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Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from

Samaritans

Introduction

Samaritans, the welfare arm of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, is one of the largest regional welfare organisations in Australia. We employ more than 500 professional staff and enjoy the continuing support of over 400 volunteer workers.
Managed from Newcastle, Samaritans has a regional focus on the Hunter, Central Coast and Manning regions and an annual turnover of nearly $17million. The organisation delivers more than 80 welfare and community service programs in 100 locations, providing service to more than 60,000 people annually.

Samaritans is committed to the care and protection of children and young people in Australia, regardless of their religion, race, country of origin, gender, political persuasion (or those of their parents), sexuality, disability or immigration status. This commitment has prompted the organisation to speak out against the mandatory detention of children asylum seekers and their families. The deteriorating situation in the detention camps and the growing pressure on the government makes it incumbent for a child protection agency, such as The Samaritans, to speak out.

Samaritans firmly believes that detaining children, young people and their families in immigration detention centres is not an appropriate option for dealing with refugees arriving in this country seeking our protection.

Entering Australia without a visa is not a crime under Australian law. Under international law refugees have the right to seek asylum using any available means. By branding refugees in Australia as "illegal" the government is implying that the prolonged detention of people seeking refuge from repressive regimes in prison-like camps is an appropriate response to their "criminal" behaviour.

The mandatory imprisonment of asylum seekers has aroused intense community debate since the arrival of the first boats from Cambodia in 1989. The issue attracted further controversy with the opening of the Port Hedland immigration detention centre in North Western Australia in 1991. The isolation of the centre, reports of poor facilities for detainees and the slow processing of their applications, generated adverse media attention and some deep seeded community divisions. There are now six detention facilities. These are:

REFUGEE RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

1. Australia's commitments to child detainees under the Convention on the Rights of Children and the Convention on the Rights of Refugees

The 1951 Convention on the Treatment of Refugees clearly states that liberty is a fundamental human right. As a general rule, detention of asylum seekers is not acceptable, especially when those detained include the very vulnerable - children, single women, families, and people with special psychological or medical needs, such as torture victims.

The Convention specifically prevents countries from punishing people who have arrived directly from a country of persecution (or from another country where protection could not be assured), provided that they present themselves speedily to the authorities and show good cause for their entry without a visa. The Convention only allows for detention if it is brief, absolutely necessary, and instituted after other options have been implemented. Acceptable purposes include: to verify identity, to determine the elements on which the claim for asylum is based, or for the protection of the community. Under the Convention, detained asylum seekers should always be informed of their rights - including the right to challenge their imprisonment.

Australia violates this convention because all refugees, including unaccompanied children are subject to mandatory detention without discrimination. The detention of refugees is neither brief nor necessary, with asylum seekers waiting months or years for their applications to be processed.

Last year, there were 1103 children held in Australian immigration detention centres, out of a total of 8401 people overall. Many stay there for 6 months and some for as long as 19 months, according to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. At Woomera detention centre, there are about 40 children without an accompanying adult.

Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status". This includes their immigration status. Australia's mandatory detention of children asylum seekers is a clear breach of this convention as it relates to Article 19(1) "States parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, whilst in the care of legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child".

The government also breaches the Convention in relation to Articles 6(2) (child's right to survival and development); 22(1) (ensure the protection of rights of child refugees or asylum seeker children; 24 (child's right to highest attainable standard of health); 27 (child's right to adequate standard of living); 31 (child's right to play and recreational activities); 37© (the right of the child deprived of liberty to be treated with humanity and respect); 39 (promotion of physical and psychological recovery of child victim). The Article most clearly breached is Article 37(b) which states "…detention shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time…"

2. The "Best Interests of the Child"

Article 3 of The Convention states "In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration". The practice of mandatory detention ignores the best interests of the child.

The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 is the legislation governing the care and protection of children and young people in NSW. The Act clearly states that "...children and young persons receive such care and protection as is necessary for their safety, welfare and well-being, taking into account the rights, powers and duties of their parents or other persons responsible for them, and…that all institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care and protection of children and young persons provide an environment for them that is free of violence and exploitation and provide services that foster their health, developmental needs, spirituality, self-respect and dignity…"

Detaining child asylum seekers and their families in immigration detention centres clearly breaches this Act, and similar legislation in other states of Australia.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission officers recently completed a fact finding mission to Woomera detention centre in South Australia, as part of the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention. The five day assessment was extremely thorough and included interviews with children, children with their family and others.

Interviews were also held with the centre's management, medical and other staff. The Commission concluded that there are clear breaches of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Australia is a signatory. The recent issues of self-harm, neglect, and the wide-spread sense of despair felt by children in these camps indicates that detention centres are not an appropriate environment for children and young people.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

1. Initial health screening, testing and treatment required for children

More than half the world's refugees are children. When children seeking asylum arrive in Australia without papers we mandatorily detain them in detention centres which are isolated from society and are operated by a private American corrections company.

