WATCH: ‘The Project’ Gives A Face To The Manus Island Refugees, With Confronting Video Of Child
Following the damning release of the Nauru files, published by the Guardian, it was announced yesterday that the Manus Island Detention Centre is set to close.
Amid international heat for the several human rights violations, the Nauru files revealed reports of wide-scale physical, sexual abuses, self-harm and suicide attempts.
But now the centre is closing, where will the more than 800 asylum seekers go? Especially since the majority have been recognised as legitimate refugees, escaping persecution and war-torn countries.
While Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has confirmed that they will not be coming to Australia, The Project in an effort to pull at viewers heartstrings, showed vision of what it’s like to live in these countrie- in places of conflict and everyday horror.
“Let’s go back to the start of all this. This is about lives, this is about people and especially children. The Manus detainees are from places like Iran, Afghanistan and Syria and they are fleeing some truly horrifying things,” said Natarsha Belling.
The footage shows five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, a bloodied child that has just survived a bombing in Aleppo, Syria and it’s absolutely devastating to watch.