Activists delight in detention fires
30dec02
REFUGEE activists have welcomed a spate of fires at detention centres,
blaming Federal Government policies for the blazes that have left a damage
bill of more than $2.25 million.
In the latest incident, a deliberately-lit fire forced the evacuation of a
residential block at Western Australia's Port Hedland detention centre
early today.
The blaze followed arson attacks which destroyed large parts of the Baxter
detention centre, near Port Augusta in South Australia, at the weekend.
This morning, Jack Smit, spokesman for WA's Project SafeCom Inc, said: "I'm
delighted that it's burning and I hope it burns right to the ground.
"Baxter is a detention centre, and more than all other detention centres
around Australia, it makes a mockery of the UN Refugee Convention, the
International Convention for the Rights of the Child, and other
international conventions Australia has signed.
"Baxter is designed as a Howard government fortress and as a maximum
security prison, and it inflicts permanent damage to the psyche of children
as well as adults."
Canberra Refugee Action Committee spokesman Phil Griffiths said the fires
were inevitable, given the long periods of detention asylum seekers were
subject to while their claims were processed.
"I would be more surprised and concerned if detainees did not respond to
such a situation," he said.
Carlee Rundell-Gordon, a nurse and visitor to the Baxter detention centre
from NSW, said the fires also highlighted the need for better emergency
procedures.
She claimed that on a recent visit to Baxter she noticed an emergency exit
door was bolted shut.
"There has never been a fire drill at the Baxter centre," she said.
"There is no sprinkler system inside Baxter and there is a concerning lack
of emergency exits in various locations inside the centre."
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