The best way to ensure the safety, health and well-being of children asylum seekers is not to detain them at all. All health screening should be conducted in the community by culturally appropriate health and welfare professionals. The Samaritans Foundation is opposed to the detention of children in immigration detention centres. We are aware however, that initial screening is a necessary requirement for public health concerns. Therefore, we suggest that unaccompanied children and young people be placed in foster care in the community whilst the screening process is undertaken. This will ensure that they receive the care that is essential to their ability to recover from their experiences in the country they have fled and their flight, as well as their ability to adapt to a new environment. All initial health screening should be undertaken in this time to identify any health, including mental health issues, as well as public health issues that may be present. All unaccompanied minors must not be detained at all but be placed immediately into the community whilst screening is undertaken. Children and young people who are not accompanied by a relative are at extreme risk of abuse if left to fend for themselves in detention camps.

In order to meet the requirements of the respective State Public Health Acts, all refugees should be provided with a complete health screening, medical examination and treatment within 7 days of their arrival. The health care needs of each child must be identified by qualified medical and welfare professionals and should have due regard to both the child's physical and mental health, including the effects of trauma and torture.

Children requiring specialist treatment should be referred immediately to community health care. The child's family must be fully informed and be permitted to accompany the child at all times. The care of children should be monitored continually. This care includes dental treatment and preventative mental health intervention aimed at minimising the psychological impact of becoming a refugee. All care must be provided in a culturally appropriate manner and delivered in such a way as not to further traumatise children and young people. Screening and treating children and young people in detention centres, surrounded by razor wire, swarming with guards carrying weapons, experiencing rioting, suicides, self-harm and despair, parallels their experiences in the regimes they have fled.

Whilst in the centres, culturally appropriate food of sufficient nutritional value must be provided. Three meals per day, fresh water, fruit and snacks available 24 hours, tea and coffee making facilities and special diets for individual needs such as medical reasons, religious beliefs etc.

All detainees must be provided with toiletries and toilet facilities including access to baths and showers in privacy. They must be provided with clean and adequate clothing and underwear which is appropriate for the climate and for their culture, including shoes. There must be facilities for washing clothes as well as sufficient clean linen and bedding.

All developmental needs of infants, children and young people must be met at all times. This includes social programs, activities, education and outings with family members. Children and young people must remain with their families at all times. They must be allowed to maintain the family unit and enjoy the safety and security that the family can provide.

2. Specific health services required for children and pregnant women

"Babies have been born into detention and children have grown up peering through barbed wire to the open spaces beyond the compound" (The Age, 28/5/98)

In the Centres and in the community.
 If pregnant women are to be detained in immigration detention centres it must be for screening purposes only and for a very short time. All health and welfare screening should be conducted in the community. Pregnant women must have access to ante-natal services. All children should be born in a hospital in the community. There must be adequate facilities for women to breastfeed in privacy with a midwife available 24 hours.
Refugee women have a number of distinct health needs specifically related to their gender, their cultural and religious backgrounds, and their refugee experience.
Many women from refugee backgrounds:

Refugee women may have higher-risk pregnancies for some of the following reasons:

(Toole M. Foreword to Refugee Health and General Practice. Melbourne: The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc.)
Cultural beliefs and practices surrounding childbirth are many and varied. Many of these practices will clash with Australian medical practices and beliefs but must be respected, unless the practice is actually harming the health of the mother or baby. (Crossland J. (1995) A Manual for Refugee Resettlement Support Groups. Wellington: Refugee and Migrant Commission)

Children asylum seekers have particular health needs. Although they arrive with the same physical and psychological health problems as other refugee children, the stresses they face after arrival have a profound affect on their health.

Many have fled situations of political unrest or terror and may have experienced intense and prolonged traumatic experiences such as war, torture, rape, starvation, and loss of families. On arrival in Australia, they become prisoners, held in detention camps for prolonged periods of time. This can result in a burden of unsupported needs and enormous worries. As a result, asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable to feelings of profound isolation, hopelessness and depression as well as a fear of being deported back to the country from which they have escaped. This anxiety may lead to re-traumatisation and to the surfacing of stress symptoms and mental health problems years after their arrival in Australia. (Antiss S. 2001 Refugee Community Profiles for Service Providers. Auckland: Auckland Refugees as Survivors Centre.)

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL WELL BEING

1. Past Trauma and Developmental Harm - Detection and Treatment after arrival, in the centre and on release.

Refugees, including children and young people are dominated by one feeling that is painfully traumatic - a deep sense of loss. Loss of what is obvious and tangible and external such as possessions, a home, lifestyle, family members, friends or freedom - and the loss that is less obvious, internal and subjective such as loss of trust in the self and others, loss of self-esteem, self-respect and personal identity.
A 1996 study of refugee entrants in NSW found that 1 in 4 refugee people, including children, had been subject to severe trauma and torture. (Iredale R., Mitchell C. et al (1996) "Ambivalent Welcome: The Settlement Experiences of Humanitarian Entrant Families in Australia". NSW Centre for Multicultural Studies, University of Wollongong.

