Guards daily tell detained asylum seekers to return to their countries and try to screen phone calls to prevent detainees speaking to the media. Asylum seekers who had stitches forcibly removed from their lips reinserted them. An
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Woomera detention centre is hell on Earth. Located in the middle of the South Australian desert, it can reach 40 degrees in summer and is freezing cold in winter. There are no trees or shade, nothing but the scorching sun. Opened
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Australia's immigration intake is non-discriminatory and fair, according to federal immigration minister Philip Ruddock. Yet a comparative analysis of immigration figures indicates that Australia, more markedly than any other
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More than 200 Afghan asylum seekers held at the Woomera detention centre began a hunger strike, possibly as early as January 14. Reported by the mainstream press for the first time on January 19, as many as 70 of the hunger
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The Australian government is planning legislation that will make it illegal for civilian ships to pick up refugees at sea without permission. Such a law would have prevented Arne Rinnan, captain of the MV Tampa, from rescuing
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"Women should be home taking care of their husbands and children, chained to the stove, not working in my stores." This sentiment may have been commonly expressed in the 1950s, but the statement is recent, and comes from the
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A January 7 ruling by 2nd District Utah Judge Michael Allphin allowed the prosecution of a man accused of killing his pregnant ex-wife for the murder of the foetus. Roger MacGuire allegedly shot Susan MacGuire, on January 15, 2001,
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Immigration minister Philip Ruddock takes great offence at the labeling of Australia's refugee policy as racist and discriminatory. In particular, Ruddock takes offence at criticism of the government's crackdown on people trying to
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The UN High Commission for Refugees on January 8 expressed the view that a significant proportion of asylum seekers being housed on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru will be found to be refugees, and that Australia has a special
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"The articles ... seek to erode the pride that we as a nation are entitled to feel about the hand we extend to those in such great need" — that's what immigration minister Philip Ruddock had to say about two feature stories in
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"The challenge facing those in Australia who understand and act upon urgent issues, such as the treatment of asylum seekers, or the issue of racism in general, is to draw together a national focus or campaign that brings direct
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The Woomera Immigration Detention Centre, in the South Australian desert, has been the site of a series of riots, hunger strikes, suicide attempts and escapes over the last two years. The federal government, with the assistance of