Reza Barati's father writes a letter to the Australian People.
May28th 2014, today is 100 days after the murder Torabi Berati's son Reza Barati. Still there have been no arrests despite many witnesses to the crime. Reza Barati's father, who still lives in Iran, pleads for Australians and their legal system to get to the bottom of his son's murder.
Reza was not a young man known for trouble making as even detention centre staff explain. This comment was preserved in a screen shot before the Abbott restrictions on public servants using social media were tightened. [Yes I know that page no longer exists]
Refugee groups and social justice advocates as well as human rights lawyers continue to push for charges to be laid against the attackers of Mr Barati on Manus Island.
I think the images that follow the portraits here of father and son show the passion and empathy that Reza's death ignited in Australians through candle light vigils and memorial services. He was much loved and will always be missed by his family. Justice through the law will hopefully eventuate, for the peace of mind of all his friends and family.
[Image: Torabi Barati, Reza's Father]
This letter was taken From Citizen X Disclosures on FaceBook:
...>>>A LETTER from TORABI BARATI<<<...
...>>>FATHER of the late REZA BARATI<<<...
Reza, my son, always loved freedom and treated all people equally and like members of his family. Reza was full of hope and love, and he left Iran to achieve his goals. He chose Australia because he thought your country was the right place. Before he left he told me that in your country all his dreams would come true, and he would have freedom and democracy.
Contrary to what he thought, he was not welcomed in Australia, but forced to go to Manus Island. Whenever he phoned me from detention, he told me about the way they were treated: bad food and lack of medical supplies. I asked him to come back home many times but he didn't agree and said
"The Australian people don't know what they are doing to us. As soon as they know about this we will be sent to Australia".
Despite of all the shortages, Reza believed that they had to tolerate it and be patient even though they had been through such hardship. Five months have passed and I have had to face the worst moment of my life: the loss of my son, with all his unfulfilled dreams.
On the 17th of February he was murdered by brutal PNG police, Manus locals and Australian G4S. He was innocent and did not commit any crime and his murderers are free.
I have lost my son and I want you, the Australian people, to bring those who killed my son to justice.
Sincerely,
TORABI BARATI
[Image. Reza Barati
Read more about: Someone's son, someone's brother: Reza Barati, an architect who had hopes for a better life
Tehran:
"In the dusty southern suburbs of Tehran, more than 1500 relatives and friends attended a memorial for Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati, who was killed on Manus Island. Dozens of members of the wider Barati family lined up, shoulders heaving in grief, to receive condolences as mourners passed through the mosque." [SMH]
Women surround a framed photo of asylum seeker Reza Barati, during the memorial service. Photo: Kate Geraghty
Men gather for prayers during the memorial service of killed asylum seeker Reza Barati. Photo: Kate Geraghty
Male family members of killed asylum seeker Reza Barati during the memorial service. Photo: Kate Geraghty
Meanwhile in Australia:
And in Papua New Guinea, Manus Island:
Manus Island PNG: Asylum seeker In Mike Compound contemplating, the night before, when the brutal ambush of the asylum seekers resulted in Reza's death on Manus Island 17 Feb 2014.
Sydney: Outrage ... protesters hitting out at the treatment of refugees gather outside Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s office in Manly, NSW. Source: News Corp Australia
Melbourne: Support ... people attend a candlelight vigil in support of asylum seekers at Melbourne’s Federation Square. Source: AFP
Light the night occurred in various cities around Australia. It is fair to say that many Australians across the board are outraged by our governments failure to charge individuals with his murder.
Image:http://www.veooz.com/photos/GuMPHt.html
#LightTheDark for Reza Barati & refugees suffering now @ScottMorrisonMP
<<A GREAT SONG/TRIBUTE>>
"Who killed Reza Berati?" - by Phil Monsour
Reza Berati was a 23 year old asylum seeker murdered on February 18 2014 on Manus Island in one of Australia refugee detention centres. 77 other asylum seekers were also attacked and wounded. No one has been charged with his murder.
The Australian Government continues to fail to meet its obligations to protect the human rights of all asylum seekers and refugees who arrive in Australia, regardless of how or where they arrive and whether they arrive with or without a visa.
This song references/covers the Bob Dylan song Who killed Davey Moore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWZBA-q5Gw
Please watch The Citizen X Disclosures for Immigration updates sent by the detained them selves.
