Northern Immigration Detention Center
The Northern Immigration Detention Center , also known as Immigration Detention Darwin , is located in Berrimah , a suburb of Darwin in the Northern Territory , Australia.
This internment camp, which was set up in 2001 and is located east of Darwin, is a product of Australia's migration and asylum policy , which operates a zero-tolerance policy , the so-called Operation Sovereign Borders . As part of this policy, ships carrying refugees can be intercepted on the high seas and forced to turn back. The boat people who reach Australia are taken into immigration custody.
This center itself consists not only of the actual camp, but of several buildings in Darwin, in which the arrested boat people, smugglers and illegal fishermen are housed.
In early May 2014, the Australian government headed by Tony Abbott announced that six Australian internment camps would be closed. This included the Northern Immigration Detention Center and its branch offices, which ceased operations in June 2014. The government cited the decline in numbers and the success of its stop the boats policy as the reason for this .
Accommodation and inmates
The internment camp in Berriwah is located in a suburb that is dominated by industrial buildings. This warehouse, which went into operation in August 2001, manages another four locations in Darwin.
When the Human Rights Commission visited the camp and the other buildings from September 6 to 10, 2010, 783 asylum seekers were counted, including 468 men, 67 women and 248 accompanied children and unaccompanied young people.
Most of the camp inmates were boat people , as well as arrested Indonesian smugglers and fishermen, the latter of whom had been arrested for illegal fishing in Australian waters. The largest group among the boat people were the Afghans, followed by Indonesians, Iranians and Iraqis. There were also asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, Burma and around 100 who stated that they were stateless.
At the time of the Human Rights Commission's visit, 80 percent of the 783 people had been in immigration detention for more than 3 months and the rest for more than six months. 20 people were interned for more than 9 months. Most of the boat people were first housed at the Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Center and then brought to Darwin.
Northern Immigration Detention Center
The Northern Immigration Detention Center in Berrimah is a high-security area located within a double-fenced military facility, formerly known as HMAS Coonawarra . The detention center has a capacity of 500 men. The center is divided into a north and south zone, which are separated by an electrically charged fence. The respective zones are divided by three separate warehouses with buildings that can be dismantled. In 2008, a multifunctional building complex was built in the warehouse, which should also be able to withstand the cyclones that often occur seasonally in this area. When the camp was visited by the Australian Human Rights Commission , 397 people were housed, including 151 Indonesians, crew members of the ships.
Berrimah House
The Berrimah House is an area with a low level of security that, but although situated outside near the camp. This building was built between 2008 and 2009. The unaccompanied children are held in it. The capacity is 16 people in 4 bedrooms. There is also the office of Serco , a private security company that manages the warehouse on behalf of the Australian government. Other rooms are a communal bathroom, a communal room with an attached kitchen, a dining room and a lounge for activities. At the time of the Australian Commission on Human Rights, 15 people were housed in this building, ages 11-17. All were children of members of the boat crews who smuggled the boat people.
Airport Lodge
The Airport Lodge , recently also called Darwin Alternative Place of Detention or Darwin Airport Immigration Center , is a security area with a low classification, which is located close to Darwin International Airport . It is a rented building and is occupied by unaccompanied young people and families with children. At that time it had a capacity for 200 people, which is to be expanded to 400. It was occupied by 194 people, including 143 children. The age of 35 of the accompanied children ranged from 8 months to 17 years and that of the 108 unaccompanied adolescents from 13 to 17 years.
Asti Motel
The Asti Motel is a low security rented area located near central Darwin that is used to house unaccompanied children and families with children. In 2010, 174 people were accommodated with 87 children. There were accompanied children between the ages of six weeks and 17 years and 42 unaccompanied adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 years. At that time the '' Asti Motel '' was full.
Botanic Gardens Apartments
The Botanic Gardens Apartments were rented in the center of Darwin at the time. At the time of the Human Rights Commission’s visit, three unaccompanied Indonesian youths were housed there, two were members of Indonesian ship crews and one was an illegal fisherman. The apartments have a kitchen in which you can also eat, lounges and a laundry room. The apartments are used to accommodate young people when they participate in recreational activities.
Storage situation and current occupancy
The camp administration reported that by the time the Human Rights Commission arrived, there had been 21 cases of self-harm in the camp. The commission was also informed of hunger strikes. Numerous hunger strikes are documented.
On August 30, 2010, there was a riot and 100 inmates climbed onto the roofs. The following day, about 90 Afghans fled the camp and took part in a protest march on the nearby Stuart Highway . For example, in 2012 there were asylum seekers on strike who were on hunger strike for 600 to 700 days, and in 2015 15 asylum seekers from Iran went on hunger strike.
As in the other internment camps in Australia, there are riots and protests. The reasons for this lie in the long stays in the camps, the lengthy processing of asylum applications, the prison-like accommodation and the limited opportunities for activity. In addition, the inmates cannot move outside the camps and the communication channels outside are restricted. The inmates can only contact the immigration authorities and legal recourse against a negative decision is excluded.
The warehouse has not been occupied since June 2014.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Simon Benson: Abbott Government 'success' over stopping asylum seekers prompts closure of 10 detention centers , from May 7, 2014, on The Advertiser . Retrieved May 11, 2017
- ↑ a b c d e f Immigration detention in Darwin (2010) , from 2010, on the Australian Human Rights Commission . Retrieved May 11, 2017
- ^ Northern Immigration Detention Center Multipurpose Facilities , October 2008, on Sitzler.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017
- ↑ David Coady: Asylum seekers stage break-out protest, September 1, 2010, on Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved May 11, 2017
- ^ Amnesty International Australia Detention Facilities Visit 2012 , February 22, 2012, on Amnesty International . Retrieved May 11, 2017
- ↑ Helen Davidson: Fifteen Iranian asylum seekers join Darwin hunger strike , January 23, 2013 on The Guardian . Retrieved May 11, 2017
Coordinates: 12 ° 25 ′ 47.7 ″ S , 130 ° 54 ′ 44.2 ″ E