Christmas Island, Indian Ocean
Christmas Island is part of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories, 2300 km northwest of Perth, a four-hour flight away. A temporary facility based at Phosphate Hill opened on 13 November 2001, with a nominal capacity of 500, although it has exceeded its capacity at times. Boat arrivals were detained in Christmas Island's sports hall with tents set up next to it, as required, until December 2001.
After September 2001 most arrivals were transferred to Nauru or Papua New Guinea.
In 2002, the Government announced plans to build a permanent facility capable of housing 1200 detainees at a capital cost of $230 million. Subsequently this was downgraded to an 800 detainee facility. Construction is going ahead, with completion expected this year.
The existing facility was closed on 19 March 2003 and then recommissioned in July 2003 when 53 Vietnamese asylum seekers were detained there, having arrived by boat off the coast of Port Hedland. All immediately applied for refugee status.
Of those 53 Vietnamese, almost half have been granted refugee status and released. There are 8 children among them, all detained for 22 months.
Below are updates on the situation of the Vietnamese asylum seekers imprisoned on Christmas Island since July 2003.
Read a thank you note from the children for presents they received at Christmas in 2004...
Christmas Islanders raised over $3000 to help Hao Kiet boatpeople
Media Release, Vietnamese Community in Australia, 25 June 2004.
Download: FundraiserForHaoKiet25jun04.doc
- On Saturday 19th June, a fundraising dinner organised by a group of Australians on Christmas Island was a huge success, raising over $3000 for the legal appeal fund for our Hao Kiet people detained at the Immigration Detention Centre on the island. It shows the support of islanders towards boatpeople.
- Considering that the whole island population is only about 1000, the organisers planned to sell 40-60 tickets, but a few days before the event, all tickets were sold out. On the night, 86 people attended.
- Lisa Nicholson, one of the main organisers, told us that "The huge success of this event was due to the hard work of many volunteers working in the evenings and on weekends. The people who attended really enjoyed the event, and many others who could not attend made donations."
This is the translation of the VCA news release about the 19 June fundraiser in which Christmas Island refugee supporters, including RAR members, raised over $3K for above asylum seekers' legal fighting fund. The asylum seeekers, whose boat was named Hao Kiet (Heroes), are awaiting a date to be set for their Federal Court hearing, probably for Sep or Oct 2004.
Federal Court appeals
The Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) gave refugee status to 9 of the 54 asylum seekers. The hearing date for Federal Court appeals for the remaining 45 is not yet set, but may be Sep / Oct 2004.
There will be 1 hearing, in which the lawyers will debate legal issues common to all, as well as issues relating to each case.
A fighting fund of about $21,000 has been built up. Some of the money came from Christmas Island residents, most from Vietnamese Australians around Australia.
The Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA) administers the fund.
Donations can be made to the fund by depositing into the following bank account:
Commonwealth Bank
BSB 062265
Account 1058 2065
Name of account "Vietnamese Community in Australia".
Donations are not tax-deductible.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal appeal
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal appeal is against Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s refusal to release all documents relating to the Hao Kiet people (in making its refusal decision for the 45 people, the RRT relied on DFAT's assessment of the situation in Vietnam). DIMIA has agreed to fund this appeal.
The nine refugees
They left the camp in May. One family (5) is in Perth, the other (4) in Melbourne. Both have been helped by VCA Chapters in WA and Vic with Medicare, accommodation, English classes etc.
The asylum seekers
Vietnamese couple in Baxter
This couple hitch-hiked on a boat of mainly Middle Eastern people to Australia in 2001. They were imprisoned in Woomera, now Baxter. They recently failed at the Federal Magistrates Court. They are appealing, and their case will be heard by the Full Federal Court on 25 August 2004. A probono Vietnamese solicitor and a probono barrister (former Senator Barney Cooney) have taken up their case. The cost is nil.
Approximately 1,800 Vietnamese people in the Philippines
They were denied refugee status in the mid to late 1990s after screening under the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA). Many have produced much evidence to show that CPA screening was flawed by corruption.
The VCA helped establish a representative office in Manila in 1996, which has helped some 350 people to be resettled in Australia, the US, etc. Funding for the office mainly comes from Vietnamese Australians. Currently some 7 volunteer lawyers are working there (4 from Aus, 3 from the US, most are Vietnamese).
In early May 2004, Washington and Manila jointly announced that the US would soon assess them for refugee status, and Manila would give permanent resident status to those who fail (expected to be few). VCA lobbying in the US helped achieve this result.
The Vietnamese Community in Australia
We are the Vietnamese community's umbrella representative body, with a Chapter in each mainland State (and ACT and Wollongong). State Chapters' executive committee members are popularly elected. For example, the 2003 SA election had a turnout of about 2 thousand voters out of a population of 13K people. Federal Excom members are elected by State Excoms.
State Chapters are involved in service provision (elderly, drug, alcohol, etc.) and advocacy. The Federal Excom is involved in advocacy. Trung Doan is currently its General Secretary.
Christmas Island in the News
Detention centre shame
For the past 10 months, [Ms Thompson] has been an official visitor at the [Christmas Island] detention centre, where 45 Vietnamese men, women and children are held. Ms Thompson said it was hard to continue to be positive while detainees rode a roller-coaster of hope and rejection in applying for temporary protection visas. "It's jail, and it's distressing to find children in jail," she said. "I can't deal with it emotionally unless I rationalise it as madness."