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[Image: poster on wall put up by detainees of Reza Barati, the young man that was murdered on Manus Island]
This is a call for transparency in Australian Detention Centres.
Name names and protect the named from being persecuted.
Put Youness Salveedi (and others) in witness protection.
That is nothing to be proud of Australia
H. B. in conversation with Paloma Concierta:
[All the following images were provided to me by Mr HB. Prisoners inside the detention centre forwarded them to him. There are many more images. The images were shot by various people still in detention.]
[Image: Scar and open wound with bullet Youness Salveedi GRL 073 9 This image was taken very recently and is very painful and difficult to walk. He needs the help of other detainees to toilet.]
H.B "what happened recently in MIKE compound: they return the asylum seeker who got shot in his buttocks back to the compound, without pulling the bullet out of his buttocks, and the bullet is still there after 40 days! His name is: Youness Savaeedi GRL 73...
[Image: Scar and wound of Youness Salveedi GRL 073 9]
Here is a portion of my chat with HB:
P.C…“I worry to put the names xx”
H.B.“Don’t worry people must know the names who were injured and their IDs”
H.B. “Like mine they did not call me H B and just said DOT047 like I was a prisoner” (I have chosen for his own safety to not reveal his name -PC)
P.C. “Yes that’s not nice I know what you mean. You are a man not a number- but i want to stop putting your name out now- waiting till the amnesty thing is in place I think is X’s plan too …”
H.B. “if X (mutual friend ) says this is ok but don’t forget I’m thousands of miles away from Australia”
P.C. “;-) things will work out, don't worry too much. Good always wins”
[Image: Scar and bullet wound of Youness Salveedi GRL 073 9. There is a lot of internal pain in relation to this injury.]
My contact HB was previously detained on Manus Island also. He says he feels safe to use his name online. When he says safe, he means he feels safer in Iran, than on Manus. This is why he is passionate about helping the detainees. He knows how much danger they are facing in there. It is real and unending, so night after night he posts updates to pass on to anyone on the internet that will listen to the current state of the various individuals that he has contact with....and he is not the only one passing on information like that. HB is adamant that we must act now because every day more and more people attempt suicide.
" MANUS ISLAND SHOCKING NEWS: List of asylum seekers who attempted suicide in the past weeks:
Khalid al uabidy EDE046 attempted 2 times 29.03.14.
Mojtaba Robati JDD035 attempted 2 times.
Omar Ibrahim Taha EDE026.
Mansour Mahzooni RUF094 is suffering severe asthma but the medical doesn’t care, he needs special medication.
Mojtaba Jamshidi CLV009 has severe arthritis and pain in his knees but medical staff pulled his leg and told him that his knee must be cut. This is happening in Foxtrot compound and don’t forget there are OSCAR,DELTA,MIKE and CHARLIE compounds on the island and OSCAR compound does not have internet and it is very difficult to get update from there.
30.03.14 HB" [this is one of HB's online updates]
Further news was received today (April 2.) of 2 attempted suicides in Manus, and 2 seriously ill hunger strikers needing medical care not available to them. It is a daily occurrence that someone has emotionally just had enough and tries to hang themselves from the cyclone fence.
[Image:Asylum seekers on Manus gathered under the roof at night]
Inside detention centre's names are not important. You are given a number. That is nothing unusual for a prison but the fact that the names are never used to address them is dehumanising. It is an old Nazi trick. Even the children in the family camps are taught to recite their number and sign their documents and childish sketches with them.
Children have become resigned to their trauma in detention on Christmas Island and demonstrate typical symptoms, such as biting, bed wetting, hysteria, withdrawal, nightmares and total silent shock. These are the children of parents that thought that they should be given the chance of a more peaceful life; a life without the political violence of their home land.
I am not the only person Mr HB has contacted over the internet. What many of us can not understand is why this story is not of great interest to the popular media. They appear to be to busy drip feeding the public with facts as they arrive, censored, but have refused to comment on the social implications of all this cruelty and racial isolations.
He has made contact by internet and telephone with several individuals in the popular media as well as Australia’s new-news media ie, private individuals that publish news without regard for the agenda of financial corporations.
[This person was also given these images and was kind enough to publish, but chose to not to put the names as is usual, to protect the individuals: https://medium.com/p/fe71d28263a7 ]
Mr HB has contact with various refugee assistance and advocacy groups, which have persistently discouraged him from publishing the individuals' names because of the likely hood that they would be beaten or have privileges taken away.
