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25.2.16

Refugee wants to return to Manus Island



One of the first refugees to be resettled in Papua New Guinea has pleaded to be returned to Manus Island, saying life in limbo is better than living with fear, loneliness and poverty in the city of Lae.
"I don't have freedom. I want to go back to Manus," Loghaman Sawari, 20, told Fairfax Media after spending more than two months in PNG's second-largest city.
Mr Sawari has told how he was terrified by an armed "rascal" and reduced to tears by bullying in the town before being befriended by a homeless youth and taken to a Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Refugee Loghaman Sawari, 20, pictured in Lae with all his possessions, wants to return to the relative safety of the ...
Refugee Loghaman Sawari, 20, pictured in Lae with all his possessions, wants to return to the relative safety of the Manus transit centre. Photo: Supplied
Unskilled, with no secondary education, poor English and no money, Mr Sawari has concluded he has no prospect of trying to build a life in Lae and wants to return to the relative safety of the transit centre.
"Here I don't have anyone," he said. "Manus is better than here."
Mr Sawari was 17 when he was sent to Manus Island and was among the first to move from the detention centre to the transit centre in Lorengau. Suffering depression, he attempted suicide earlier this year and was taken to the police station as punishment.
Refugee Loghaman Sawari last year.
Refugee Loghaman Sawari last year. Photo: Andrew Meares
He left the transit centre two months ago and begin his resettlement with a labouring job that included accommodation. But Mr Sawari says many of the promises made when he left the centre were not honoured and, when he became sick, his medical bills were deducted from his already small wage.
He also says that without the promised access to wi-fi, he did not have enough money to buy food after using his money to ring his mother in Iran.
There was also an altercation with other migrant workers at the company that led him to consider self-harm and leave.
Orphan Jacob (pictured) met Mr Sawari on the streets of Lae and took him to a church.
Orphan Jacob (pictured) met Mr Sawari on the streets of Lae and took him to a church. Photo: Supplied
It was then that homeless man Jacob found Mr Sawari scared on the street and took pity on him. "I'd like to help to help him but I have no money," he said.
It was Jacob who took Mr Sawari to Bob Butler, the chief financial officer of the Seventh Day Adventist church, who offered safety and shelter. While living on the street, Mr Sawari said he saw more than 50 young homeless people. "They don't have a father, no mother," he said.
"He seemed to have a good caring attitude," Mr Butler said of Mr Sawari. "He was concerned about the street boys that looked after him.
"They were concerned about him. They said, 'If he was out on the street, we're OK, but Loghman won't survive'."
Mr Butler describes PNG as a land of opportunity for those with skills, but adds: "For people that don't have education, qualifications or an entrepreneurial bent, life is going to be tough because there are eight million people competing for the (unskilled) jobs."
"If you're a local you've got family and the wantok system (of obligation to family) and the village and land, you will survive, but if you don't have those roots here, you can only survive on what your mind and hands can do.
"It's early days but I'd like to see his English improve to the point where he could go to a trade school or a college and learn. I think he'd like that."
Mr Sawari says he wants to learn and improve his skills, but has no capacity to do so in Lae.
More than 60 refugees remain at the transit centre at Lorengau, while more than 900 are in their third year at the detention centre. More than half of those in detention have been found to be refugees.
Mr Sawari is one of six who left the transit centre. Fairfax Media has asked both the Australian and PNG governments how many of the six are in work but has not received any answers.
"The Papua New Guinea (PNG) government is responsible for the settlement of refugees in PNG and any settlement services provided to refugees," a spokesman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's department said.
"You may wish to directly approach the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Services Authority for comment." Questions to the authority have drawn not response.
The Turnbull government is responsible for meeting the costs of detention and resettlement.
The refugees were told they would receive assistance to "establish themselves in their new homes", including a 12-month health insurance policy and access to trauma and torture counselling, and would be able to bring family members to jon them in Papua New Guinea.
Mr Sawari says he spoke to an immigration official last week who undertook to come at see him, but has not yet had the meeting.

