACT OF DETENTION 1

• Severe early stress can alter brain development

• Increase risk of PTSD / depression

• Attention deficit / hyperactivity

• Dissociative identity disorders

IMPACT OF DETENTION ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

IMPACT OF DETENTION 2

Increased risk of psychological disturbance with multiple risk factors:

• Observing parental helplessness

• Separation from parents

• Witnessing traumatic events

IMPACT OF DETENTION 3

• Length of time in detention impacts on potential for long-term recovery

• Parental psychological well-being a key factor in the mental health of child refugee and asylum seekers

• Type of accommodation significant on incidence of PTSD among children

AUSTRALIAN FAMILY LAW

• The Judgment of the Family Court of Australia ordered the release of five children from Baxter Detention Centre to protect the welfare of the children

• Australian Government appealed against the Family Court ruling to the High Court of Australia

AUSTRALIAN FAMILY LAW (2)

• All agencies must adhere to child protection laws, enforceable by the Family Court, except the Immigration Department

• The Minister for Immigration is the legal guardian of these children

• The Family Court has no jurisdiction over children in detention centres

AUSTRALIAN FAMILY LAW (3)

• Australian Family Law does not apply to children in immigration detention, even if those children were born in Australia

• Australian immigration law is also paramount over international law protecting the rights of the child

CONCLUSION:

• The current policy of long-term mandatory detention of children in remote centres is causing untold damage to young lives

• The full damage will not be evident for many years

• Child welfare advocates must continue to expose this issue, until we see the policy changed

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