Mr HB has tried many different ways and approached many different people in an effort to get the men in Manus the medical attention that they need. One other person published these images on line No one is willing to publish the names and numbers for fear of what our government and their legal team will do to them.
[Image: Scar and bullet wound of Youness Salveedi GRL 073 9. There is a lot of internal pain in relation to this injury.]
But my mind has reached breaking point. The fear of some legal reprisal has been out weighed by the possibility that a man may die from an incorrectly treated gunshot wound.
This page is for you
Youness Salveedi GRL 073
From Paloma and Everybody at The Stand. You asked for this and we hope it brings you no retribution inside Manus from the guards.
Some people said not to publish names; When these images were first published they were displayed without names. Naturally it barely made a ripple in the media. The men have asked to be named here, explicitly, and they will be. It is their right.
If you or I asked to have our name published next to a photograph of ourselves in the paper, that simple request would be granted. Correct?
[Image: NSW barrister Jay Williams leaving Manos Island after begin removed by a court order, preventing him from speaking to his clients. Sydney Morning Herald]
PNG will not allow the detainees on Manus to have Australian lawyers, whilst they are in PNG; and neither are they eligible for Australian legal aid now. A glimpse of hope appeared recently in the form of the NSW barrister Jay Williams who attempted to take statements from several asylum seekers on Manus Island on Tuesday 25th March. He was asked to leave before he had finished conducting the interviews. One of the key witnesses in Reza Barati's murder is Youness Salveedi, Reza's room mate. Fortunately Mr Williams had time to obtain a statement from him.
Now more than ever it is important that Mr Salveedi receive medical attention. It has been over a month and half that he has been living with a bullet in his flesh. It is not a hard thing to fix, but it is deadly if left uncured. His fellow 'inmates' are makeshift nursing sisters and do what they can to help.
As a witness in a crime committed on a camp run by Australians Mr Salveedi should be protected and not allowed to slowly die. He has repeatedly requested that his name be published.
[Image: through Manus island fence from the inside, looking out]
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission the government is responsible for all events and outcomes in detention centres that they establish, as well as the actions of their contractors, such as SERCO and Transfiled.
To add to that there is no possibility of handing the blame to PNG staff or volunteers except in the case of individual Papuans that have committed illegal acts such as murder, which clearly break PNG law.
This is laid out in the Australian Human rights Commissions publication "Human rights for immigration detention". see section '7. Staff' here: It explicitly say that the Australian government has a duty of care to act humanely and to ensure that all its contractors do too. The only way Australia can get out of accepting the responsibility for all the inhumanity of Manus Island and other detention centres they reign in, is if they claim that the violence was perpetrated by individuals not on their pay roll.
Perhaps this is part of the reason why local islanders were used to initiate the attacks in Manus. Many insiders have mentioned this and for that reason fear the PNG people as they operate outside of Australian law. Do we need to look for ways to prove that islanders received some form of payment from the government or from the contracted staff?.
.
[Transfiled and Wilsons are part of this business group that are contracted to run the daily operations on Manus Island.]
If those contracted to run detention centres pay the PNG locals that should be considered the same as if the government had paid the locals directly. "the Australian government retains responsibly for human rights protection and a non-delegable duty of care".
[Image: page from the Australian Human rights Commissions publication "Human rights for immigration detention. section -7. Staff"
So an Australian detention centre is the responsibility of the Australia government.
More than one man has suffered in Manus. It is not just all about blaming Reza Barati's death on a PNG person on an Australian individual. It is about calling the Australian government to account.
I challenge the Australian government to provide reasons for the unsightly and poor maintenance of the camp, it's lack of food, lack of hygiene, lack of medical attention, the abundance of demoralising and cruel treatment. These are all things that occur daily, and continue to occur, regardless of who killed Reza Barati. Things that must be called to account, and answered with reasons.
Australia is responsible for the well being of people that it imprisons, regardless of the crimes that they have/or not committed, or from what country they hail. Child molesters in maximum security get 3 square meals a day, visitors, health care, opportunities to learn and mix with others, telephone calls, cable tv and internet as well as access to other sports and hobbys; somehow they even manage to get drugs to numb their mental pain. If Australia does not want to maintain its prisioners, it should free them.
Sometimes people make poor political decisions; this is understandable as we are all human. It takes a big man to admit that he was wrong...