23.2.16

Newsletter for 23 February 2016 RAR Bellingen and Nambucca

Canada shows the way again again

In the news last week, we learned that the Canadian government has welcomed 20,490 refugees to the country in the past three months. They expect that number to reach the target of 25,000 in the next few months.
Our then-Prime Minister Abbott, under intense public pressure, reluctantly agreed to take in 12,000  Syrian Refugees in the current financial year. Since then, there has been a great deal of foot-dragging, with the result that, to date, we have admitted just 26 people from this war-torn region. We have to ask the question: If the Canadians can carry out security and other checks prior to the refugees arriving on Canadian soil, why is it that the Australian government has so far done almost nothing? Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their country, and the numbers continue to grow by the day. Their plight is urgent. Our government made a commitment to help with the crisis, but has spectacularly failed to deliver.  
Please write to your MP (for most of us that’s Luke Hartsuyker: Luke.Hartsuyker.MP@aph.gov.au) and to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection  minister@immi.gov.au , and ask them why the government is being so slow to honour its commitment and demand that the necessary resources are allocated to ensure that the 12,000 refugees do indeed arrive before the end of this financial year.
Mike

This newsletter is recorded here for archive purposes. To read the complete newsletter click below


Letter to Luke Hartsuyker (and reply) - 23 February 2016 performance on settling Syrian Refugees

Hi Mike

The plan was always to resettle the additional refugees from the Syrian crisis over an extended period of time, not necessarily by the end of June. I’m not familiar with the Canadian resettlement process, so I cannot make an informed comment about their approach, but I know the Australian Government is taking a deliberately cautious approach to ensure that health and security checks are done properly. The Australian Government is also providing support for around 240,000 displaced people in refugee camps near Syria, in addition to Australia’s existing foreign aid commitments through bodies like the UN.

Kind regards,

Luke Hartsuyker MP
Member for Cowper

From: Mike [mailto:mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 23 February 2016 2:57 PM
To: Hartsuyker, Luke (MP)
Subject: Syrian refugees

Dear Mr Hartsuyker,

In the news last week, I learned that the Canadian government has welcomed 20,490 Syrian refugees to the country in the past three months. They expect to reach their interim target of 25,000 in the months ahead.
Our then-Prime Minister Abbott, under intense public pressure, reluctantly agreed that Australia would accept 12,000 Syrian refugees in the current financial year. Sadly, since then, there has been very little concrete action, with the result that, to date, we have admitted just 26 people from this war-torn region. I have to ask you this question: If the Canadians can carry out the necessary  security and other checks prior to the refugees arriving on Canadian soil, why is it that so far our government has done so little? Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their country, and the numbers continue to grow day by day. Their plight is urgent. Our government made a commitment to assist with this crisis, but has spectacularly failed to deliver. Why the foot-dragging on such a scale?
I urge you, as my elected representative, to press the government to make good its commitment to the Syrian refugees and to allocate the necessary resources to ensure that the 12,000 refugees do in fact arrive in Australia before the end of the financial year.
Yours sincerely,
Mike 

Asylum Seekers/Refugees on Nauru - Statistics updated in January and February 2016

The number of children in detention in Nauru has been decreasing but this is largely because the children have been released from the detention facility, not necessarily because they have left Nauru altogether.

According to the latest statistics from the Department of Immigration, there are 484 people (including 54 children) detained in Nauru (http://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/immigration-detention-statistics-31-jan-2016.pdf). 

A further 839 people are living in the Nauruan community after having been found to be refugees and released from detention (http://newsroom.border.gov.au/channels/media-releases/releases/operation-sovereign-borders-monthly-update-january-2). 

This includes a number of children. 

Some children may also have left Nauru if their parents elected to voluntarily return to their countries of origin. 

I am not aware of any children having been resettled in third countries from Nauru. 

The Department of Immigration may be able to confirm this for you.

I hope this information is helpful.

Kind regards,

Lucy Morgan
Specialist Adviser – Immigration
Australian Human Rights Commission
Level 3, 175 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
lucy.morgan@humanrights.gov.au  W www.humanrights.gov.au

22.2.16

letter to Peter Dutton on getting children out of detention - 21 February 20126



Dear Minister
I read this quote below which was attributed to you

"I have said to you before I want to get the number of children in detention down to zero."