Most refugees arriving in this country will have been exposed to traumatic events. These may include:

Common indicators of such trauma include:

Physical Indicators

Psychological Indicators

It is rare for children who have been exposed to trauma and torture to disclose to authorities, especially when they are being detained against their will and they perceive the authorities as a further threat. Generally, an awareness that a child or young person is an asylum seeker is sufficient reason to orient care to meet their needs. Therefore, detention is not appropriate for these children. In the community, gentle enquiries by culturally appropriate professionals over several sessions, can help to build up a picture of their past and can assist in establishing the likelihood and extent of exposure to trauma. Appropriate and immediate health and welfare treatment is crucial to the current and future well being of the child and to their ability to integrate into Australian society. Health professionals should always use an appropriate interpreter keeping in mind cultural and gender issues. They must ensure that they minimise any resemblance to a torture or traumatic situation in the surroundings. For example, no razor wire, guards, weapons, medical instruments and most importantly the current experiences of children and families in detention of self-harm, hunger strikes and suicide attempts.

2. The role of the family in the child's social and psychological well-being

According to Islamic religion, which is the religion of the majority of asylum seekers in immigration detention centres in Australia, family life relies on the following four pillars which are based on Qur'anic regulations and the traditions from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, handed down from generation to generation.

These four pillars are:

1. Family life as a cradle of human society providing a secure, healthy and encouraging home for parents and the growing children.

2. Family life a guardian of the natural erotic desires of men and women, leading this powerful urge into wholesome channels.

3. Family life as the very breeding place for human virtues like love, kindness, mercy.

4. Family life as the most secure refuge against inward and outward troubles.
(Muslim Women's League (1995)

The importance of family support for children and young people on arrival in Australia ranks a close second to health as a factor that facilitates successful integration in a new society. Families, in a broad sense, most importantly provide emotional/moral support to children and young people. Children will be most frightened when they are separated from their families. They will experience increase levels of anxiety, fear, depression and despair which can lead to severe mental health issues in the future.

Children who are refugees or asylum seekers are being denied there most basic rights - their right to enjoy family life, their right to learn, to make friends, to play, to security, to good health - their right to be children. Instead they face life in prison-like conditions, with no legal limits on the length of their detention, living with other deeply traumatised people, deprived of contact with the outside world, at risk of abuse.

DETENTION AND ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

The Australian government is imposing conditions that we do not tolerate for our own children. Were Australian children to experience imprisonment, not attending school and exposure to violence and psychological harm, swift intervention would occur by child protection authorities.

Denying children the chance to experience childhood and family life damages them both now and in ways that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Children are always the most vulnerable parties in any conflict. In peacetime, children rely on their families and the institutions around them to give their lives stability and a springboard from which to learn about the world around them and their place within it. As refugees fleeing from oppressive regimes or war, those structures have been threatened and sometimes completely obliterated. Detention merely perpetuates this state. It does nothing to build resilience in child refugees who may be lucky enough to make the transition to a new life in Australia.

Fostering stability in the lives of child refugees is fundamental to re-building their sense of well-being and their capacity to adapt to the huge changes involved in resettlement.

Children who are asylum seekers have not committed a crime. They need access to education, health care, and have a right to live with their families and be reunited with them when separated. They are entitled to a safe environment, free of fear and intimidation. Imprisonment behind razor wire and wearing an identity number is no way to bring up children. They need to grow in a climate of trust, security, and attachment to others. But they also need playgrounds, toys, grass, growth and development.

Until recently, the population in detention centres consisted mainly of men who arrived from troubled countries to seek refuge in Australia. In October 1999, a legislative amendment was proclaimed to prevent these men from bringing their families to Australia after they are granted residential status. As a direct result, more men now arrive with their families, so that children arrive in ever increasing numbers. (Rogalla B. (2001) Australia's Little Prisoners" Australian Children's Rights News, no.28 March 2001). The protection visa system, and the inability for men to apply to bring their families here is responsible for placing more and more children at risk.

When refugees arrive in a boat, children and their parents are arrested. Most are detained in Woomera until the outcome of their application for refugee status is decided. The Woomera camp is brightly lit at night and can be seen several kilometres away from the Stuart Hwy. Within the boundary fence, additional razor wire fences subdivide the camp into compounds. Guards are placed at corners and at strategic point, so that every part of the fence is always in full view. Guards patrol the perimeter and monitor the guards at the static points in case they take their watchful eyes off the fence.

