Ben Pynt has recently spoken in London, Paris and Geneva about what is happening on Manus Island. He has met journalists, activists and the UN. “When people hear the truth, they are outraged. They are aghast that Australia has institutionalised mental torture on a massive scale” and sent asylum seekers to places where they are at serious risk of contracting a range of tropical diseases. Ben is in daily phone contact with asylum seekers on Manus, Nauru and Christmas Island. More than half the people he works with have already suffered torture or trauma before getting on a boat. They are then detained indefinitely, without having committed a crime, in conditions that lead about a third of them to attempt self-harm or suicide in detention. “The people I met were shocked and disbelieving of my version of events. Until they saw the photos. Until they heard the voices of asylum seekers speaking over the phone about what happened to them. Then they were horrified.” newsstore.theage.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=nstore&kw=Spread+word+on+horror+of+Manus&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=1month&so=relevance&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=SMH140423106UQ5DH4CN News Store newsstore.theage.au
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 05:18:48 +0000