Could you please confirm that this quote has been correctly attributed to you?
If yes, when did you say this, Minister?
If yes, by "detention" are you referring to all children in detention both on and offshore?
If yes, how many children have been released since this statement?
If yes, what concrete steps have been taken or will be taken in the future to ensure all children are released?

I would appreciate a reply as soon as possible because I feel very strongly that all asylum seekers and especially children deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. What the government is doing with regard to asylum seekers is wrong and I do not support it.

Thank you for your attention

Sincerely

Margaret
Voter
Mylestom. NSW.  2454

16.2.16

Newsletter for 16 February 2016 - Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Meeting for all supporters to discuss future of Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts - THIS SUNDAY 21 February 2016

Please don't forget that our meeting and lunch for all our supporters is this Sunday 21 February. The meeting will start at 12.00 pm, followed by lunch at about 1.30 pm.  The meeting offers the opportunity for us to reflect on what we have achieved to date and to discuss what actions we would like to plan for the future in addition to current activities.  It will be a great chance for you to have your say and to help us to shape our future as a group. We do hope that many of you will want to come along to contribute to the discussion - so please make an effort to come if you can..
The lunch which follows should provide an excellent opportunity for us to relax, get to know one another better and to enjoy a (hopefully sunny) get-together on the back deck. You may want to bring a plate to share, but please don’t feel obliged to do so. Drinks will be provided.
The event will take place at 39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach. If you are able to come along, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. The more people that attend, the better we will be able to plan our campaigns for the future.

Directions: Turn  off the Pacific Highway at Valla Beach. Follow Valla Beach Road for about 400 metres, then, just before the water tower, turn left  into Kuta Avenue. Follow this road for about 300 metres. Rogers Drive is the third turning.

This newsletter is stored here for archive purposes. To read the newsletter click below

New Zealand offers to take 267 asylum seekers Guardian article 16 February 2016

New Zealand offers to take 267 asylum seekers, including 37 babies, from Australia
The country’s prime minister, John Key, says the ‘sensible and compassionate’ offer still stands despite Australia ‘historically rejecting it’


The prime minister of New Zealand, John Key, has repeated his country’s offer to take the 267 asylum seekers facing deportation to Manus Island and Nauru. Photograph: Adam Berry/Getty Images
Asylum seekers facing deportation to Nauru and Manus Island by the Australian government could go to New Zealand if they are found to be refugees, the country’s prime minister has said.
On Monday John Key indicated his country could provide a solution to the standoff over the 267 people slated to be returned to offshore processing centres.
Thousands rally Australia-wide against offshore detention of asylum seekers
Read more

In 2013 agreement was brokered between his and the then prime minister Julia Gillard’s government. The agreement allows for New Zealand to take 150 refugees a year from Australia’s immigration system as part of its annual intake of 750 people.
Key reiterated the “sensible and compassionate” offer still stood, if Australia asked, Fairfax reported.
“Historically the Australians have said no but it is part of the 750 allocation that we have and if they wanted us to take people then – subject to them meeting the criteria – the New Zealand government would be obliged to do that because we’ve given that commitment that we’d do so,” Key said ahead of a meeting with the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
In January Guardian Australia reported that Australia had never taken up the offer but it remained open, despite the former prime minister, Tony Abbott, effectively shelving when he took office.
Among those facing deportation are 37 babies born in Australia to asylum seeker parents, and another 54 children, some of whom are attending school. A high court decision this month ruled Australia’s offshore processing regime legal. The government had introduced retrospective legislation after the case had begun.
Key said it was “potentially possible” the 37 babies could be accepted by New Zealand but “it would need to fit within the criteria that they are refugees as defined by the broader category that we take”.
Should it go ahead, a transfer would probably have to happen after July. A spokeswoman for New Zealand’s immigration minister, Michael Woodhouse, told Guardian Australia this year’s 150 places had been absorbed into the total 750 and used to accommodate Syrian refugees.
Key’s suggestion is likely to fuel community pressure on the Australian government over its plans to return the asylum seekers to Manus and Nauru, where abuses against asylum seekers have been documented. Mass protests have called for an amnesty allowing the asylum seekers – and particularly the Australian-born babies and their families – to be allowed to stay.
Churches offer sanctuary to asylum seekers facing deportation to Nauru