[Image:Paloma Concierto, 'March in March Adelaide' 2014]
This detention centre business, and that is what it is, a money making machine, is a problem beyond politics; It is beyond any party. There is nothing to celebrate here on this day when it has been 100 days since no boat arrived on our shores.
Lets look instead for a way forward with empathy.
Most people are capable of humanity; it is a commonality that binds us across waters. Now we see asylum seekers weighed and measured according to how rich they once were and how socially involved they were in their country of origin. How can we know what individuals have suffered or given up to be on our islands of detention? Lets judge matters on a human level. The political level should be the human level, but now it is beholding to an economic benefit or loss; what happened to democracy? Did we wipe up our freedom with a flag and wrap it up in the fear of invasion by people that are not identical to ourselves?
Dare to disagree with the extremists and preach your own brand of crazy. Draw the other extreme. The current mentality around asylum seekers is not conservative, it is extremist and alarmist.
The things that are being done to the people on Manus should not be done. But here we find ourselves compelled to be pedantic, to fight that ludicrous crazy barbarism with its own whip. To look at the loops in the Law to put the final ones around the inhumane treatment of Australia's political detainees. The first ridiculous term that must go is this arena is the nature of their arrival as 'illegal'. As most of you know that term has many times over shown to be used incorrectly according to the law.
I admit it; the term 'adequate oversight' in the Human rights for immigration detention. section -7. Staff" is staring out at me over a sea of excuses begging to be slapped down. But disregard that and reflect on the notion of Non-delegable. The Government can not palm off its responsibilities to other groups or individuals in Australia.
Dear Australians, Prepare yourself for a barrage of faces posted on line of detainees that have had enough of being just a number. They want to see a change to their situation, a modicum of hope given to them; and most importantly they want to survive Manus.
[Image: A shower with a timer on Manus Island. I hear its no more than 6min per day, no exceptions.]
The asylum seekers are no longer content to just be called out to like products that have passed their use-by date, mere numbers. They are humans with wives, loves, children mothers and the capacity to reason. These are the men of Manus Island that I am writing to you about.
[Image: Bullet holes in Metal Cabinet on Manus Island]
But let us not forget, there are many children and women in the many other camps, and on other islands, and also on the Australian main land.
Of course we will not name the children that were beaten up on Christmas Island during the recent Cyclone. But we will not let that story go unrecorded. We will never forget it; nor those people that did the beatings, they know who they are, and we know you will be eventually brought to justice.
[Image: One of the sleeping areas on tropical Manus Island. Note the open walls and the closeness of the beds.]
We urge all Australians involved in active employment on Manus, Nauru and Christmas island to rethink the price of their daily bread. Is it really worth working here to feed your family doing this kind of job? Perhaps you would rather work somewhere else? After all, who would like to be implicated in these atrocities? Perhaps you need to take industrial action, go out on strike, or fly or sail home?
[Image: Another one of the sleeping areas on Manus Island.]
Once this is all under investigation, and it will be, don’t imagine you will get away with murder there; those of you that remain there, still wielding sticks, you shall be the first ones called into question. You will be asked to explain your actions to the court and it will not be enough to say they were your orders. Staff, hand in your notice, and stay on there till the United Nations can come and peace-keep this situation. It is fairly obvious that the Australian Army is not capable of keeping the blood from spilling.
[Image:Toilet Block on Manus Island.]
Now I guess it is fairly obvious why the Australian Prime Minister refused to step foot on Manus Island PNG.
I am hopeful that there are some people with the necessary legals skills to step up and do what is right.
Here is a little bit of nostalgia from a time when things were a little different. The then shadow Immigration Minister and Gordon Thompson in interview, 2010.
How much things have changed in 4 years.
Refugee policy in focus as more boats arrive at Christmas Island
Download audio
Friday 29 January 2010 6:15PM
Over the past week another three vessels carrying asylum seekers have been intercepted in Australian waters, suggesting that the difficult policy debate over how to deal with unauthorised boat arrivals will continue throughout this federal election year.
In 2009 there were 59 boat arrivals in total, carrying close to 3000 people and the purpose built Christmas Island detention centre is now overflowing as the federal government struggles to process all asylum claims within its self-imposed 90-day deadline.
Guests
Scott Morrison MP Opposition spokesperson on immigration
p.s. And in case you are wondering why I am so one side in my argument, I would like to share this contrasting view with you for balance: I particularly like the typo 'Blot'.