Children live with their families in flat army-style barracks. The insides are dark during the day because the tiny windows are covered with sheets to keep out the heat. Air conditioning is barely effective when temperatures soar to 48 degrees in summer and there are no trees to provide shade. The smaller room sleep four people in double bunks, with little floor space between the beds. Two families often share a large dormitory with sheets as makeshift curtains between each family area, to give the illusion of privacy.

Life is regimented for children. Random head counts occur any time of the day or night, when the siren calls to muster. Even asking for a cake of soap or for nappies becomes a semi military operation. Guards control access to household items and issue day-to-day rations.

Play for the children lacks the colour, clutter and spontaneity one expects whenever children are carefree and happy. Detained children learn to play quietly on the barren ground. Education focuses on English language classes, and English speaking people often teach the material. Other subjects receive little attention and there is no formal curriculum with approval from the State Education Department. (Peter Shadbolt in Woomera 31/8/01 The Telegraph UK)

As previously discussed, there is a very high chance that child refugees are traumatised before they arrive in Australia. Instead of providing an environment where healing can occur, the detention camps actually perpetuate the trauma. Negative experiences in childhood create long-term pain and suffering later in life. Children learn behaviour towards other by the way they are treated as children. Children who are respected will learn respect. Those that are cared for will learn to care for others weaker than themselves. Children who are loved will learn tolerance and acceptance. In detention, children will learn inhumanity, degradation, humiliation and disrespect for others.

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

Contrary to government policy on mandatory detention for asylum seekers, The Samaritans Foundation firmly believes that there are alternatives to detention that will allow the government to process applications quickly and protect the community and at the same time provide refugees with the dignity, respect, care and safety that they require.

We understand that asylum seekers claims do need to be assessed for legitimacy, but refugees are not criminals and detention, if necessary at all, needs to be minimal. It costs approximately $104 per day for each detainee. This is a very expensive process. Community alternatives to mandatory detention, which are already used internationally and within the current Australian parole system, are a much cheaper alternative. Sweden, for example, receives similar numbers of asylum seekers as Australia and uses detention only to establish a person's identity and to conduct criminal screening. Most detainees are released within a very short time. Children are only detained for a maximum of 6 days. (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2000) "Reception Standards for Asylum Seekers in the European Union". UNHCR Geneva.

The Refugee Council of Australia has proposed a three-tier scheme as an alternative to mandatory detention. These stages are:

Under this model and those used by other countries including Sweden and New Zealand, asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed are given freedom of movement after having satisfied identity and public safety checks. The threat of absconding is low because it is in the best interest of the asylum seeker to fulfil their responsibilities and not to jeopardise their application.

The benefits of this type of system are obvious. They include:

Some alternative models already in use in other countries include:

The Samaritans Foundation was involved with the Safe Haven Program in Singleton NSW. This program provided accommodation and services for the Kosovar refugees. Being involved in this program, and experiencing the benefits these types of programs can achieve for refugees, has prompted us to offer our services again to the government. We recently offered Samaritans resources to care for some of the unattached minors being held in detention centres across Australia. However, to date, we have had no response from the government.

Setting children free is the only logical step available. Yet it is not acceptable to free only the children because, as we know from the work of developmental researchers, to separate children from their parents becomes the catalyst for generating even more harm. Therefore, the children and their parents need to be released together. Anything less undermines our own child protection laws in each State and Territory and also undermines the laws of child development.

In conclusion, we must face up to our humanitarian responsibilities. These responsibilities include accepting refugee children and families. The way in which we do this however, will define us either as a nation with humanitarian values of inclusion, respect and care for those less fortunate, or as a nation of exclusion, self-righteousness, and disregard for those in need.

REFERENCES

1. Antiss S. (2001) "Refugee Community Profiles for Service Providers" Auckland: Auckland Refugees as Survivors Centre.

2. Crossland J. (1995) "A Manual for Refugee Resettlement Support Groups" Wellington: Refugee and Migrant Commission.

3. Iredale R., Mitchell C. et al (1996) "Ambivalent Welcome: The Settlement Experiences of Humanitarian Entrant Families in Australia". NSW Centre for Multicultural Studies: University of Wollongong.

4. Muslim Women's League (1995)

5. NSW Children and Young Person's Care and Protection Act (1998). NSW Government:

6. Rogalla B (2001) "Australia's Little Prisoners". Australian Children's Rights News., no. 28 March 2001)

7. Shadbolt P. (2001) "Peter Shadbolt in Woomera". The Telegraph: UK 31/8/01

8. Toole M "Foreward to Refugee Health and General Practice". Melbourne: The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture inc.

9. United Nations, "International Conventions on the Rights of the Child". 1959.

10. United Nations, "International Conventions on the Treatment of Refugees". 1951.

11. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2000) "Reception Standards for Asylum Seekers in the European Union". UNHCR: Geneva.

Last Updated 9 January 2003.