State leaders on both sides of politics have offered to take the asylum seekers, and a number of churches have offered sanctuary – an ancient biblical concept that is not legally recognised in Australian law.
A Brisbane hospital has refused to discharge a baby, known as Asha, because it believes Nauru is not a safe environment for a child. Other medical workers have also spoken out in defiance of the Border Force Act which criminalises the discussion of detention conditions by “entrusted persons”.
This week the leading medical journal the Lancet described Australia’s offshore detention policies as “scandalously objectionable”.

Turnbull and Australia’s immigration minister, Peter Dutton, have said the government must continue its hard-line stance to prevent a resurgence in people smuggling.

14.2.16

New Matilda article Bring Reza Barati witness to Australia 11 February 2016

New Matilda article 11 February 2016



Labor MP Calls For Witness Of Reza Barati Murder To Be Brought To Australia

The case of Behnam Satah continues to attract attention in Australia with over 18,000 people calling for him to be brought to safety. Max Chalmers reports.
Immigration Minister Dutton has been urged to release the roommate of murdered Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati from immigration detention on Manus Island and allow him to be brought to Australia.
new matilda, behnam satah
IMAGE: Behnam Satah.
Behnam Satah, a 30-year-old Kurdish Iranian who witnessed the murder of Reza Barati during an uprising in the Manus Island detention centre in February 2014, has allegedly been targeted by guards and beaten since emerging as a key prosecution witness in relation to the killing.
In Parliament on Thursday Fremantle MP Melissa Parke escalated the campaign to have Satah moved off the island and resettled in Australia, tabling a petition with over 18,000 signatures calling for his urgent transfer.
“We can not bring Reza Barati back to life, but we can save the life of the witness of his murder,” Parke said.
Fellow Labor MP and former speaker Anna Burke had earlier shared the petition from her Facebook page.
“Indefinite detention of asylum seekers is wrong,” Burke wrote. “The murder of Reza Berati was a tragedy. Failure to protect a key witness has the potential to cause a miscarriage of justice. Please sign this petition.”
Dr Dianna Cousens, the creator of the petition, has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bringing the case to his attention. In a response issued by the Australian Border Force Dr Cousens was told the personal details of Satah’s case could not be discussed.
“The Manus Regional Processing Centre (RPC) is a facility within Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) sovereign borders and as such, the PNG Government is responsible for managing all aspects of the operation of the RPC, such as providing appropriate arrangements and support to meet the needs of transferees,” the letter, dated 27 January, said. “Issues relating to the safety and security of transferees at the Manus RPC are matters for the PNG Government to determine.”
new matilda, melissa parke
Melissa Parke calls for Behnam Satah to be brought to Australia.
Parke has also written to Minister for Immigration Peter Dutton but is yet to receive a response.
Dr Cousens, who has been in contact with Satah since October last year, described the asylum seeker as “very ill”, and said he is experiencing chest pains and serious psychological issues. It is believed the 30-year-old’s symptoms are indicative of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Dr Cousens rejected the notion the issue was exclusively a matter for the PNG government.
“No matter how many fudges we put across, we are responsible for the health of these people,” she said.
Australian based advocates and friends of Satah allege he was tortured in the notorious Chauka compound within the Manus centre in January 2015, and UN special rapporteur Juan Mendez has previously called for Australia to ensure his safety.
Despite the news of Barati’s death shocking the nation at the time, no one has yet been successfully prosecuted for the murder. Next week marks its two-year anniversary.
The trial of two men suspected of taking part, Joshua Kaluvia and Louie Efi, was delayed in October last year.
Despite a Department of Immigration commissioned report airing allegations of the involvement of Australian and PNG nationals in the attack on Barati, none of the former have ever been charged.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has been contacted for comment.

