Welcome to
Darwin Asylum Seekers Support and Advocacy Network
(D.A.S.S.A.N)
We support and advocate for asylum seekers in detention in Darwin and beyond
All people who support Asylum Seekers are welcome to join us
Darwin Asylum Seekers Support and Advocacy Network
(D.A.S.S.A.N)
We support and advocate for asylum seekers in detention in Darwin and beyond
All people who support Asylum Seekers are welcome to join us
Enough is Enough Natasha !
A recent press release from the member for Solomon, Ms Natasha Griggs MP expresses intolerance and a lack of understanding as she attempted to link the arrival of asylum seekers with crime. Click HERE if you'd like to respond to her inflammatory remarks.
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Next DASSAN Meeting - Monday 27th May 530pm
Childbirth Education Association Nightcliff Community Centre 6/18 Bauhinia Street NIGHTCLIFF |
DASSAN Press Release 30/4/13 :
Children to Move to High Security Darwin Detention Centre
The Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN) has learned that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship have declared parts of the high security Wickham Point Immigration Detention Centre to be an alternative place of detention and will soon move children to the centre.
The move comes following reports that the Department may make a similar declaration in relation to the notorious Curtin Immigration Detention Centre that would lead to children being detained in a detention centre known for its isolation and large numbers of self harm incidents.
DASSAN spokesperson Fernanda Dahlstrom said “children should not be housed in Wickham Point. It is a centre that is built on land deemed unsuitable for a worker’s village and the department should not be dumping kids out there”.
“Children in Darwin have undergone significant trauma at the Darwin Airport Lodge and taking them to a more remote, high security centre will only lead to more to more self harm, more suicide attempts and more trauma”.
The news that children will be moved to Wickham Point follows concerns expressed by people working at the Manus Island Detention Centre about the appropriateness of that centre to house children.
Ms Dahlstrom stated “this government has adopted a deliberate policy to inflict harm on a select number of children to send some sort of message to the parents of other children. Harming children is not working, it is not stopping desperate people coming to Australia seeking safety, it is expensive and these children will never recover from the trauma inflicted upon them by this government for political purposes.”
The move comes following reports that the Department may make a similar declaration in relation to the notorious Curtin Immigration Detention Centre that would lead to children being detained in a detention centre known for its isolation and large numbers of self harm incidents.
DASSAN spokesperson Fernanda Dahlstrom said “children should not be housed in Wickham Point. It is a centre that is built on land deemed unsuitable for a worker’s village and the department should not be dumping kids out there”.
“Children in Darwin have undergone significant trauma at the Darwin Airport Lodge and taking them to a more remote, high security centre will only lead to more to more self harm, more suicide attempts and more trauma”.
The news that children will be moved to Wickham Point follows concerns expressed by people working at the Manus Island Detention Centre about the appropriateness of that centre to house children.
Ms Dahlstrom stated “this government has adopted a deliberate policy to inflict harm on a select number of children to send some sort of message to the parents of other children. Harming children is not working, it is not stopping desperate people coming to Australia seeking safety, it is expensive and these children will never recover from the trauma inflicted upon them by this government for political purposes.”
Sunday 12th May
To all those mothers separated from their children and those seeking safety for their families or currently in Immigration Detention
Our thoughts are with you this MOTHER'S DAY
Even when Alzheimer’s had stolen her ability to know who we were, my mother could still surprise and delight when those pesky brain messages got it right. On a visit towards the end, as we walked into the sitting room full of elderly residents, she called out suddenly to all “look here are my darling girls.” Her love for the four of us endured even when she no longer knew us by name. As my brother said her “thinking” brain had gone but her “feeling” brain stayed. A mother’s love is a mighty powerful force.
This past week I have met mothers who have demonstrated this powerful love for their children by making decisions and taking risks which saved their lives. They will not be getting flowers and breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day in the Broadmeadows camp but they have surely earned the love and respect of their children. Sara, a woman from Syria took her three children from the relentless bombing in Damascus across the world to safety. With her younger sister and her father she hid in rooms in Indonesia for months with her baby, four year old boy and six year old daughter who has severe autism and cannot speak.
They travelled by boat for three days and three nights through rough seas sitting up in a tiny fishing boat to Christmas Island. The children vomited continually and the little girl was confused and terrorised by the boat and the dark seas. Any Australian parent of a child with autism can imagine how hard it was for this young mother to keep her safe and comforted in a crowded boat. Now they are living in a donga (demountable caravan) in the detention camp at Broadmeadows with 220 other families hoping for release. Between a waking baby and a terrified autistic child this young mother has little sleep but her love for her children keeps her going.
