"Evacuate Now" Vigils Across Australia Call for End to Offshore Refugee Detention

Last night, 57 individual vigils were held across the country with this demand for the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres: “Evacuate Now”.

They marked four years since the introduction of Australia’s controversial offshore detention policy.

The protests coincided with several concerning updates regarding the status of the remaining asylum seekers in Nauru and Manus Island.

Reports have emerged of electricity, water and phone lines being cut to Manus, ahead of the centre’s expected closure on October 31, despite approximately 20 refugees still living within the compound.

According to the Guardian, authorities wanted the remaining refugees to move to an Australian-built transit centre in Lorengau, but many of the refugees are refusing to leave, fearing for their safety.

They have instead holed up in Manus’ Bravo and Charlie compounds within the centre. A notice posted within the centre reportedly says power has been turned off, affecting the phone lines.

Read: What's Life Like in Australia For a Refugee? "Everything Was Like a Dream."

As that situation unfolds, further questions are being raised about the U.S. resettlement deal, which President Donald Trump had thus far promised to uphold (albeit reluctantly).

According to the ABC, America is likely to deny entry to the 240-odd Tamils on Nauru and Manus Island. Though initially among the approximately 1,250 refugees former President Barack Obama agreed to settle in the States, legislation created in the wake of 9-11 strictly bars Tamils.

Meanwhile, Kevin Rudd, President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, has criticised the Coalition government for not resettling refugees in Australia, saying the offshore arrangement he struck with PNG while Prime Minister in 2013 was only meant to last for one year.

Read: “Would You Have Ever Guessed I Was an Asylum Seeker?” Meet the Refugee Turned Human Rights Activist

The “Evacuate Now” protests were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, as well as some regional towns.

During the candlelit vigils, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull defended the government’s process on The Project, where he argued that settling the refugees in Australia would be used as a "marketing tool" by the people smugglers.

"The boats will start up again, the drownings will start up again," he added.

In 2016, the Guardian published “the Nauru files”, which documented “devastating trauma and abuse inflicted on children” as well as “assaults, sexual abuse [and] self-harm attempts” occurring in these detention centres.

Photo: Twitter (GetUp)