For those of you who know me, you know that I’m obsessed with geographic oddities around the world. One of my favorites is Nauru, a tiny island in the South Pacific (Population: 13,000) that entered into a Faustian tale of strip mining itself into oblivion during the bulk of the 20th century. It was “rescued” through a huge influx of cash by the Australian government when they built a detention center on the island, one of the largest icons of Australia’s policy of mandatory detention for all those arriving without proper documentation, including refugees. This American Life did a great radio piece on Nauru (RealAudio) in 2003, and it remains to this day as one of my all-time favorites.
Therefore it is my “pleasure” to announce that as reported in Australian media two weeks ago, there remain two detainees/refugees left on Nauru.
THE last two asylum seekers in detention on Nauru say they are hitting rock bottom, with 25 of their friends moving to Australia this week on refugee and humanitarian visas.
“I feel I am very alone on this very tiny piece of land in the middle of the sea,” Mohammed Sagar, 29, said yesterday.
And Mohammad Faisal, 25, who has poor eyesight, said: “My only option now is just to keep going with medication and sit alone inside my room and cry.”
Both Iraqis were told their claims for refugee status were accepted, but they had failed a security clearance and must remain indefinitely on Nauru.
Both say they have no idea why, and insist they do not represent a security threat to Australia or any other country.
“I’ve never expected that I would some day get such an accusation thrown on me, because it’s terrible,” said Mr Sagar. “I have never been in a police station, for a small fight even. How come to be a security threat for a whole country? It’s terrible. I can’t imagine it, even.
