Refugee rights advocate, Victoria Martin
All had seemed lost for 24 year old Saeed Hassanloo – 44 days into a hunger strike. A compassion-less Government prepared to let him die. He had been willing death rather than continue on in the inhumanity that is Australia’s mandatory detention. Six years in detention.
The medical staff at Royal Perth Hospital were devastated by our Government’s compassion-less stance. Saeed looked like becoming Australia’s first hunger strike death.
His hunger strike had been kept a secret from the nation, for 35 days, till he had deteriorated so badly he was transferred from Yongah Hill detention centre to Royal Perth Hospital. Upon news of this, refugee advocates gathered in support, got the word out, kept in as close contact with him through their trusted sources. As the media began to pick up this story – which should have gone national much sooner, should have gone viral – many Australians were shocked that the Australian Government and the Department of Immigration had hidden Saeed’s plight from them.
Good people swelled in support at candlelight vigils outside the hospital through what was also the Easter period.
Saeed learned that good people were praying for him. Flowers and cards arrived to his ward for him.
The Perth based Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN) stalwart, Victoria Martin said, “Saeed has been so moved by the support he has received from advocates he thanked us yesterday.”
“And last night he agreed to come off his hunger strike and begin accepting medical intervention.”
“Thank you to everyone that expressed their concern. We now need to keep the pressure on the Government to fight the injustice of mandatory detention.”
“No on should feel they need to starve themselves to death rather than spend another day in an immigration internment camp,” said Ms Martin.
Good people from all walks of life may have saved Saeed. Now, we can only pray and wait that he has not suffered irreparable damage to his health. We can thank the supporters for doing what the Australian Government was not prepared – 1) to save a human life 2) to prevent Australia’s first hunger strike death 3) to demonstrate compassion and understanding from the heart.
If the young man lives, what is his future? What is the future of his brother, Majid, who is interned at Christmas Island detention centre? What are the futures of all the children and people interned in Australia’s $3 billion dollars a year dirty business of immigration detention?
thinking of you courageous one and hoping you have a successful recovery. Hugs Dave
another form of blackmail that our government cannot give into…can you imagine if he gets what he wants how many more will try hurting themselves to get into Australia…we cannot take in every poor person that wants to start a new life,that is not fair to our own country that is struggling to look after its own poor and we have plenty of them…bleeding hearts are all very good but they do not look at the big picture and what is best for the people of Australia long term..as sad as this may be for the ones involved it is not going to achieve what he set out to achieve and that is to use emotional blackmail against our government…
“another form of blackmail that our government cannot give into”
Really? How about Morrison to the cross bench senators last December ‘vote for my legislation that even people on my own side admit is violating human rights, or I will not let the kids out of detention and I will continue to violate their human rights’.
How about ‘go back and be persecuted or stay in detention forever’.
Blackmail is perpetrated by the powerful on the vulnerable.
Hunger striking is the last resort of the powerless who have no other way to assert their own agency.
“our own country that is struggling to look after its own poor”
This is another complete lie that’s perpetrated by those with privilege trying to justify a system that does not look after it’s own people anywhere near as well as it could, in spite of being one of the the most wealthy countries in the world. There are more than enough resources to look after everyone properly.
How about stop giving massive rebates and tax exemptions to corporations and those with plenty of wealth already.
How about not spending 3 or 4 billion a year to persecute a few thousand asylum seekers.
There’s your money to look after your poor Australians, and then some.
“but they do not look at the big picture ”
Well actually we are. Attacks on refugees and asylum seekers, and now increasingly on Muslims are a deliberate and calculated measure to try and make ordinary people believe that governments are protecting them from these non-threats, when in fact it’s our own government which is enforcing a system that is profoundly against our own interests.
It’s not refugees
* wanting to dismantle medicare
* wanting to make university unaffordable
* letting some of the most profitable corporations get away with paying next to no tax
* signing up to a trans pacific partnership which will place corporations rights to make profit above our own government’s rights to legislate in our interests
* trying to take away penalty rates
and the list can go on for a long, long time.
Wow! Very well said fizick. We need more people like yourself in the world.