9.2.16

Newsletter for 9 February 2016 - Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca

The #LetThemStay Rally below

Meeting for all supporters to discuss future of Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts - 21 February 2016

We are planning a meeting and lunch for supporters on Sunday 21st February, starting with the meeting at 12.00 pm, followed by lunch at about 1.30 pm.  The meeting offers the opportunity for us to reflect on what we have achieved to date and to discuss what actions we would like to plan for the future in addition to current activities.  It will be a great chance for you to have your say and to help us to shape our future as a group. We do hope that many of you will want to come along to contribute to the discussion.
The lunch which follows should provide an excellent opportunity for us to relax, get to know one another better and to enjoy a (hopefully sunny) get-together on the back deck. You may want to bring a plate to share, but please don’t feel obliged to do so. Drinks will be provided.
The event will take place at 39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach. If you are able to come along, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. The more people that attend, the better we will be able to plan our campaigns for the future.

Directions: Turn  off the Pacific Highway at Valla Beach. Follow Valla Beach Road for about 400 metres, then, just before the water tower, turn left  into Kuta Avenue. Follow this road for about 300 metres. Rogers Drive is the third turning.

This newsletter is stored here for archive purposes. Click below to read complete newsletter


8.2.16

Sun Herald article Let them stay rally in Melbourne 8 feb 2016


‘Let them stay’: Thousands rally in Melbourne to stop refugees being sent back to Nauru


Stand for Sanctuary rally for refugees held in front of the State Library in Melbourne. Picture: David Crosling
THOUSANDS of people took to the streets of Melbourne last night to tell Prime Minister Turnbull government refugees from Nauru were welcome in Victoria. 

to read more click below

7.2.16

Let the stay rally Coffs harbour 7 February 2016




The sun came out on cue as just over two hundred supporters arrived from as far afield as Eungai Creek, Armidale and Grafton. Luke Wilton opened with an acknowledgement of the Gumbaynggir people. John Pollock addressed the crowd calling on the government to Let Them Stay and detailed the situation on Nauru that these people face if forcibly returned. John spoke about the offer of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to take care of these people and the response from Churches around the country who have offered sanctuary to these people should they wish to avail them selves of protection from the Australian government. 

Luke played several stirring songs and Michael Blockey an active GetUp member spoke as did John Courcier from the Coffs Harbour Greens. We got just over 100 signatures for our petition to Peter Dutton and raised $558 for Chilout. 

Journalist from the Coffs Coast ABC, NBN Television and The Coffs Coast Advocate gave us great coverage and the final photos of the crowd using the old Jetty as a backdrop was fantastic. Thanks to The Coffs Coast and MidNorth Coast Greens, Amnesty Coffs Harbour, March Australia Coffs Harbour and Dianne Rae and Luke Wilton for their support in organising this inspiring event.




6.2.16

Waleed Aly comment on returning asylum seekers to Nauru Age 5 Feb 2016


 The Age:

Nauru: How long can we keep lying to ourselves?

Date
The history of asylum seeker policy in Australia will be remembered as a story of how successive governments legislated their lies to justify a world of make-believe borders and imaginary compliance.


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Church will lock doors to protect families

