Inside Australia's Immigration Detention

After the judgment, I took another pile of documents served on me during the judgment back to my room.  Since the judge did not close my case, I thought I was safe.  The Immigration would not do anything to me while a contempt proceeding is hanging over their heads, I assume. I told friends whom I ran across that I won the case and was going out.  Everyone was excited.  They are always looking for any indication that they too might be able to get out one day. When I was packing my stuff in big plastic bags, guards rushed to my room and told me that I had to go immediately.  I was booted out of my room very quickly and chased off to the Property.  Being a second timer, I knew this would happen.  So I organised my belongings in my room before the judgment. In the Property, I had to wait for ages to get my suitcase back.  Of course, I was complaining that the failure to return my bags kept in the Property constituted an unlawful detentio...

It was an extremely busy day.  The problem was that I attended four activities without giving up my normal routine of having coffee and reading newspapers.  Every activity starts at half past and finishes at quarter past.  So during these fifteen minutes break, I rushed back to my compound to work on emails.  I served my final submissions on the other side, knocked off the last assessment of the online course and so on. Other than ESL and circuit training at the Gym, I tried one science(-like) course and the movie club today.   The lecturer of the science(-like) course showed us a TV program which was concerned with scientific research of the illicit drug use and its effect.  The real drug users participated in the experiment.  I learned the kinds of commonly used illicit drugs, how to use them and the effect of them....  For an ignorant person from a country where the drug control is almost flawless, all the information was new....

It seems that the very flirtatious hairdresser got a sack this week.  The rumour is that two girls lodged sexual harassment complaints and those led to his dismissal.  Geez.  I had my hair cut last week.  No wonder he was depressed and saying that there was a workplace problem, detainees gave him a hard time blah, blah, blah. People working here seems to get sacked very easily.  I heard from guards that their colleagues were often get sacked because they fell asleep during the night shift.  CCTV cameras are everywhere except for toilets and they are monitored, not just detainees etc, etc.  Well, the Immigration is good at crucifying everyone.

One girl got a broken bone in her arm, I think, today.  I heard there had been a fight in the shop since one of the girls pushed the other's back.  The one who, I heard, caused the injury is one of my former roommates.  She was quiet, neat, tidy, calm and pleasant, in my impression....  The one who got a broken bone lives in a couple doors away from my room.  She is a quiet, well-groomed, intelligent and elegant girl, in my impression.  I cannot believe that there was a fight between those two....  I think both are Kiwi, but I am not sure. According to one of my friends (guy/gay), one of the centre managers said that the girls' compound (Lima) had more problems than the male compounds.  I often hear guards talking to each other about who was sent to Lima.  So it seems, my building is the place where the guards are scared to work.  Mmmmm...   Today, I went to Charity Walk, women's knitting class and Personal Circuit at ...

Today, I went to the Visit to see a Sister of a church.  I thought that the centre had introduced a new policy on 2 January to undertake a pat search of a detainee when entering into and coming out of the Visits.   At least, when I went to see visitors last week, the reception was in chaos as a result.  Today, there was no search.  No havoc.  Did they abolish the new policy in less than ten days?  Well, if so, it's good since the search was plainly meaningless but creating huge havoc and chaos.  But couldn't they think what is going to happen if they introduce such a policy BEFORE actually introducing it??? Anyway, when I was talking with the sister, I saw a guard with whom I often had a chat passing by.  I said to him, 'Hi!' and he came to join us.  I told him about my current battle against the Acting Health Services Manager who is a registered nurse.  She refused to book an optometrist for me despite that she was directed to...

It was rainy this morning.  When I went out in my poncho, I met a guard who had walked into a column on Day 64.  He was wearing a hat with its brim extended by a handmade cardboard brim covered by a plastic bag!  I laughed.   He explained to me that it was not only convenient to avoid rain, it also prevents him from walking into a pole as the brim will act as a stopper!!  This guy is seriously funny. After the chat, I went to a brekkie and the hairdresser, and then came back to the compound.  That guard came wearing no hat.  I said to him, 'No hat?'  He replied, ''Cuz it's not raining anymore.'  So I said, 'It's a shame.'  He burst out laughing and said, 'You always have a word!'.  What did he mean?!  I just engaged in an ordinary meaningless conversation. I heard that two guys were sent to Christmas Island.  One building (next to Lima) was completely vacated last week.  Obviously, the centre is preparin...

This morning, I was asked to drop in the guards' station for an interview for IMP.  IMP stands for an Individual management plan.  I wrote about it on Day 24.  An interview for IMP was supposed to be undertaken every fortnight but for unknown reasons, I have done only twice so far.  And I was not asked to sign for the second time.  I can't imagine why.    Anyway, the guard who was assigned to a role of my prey (?!) was the one who had shouted 'I'm not gonna copy the fucking documents!' on Day 6.  She had been very cranky every time she saw me after that time presumably because she was investigated as a result of my complaint, but somehow, she was suspiciously friendly this morning.  She proudly showed me what she had written for IMP.   It states:  'Detainee Villawood Survivor was respectful to officers.  Detainee Villawood Survivor went to the dining hall three times a day.  Detainee Villawood Survivor kept t...