Another mother made this journey by boat alone with her eight children aged from 18 years to 18 months and her frail eighty year old mother. Having fled the brutal persecution of the Taliban in Afghanistan, this mother has waited in Indonesia for ten years after fleeing Afghanistan. Five years ago the family was finally processed by UNHCR in Indonesia and recognised as refugees. They have been waiting for five years for resettlement. When her husband went missing she decided that she had to take her children from this precarious life where they had no future, no chance of schooling or a country to call home.
These are heroic women putting the lives of their children above all else and taking decisions not for the faint hearted. With no safe places to hide in their own countries they set off in search of safety and security. Sara and her family made it out of Syria just before the airport was closed. Australia only accepts refugees referred by UNHCR. As Palestinians they have no right to UNHCR access. Therefore they are not considered for resettlement even though their position in Syria is beyond desperate. With her mother and sister already in Australia it was the only choice they had to make a run for it.
There are no safe camps between Syria or Afghanistan and Australia for people to wait for an invitation. Hazaras who have fled Afghanistan to Quetta are being bombed and gunned down on the streets. Those who waited in Indonesia for the Australian Embassy to offer resettlement have waited in vain. Only 266 visas have been issued since August 13 last year when the “No Advantage” policy was introduced. Nineteen hundred Refugees are waiting for resettlement, with their positive Refugee determination from UNHCR. Others are no longer even trying to get a token from UNHCR for an interview.
As we think with love and care of our own mothers, let us not forget those many mothers in camps across Australia and offshore places whose children depend for survival on their strength and endurance. These mothers have no luxuries, dressed as they are in camp clothes, lining up for unfamiliar canteen food and trying to encourage their children to eat the same meals day after day. Their courage and gutsy determination has got them to safety in Australia but insecurity and uncertainty, living in camps with children is no mother’s paradise.
From Pamela Curr (Asylum Seeker and Resource Centre)
This past week I have met mothers who have demonstrated this powerful love for their children by making decisions and taking risks which saved their lives. They will not be getting flowers and breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day in the Broadmeadows camp but they have surely earned the love and respect of their children. Sara, a woman from Syria took her three children from the relentless bombing in Damascus across the world to safety. With her younger sister and her father she hid in rooms in Indonesia for months with her baby, four year old boy and six year old daughter who has severe autism and cannot speak.
They travelled by boat for three days and three nights through rough seas sitting up in a tiny fishing boat to Christmas Island. The children vomited continually and the little girl was confused and terrorised by the boat and the dark seas. Any Australian parent of a child with autism can imagine how hard it was for this young mother to keep her safe and comforted in a crowded boat. Now they are living in a donga (demountable caravan) in the detention camp at Broadmeadows with 220 other families hoping for release. Between a waking baby and a terrified autistic child this young mother has little sleep but her love for her children keeps her going.
Another mother made this journey by boat alone with her eight children aged from 18 years to 18 months and her frail eighty year old mother. Having fled the brutal persecution of the Taliban in Afghanistan, this mother has waited in Indonesia for ten years after fleeing Afghanistan. Five years ago the family was finally processed by UNHCR in Indonesia and recognised as refugees. They have been waiting for five years for resettlement. When her husband went missing she decided that she had to take her children from this precarious life where they had no future, no chance of schooling or a country to call home.
These are heroic women putting the lives of their children above all else and taking decisions not for the faint hearted. With no safe places to hide in their own countries they set off in search of safety and security. Sara and her family made it out of Syria just before the airport was closed. Australia only accepts refugees referred by UNHCR. As Palestinians they have no right to UNHCR access. Therefore they are not considered for resettlement even though their position in Syria is beyond desperate. With her mother and sister already in Australia it was the only choice they had to make a run for it.
There are no safe camps between Syria or Afghanistan and Australia for people to wait for an invitation. Hazaras who have fled Afghanistan to Quetta are being bombed and gunned down on the streets. Those who waited in Indonesia for the Australian Embassy to offer resettlement have waited in vain. Only 266 visas have been issued since August 13 last year when the “No Advantage” policy was introduced. Nineteen hundred Refugees are waiting for resettlement, with their positive Refugee determination from UNHCR. Others are no longer even trying to get a token from UNHCR for an interview.
As we think with love and care of our own mothers, let us not forget those many mothers in camps across Australia and offshore places whose children depend for survival on their strength and endurance. These mothers have no luxuries, dressed as they are in camp clothes, lining up for unfamiliar canteen food and trying to encourage their children to eat the same meals day after day. Their courage and gutsy determination has got them to safety in Australia but insecurity and uncertainty, living in camps with children is no mother’s paradise.
From Pamela Curr (Asylum Seeker and Resource Centre)