The Anglican Dean of Brisbane feels "so desperate" about the plight of asylum seekers facing deportation he is offering to protect them in the church and resist by closing the building.
Wonderful idea, sovereignty. It conveys this reassuring sense of control; a sense that on each of our own patches, we're in charge and things happen by some exercise of our own free choice. And maybe that sense isn't an illusion. Maybe, for example, Nauru just happened to choose to open a "regional processing centre" for asylum seekers. And maybe it just happened to put an Australian government office in it. And maybe it just happened to ask the people in that office – who just happen to be Australians – if they could wear Australian government uniforms with the Australian coat of arms on them while they deal with the detainees in that centre.
Maybe it's mere happenstance that Nauru has made visas all but impossible for journalists to obtain if they want to scrutinise these detention arrangements, in a manner eerily similar to the way the Australian government routinely denies journalists access to our own detention centres.
Maybe that same happenstance accounts for the fact that the single journalist to have been the exception to this rule in the past two years is a dedicated supporter of the Australian government's asylum-seeker policies.
Illustration: Simon Letch
Illustration: Simon Letch
And maybe Nauru's sudden decision to open the gates of its detention centre so its detainees could roam freely around (but not leave) Nauru had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the Australian government was – at precisely the same time – in danger of losing a case in the High Court that would bring its offshore detention regime crashing down.
And maybe all that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Australian government pays for that centre. And nothing to do with the fact under our government's agreement with Nauru, we have the right to step in and take over the centre whenever we like. Maybe all this is some completely free, unbounded choice of Nauru's that miraculously happens to coincide with the Australian government's interests again and again.
So maybe it's true that while the arrival of boats of asylum seekers in our waters is severe enough to mean people smugglers are robbing us of our sovereignty, our own official, uniformed control of Nauru's detention centre somehow leaves theirs perfectly intact.
"Samuel" is one of 90 children, including 37 babies, who may be sent back to Nauru.
"Samuel" is one of 90 children, including 37 babies, who may be sent back to Nauru. Photo: Supplied
Or maybe that's all crap. It matters because whatever it is, we're building our asylum-seeker policy on it. That has been true for years now. Perhaps you've noticed how often when controversy arrives, say in the form of some act of abuse in these detention centres, these things become matters for Nauru. Nauru has become a screen behind which we hide our own culpability; its sovereignty a charade, really – a sort of legal fiction we use to obscure the consequences of our own policy even as we claim its successes.
This week we learned those consequences might have included the rape of a five-year-old boy. And this week, the High Court confirmed the government has every legal right to send him straight back to the scene of that alleged crime. And who could honestly claim to be surprised if the government did exactly that?
The horror of this thought is obvious. But perhaps the greatest horror is that as a nation, we've now become so hopelessly addicted to the fictions that justify it. It's not just the fiction of Nauru. It's also the fiction of Australia, which you might recall we've declared simply doesn't exist if you're coming here by boat. You can dock in Sydney Harbour if you like, and as far as the law is concerned, you simply never arrived here. But there's also the fiction that Nauru and Papua New Guinea were ever anything more than a dumping ground for us.
Illustration: Andrew Dyson
Illustration: Andrew Dyson 
If these countries were truly something more, we'd have known from the beginning how the asylum seekers we were sending there would be resettled. Or indeed that it was going to happen at all. But there was never any plan. There still isn't. The "regional processing centre" in Nauru seems drastically misnamed given precious little processing is actually happening. Remember last year when we heard the 600 remaining detainees on Nauru would be processed within a week? Many weeks on, 537 remain.
This as we've paid Cambodia $55 million to resettle almost nobody (or four nobodies to be precise). And while we've been belatedly scouring the region looking for countries to take asylum seekers off our hands, we've flatly rejected an offer from New Zealand to resettle 150 of them each year. Resettlement in New Zealand, you see, would encourage more boats.
Note, here, the tacit admission that our policy is to send them to places so bad they couldn't possibly want to live there. Only then, it seems, will they stop coming. It's a problem that goes back to the very inception of this policy, implemented in the last throes of Kevin Rudd's political career. Labor's present objection that people were not meant to be "languishing in indefinite detention" is so profoundly hypocritical because it ignores that the Rudd government had never arranged anything else.
Ultimately, this whole issue exists in a world of make-believe: make-believe borders, make-believe compliance with the refugee convention, and make-believe resettlement policy. Among all the moral injuries we've inflicted on ourselves in this sordid area of politics – and there are many – the most overlooked is how adept we've become at lying to ourselves.
One day, when the history of this period is written, it will be a story of how successive governments have legislated their lies. How John Howard, then Julia Gillard made real their pretence that boat arrivals never got here, so we could be good international citizens yet still owe these people nothing. How Tony Abbott passed a law in June last year to ensure Rudd's Nauru arrangement was legal, and how that law pretended it had been in force ever since 2012.
I don't know if we can do this forever; if eventually our lawmaking won't be able to outrun our lying. But I know that buried in this week's High Court judgment is unanimous agreement the government simply cannot detain people indefinitely on Nauru. At some point, the clock runs out. And on that day, maybe the alarm will sound on these mighty fictions that have been sustaining us. Then who will we be?