It's Day 60.  It's the end of the year.  I guess/hope, 35 days to the judgment.  But I am getting itchy feet.  I don't want to just wait.  Then my private media advisor (my gooooood friend who is a retired well-known journalist) succeeded in hooking one of the media producers.  Yay!  I need someone to tell the Minister that the judge said, 'Minister might revoke his decision after this hearing.'  I also want someone to tell the Attorney-General that I will file an originating application seeking mandamus against him because my petition has been sitting on someone's desk in his Department for the last four years.  Those guys should do the right jobs before wasting tax payers' money and judges' time. By the way, do you think the Immigration is reading my emails?  I am asking it because I got a poncho this morning.  It was raining when I was on the way to the Dining rooms for brekkie so I asked a guard for a poncho....

Last night, I was asked by a guard to lodge a complaint about a new multi-function photocopier placed in the guards' station.  According to the guard, the new machine is in fact not new.  All other compounds got a real new machine but only this compound got one of the old machines from the other compound.  This old machine does not have as many functions as the other new machines in other compounds so that the guards of this compound have to run to the other compounds to use their machines every time they need to do something.  So the guards here came up with a good idea.  'Ask Villawood Survivor to write a complaint form!  Then the centre management will quickly arrange a new machine.'   ... Bloody hell.   What are they thinking about?  If I can get anything by filling in a complaint form, I would write a complaint about the lack of a visa! I did not write a complaint form for the guards (of course!) but wrote one for me ...

Today turned out to be a busy day.  I had a chat with one of my favourite guards on the way back from a brekkie.  I whinged to her that I was not able to get my shoes back from the Property making me impossible to participate in activities as I only had oversized crocs.  Then she told me that she had been asked by the Property to send me to the Property any time of the day.  I thought it was a strange instruction from the Property because they usually specify the time to come.  Anyway, I went to the Property straight away. There, the Property Manager, not an ordinary officer, was waiting for me.  She had trouble to log into the computer system and made me wait a bit.  I told her that since I was not busy today, I could wait but if I were busy, I wouldn't be so patient.  Then she told me that she had asked the compound guard to send me whenever I was relaxing!  Gee.  That's the reason for the strange instruction from the Pr...

I was busy from this morning.  I had to explain what happened to each and every person I met.  Most people got angry and expressed sympathy for me.  They are nice.  The most interesting response came from one of the guards I often have a chat.  He said that my case was better than his wife's.   His wife is a lawyer, had a big compensation case.  There was a six weeks trial.  Then a judge had a heart attack and died!  Wow. They have to start all over again. That costs must be enormous and the court will never compensate.  I know that in some cases, parties agree that the next judge is to make a decision by reading the transcript of the trial before the dead judge.  But given that his wife's case is a compensation case, probably the plaintiff does not have money while the defendant has big money and the defendant will not agree with the trial on papers in the expectation that the plaintiff cannot pay to the lawyer for a...

On 22 December, I spent half of the day for telephone calls to all friends to whinge and cry and the rest of the day in bed at BITA (Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation) until at night.  The guards there talked to each other how difficult it is to win against the Minister in the Federal Court.  Apparently, they misunderstood that I had lost the case.  Bloody hell.  It's not difficult to win if the Minister's lawyers are not so incompetent as they were!!  Even then, I will win.  It just takes longer than it should have been.  Bastards. The ABF tried to fly me back to Villawood immediately after the hearing yesterday but I was too sick and tired and really did not want to travel.  So I went to the toilet with a sick bag and did not come out.  The guards seem to have considered to drag me out.  But one of the guards was a mature age law student probably one of the students whose exam paper I marked a few years ago.  She per...

I don't know which complaints I had made worked but now I can access the website of the National Justice Project!  It's the site which the Federal Court order refers to.  It seems that after i reported the block to the National Justice Project, it raised the issue of contempt with the Immigration.  I could also access the Australian Human Rights Centre of the University of New South Wales Law School and the Australian Immigration Daily News, too.  Phew.  But I still cannot access the law firms and barristers' chambers for human rights and immigration.  If I fail to get out on Friday, I will make a hell of a lot of complaints again. Today, I received the other side's submissions.  They did what I had thought that they would do.  Good.  I should be able to celebrate Christmas with my guinea pig... only if I can get to the Court though...  I have not heard anything about my escort!

