Detention

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
1 Jun 2003

Villawood provides a forbidding sight. It is surrounded by high cyclone wire fences. There is no razor wire, but there are "tiger traps" on the fences. To reach the main office you have to pass through six fences or barriers.

a was treated courteously by the warders and a had a useful and frank discussion with the centre's director on the importance of treating the detainees justly.

a big problem for the detention centres is that most of the inmates are not criminals, but in some or many ways they are treated as if they are. It is no wonder that staff, including the senior staff, suffer nightmares, problems with anxiety and depression, relationship problems and substance abuse problems, especially in places like Woomera and Baxter in South Australia.

It is a public service to lock up criminals. But it preys on the conscience of people to lock up non-criminals, some for long periods of time, simply because they are queue jumpers. These prisons make prisoners of us all.

a priest who visits Baxter to say Mass finds the security worse than a prison with arbitrary rules and regular intimidation of detainees. It indicates something that the centre authorities will not provide space for a chapel or a place for prayer to be set up, or accredit chaplains.

On 24 April a prayer service at Baxter was shut down without so much as an apology so that a search could be conducted. An atmosphere of peace was suddenly turned into one of simmering confrontation. The chaplains who conducted the service are still waiting for an explanation.

Every government has a right to control entry to its territory. But in Australia, where public opinion has been frightened by terrorism and by peoples of different cultures and faiths, the absence of effective leadership to counter these fears has produced a demand for stiff measures.

Anomalies abound. A young middle eastern man, mild and religious, has spent more than four years in jail. Young Australians who have lived here for up to ten years are interned because their parents are illegals. And finally there are the Mandaeans, followers of John the Baptist, who are persecuted in Iran by Islamic fundamentalists and assaulted by them in our detention centres, whom the Australian government wants to repatriate to further persecution.

Some improvements have been made in the processing and treatment of refugees, but more needs to be done to release those who are genuine refugees and pose no risk into the community, and to ensure that people are not returned to persecution. Decisions should be made more quickly.

a am proud of the Catholic priests, religious and lay people who regularly visit the detention centres here and in South Australia to pray with the refugees and to support them. They do a great job on behalf of all Australians, and they deserve our thanks and support.