A busy week started.  The last few days in Villawood.  I still don't know when to travel but I suspect it is 20th.  So I have to wind up everything tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.  It seems that the Immigration does not tell me the date and the time of travel in advance.  However, according to a guard who does escort, since I will go interstate, the custody has to be transferred from Serco NSW to Serco QLD which means that I should be able to take all my belongings with me.  I hope that is correct. Today, I organised my court papers.  I also printed out the last documents that I might hand up to the judge.  Other than those bits and pieces, I read cases and had fun.  The Immigration never stop surprising the court (and the readers of the judgments like me).  They are astoundingly talented! Tomorrow, I will introduce my quiet kind Tamil friend here to my caring friend in Sydney when she visits me.  The day after tomorro...

I heard a disturbing story last night.  There is a young girl here.  I saw her occasionally but have never spoken to her.  So I didn't know that she was with her 7 month old baby.  The baby must be an Australian citizen since the baby's father seems to be an Australian.  That 7 month old baby was taken away from her to be sent to a foster carer because the Immigration insisted that she would not be able to take care of her baby while here and that the baby's father does not want to look after the baby.  Only seven months old and was taken away from Mum!!!  I have not spoken to her directly so I do not know what exactly happened but I thought I should alert you. This morning, I had a bit of time since I finished filing all the court documents yesterday.  So I thought I would have a quick look at the Court documents of the George Newhouse's latest case, namely the class action against the Immigration's new policy banning mobile phones in d...

Do you remember I wrote a few days ago that the barista of the coffee shop was going to be deported on Thursday?  It is Thursday today.  I gave him a farewell hug yesterday.  Then, I met him at the coffee shop today!!  It seems that the Property forgot to undertake the discharge process for him last night and when they realised it this morning, it was too late for the plane!!!  Another botched deportation.  No wonder the tax of this country is horrendously high... A botched deportation reminds me of the interesting story I read a few days ago.  It is about the Immigration's conduct which could potentially lead to mass botched deportation.  It is easy to understand even for a non-lawyer so you might want to read the article by yourself. http://migrationalliance.com.a u/immigration-daily-news/entry /2017-12-section-109-visa-canc ellations-without-proper-deleg ation-a-holiday-season-lump- of-coal-from-the-department. html Funny?  I...

Listen!  Finally, finally, my roommate has gone!!!  Thank goodness.   My torturous days are over (until the next problem comes though...).   I learned today that Ms Serial Thief was regularly beaten up by others for her  stealing and infuriating comments against the persons from whom she  stole.  The scuffle I partially witnessed was really nothing compared  to the other times when she was literary beaten up!!  Although some guard told me that people here steal from each other, it does not seem to be true.  The problems were caused repeatedly by some specific persons and guards chucked one of them into my room.  I made a lot of  complaints but I do not think that is the reason she was shifted to  somewhere else.  So something must have happened although I do not  know what. Apart from that, I received an email from the Australian Human Rights  Commission.  The investigator who looked into ...

HEY PIGS! YOUR MOTHER DOES NOT LIVE HERE. PUT YOUR RUBBISH IN THE BIN & DONT  LEAVE YOUR BUTTS ON THE FlOOR!! This is the sign put up on the kitchen wall and the wall right behind  a fridge. Except for the lower case of L in the floor, there seems to  be no obvious error in terms with grammar and spelling.  But obviously, it was not written by a decent person.  I do  not like this .  I do not think this was placed by cleaners working from 7am  till late every day.  So it must be a guard.  When I find a time, I  might fill in a complaint form. Yesterday was another exhausting day.  It was because there was an  interview for IMP.  I was told that IMP stands for Individual  Management Plan, whatever that means.  It seems that there is a  fortnightly interview report by a Serco guard to be submitted to the  Immigration for the purpose of IMP.  The interview was attended only  by one ...

From the night when my roommate Ms Serial Thief created a big fuss in my room,  I began to be told by guards and other detainees that I look tired.  Actually,  I am tired.  I am too old to deal with all these nonsensical,  idiosyncratic, preposterous people every day. Ms Serial Thief has not moved out of my room but a guard is constantly  following her.  That might prevent her from engaging in her notorious  habit but that certainly interferes with my privacy as a side effect.   I could not sleep last night because a guard kept open and shut the  door every 15 minutes or otherwise the door was wide open to the  lounge room where the TV was loudly on.  Since I could not sleep, I  turned on my bed light (not a room light) and started reading a case.  T hen Ms Serial Thief complained!  Why should she be able to sleep  while I cannot sleep because of her?   Thank goodness, the guard told her she...

It was another exhausting day.  My room door was often (but not  always) locked regardless of where I was or where my room mate,  alleged Serial Thief was.  It was really inconvenient.  Sometimes, Ms  Serial Thief was in my room with all my stuff and the door was locked.  I could  not get in.  I had to go to the guards' station to ask one of them to  come to open the door. I was worried about my stuff in the locked room  where Ms S T was and no one else could entre.  What an arrangement... For the last couple of days, I have been writing my submissions for  the final hearing in the Federal Court.  I am trying to finish it off  before the first return.  Then I will be ready for the hearing to go  to pick up my little guinea pig.  This place is unbearable not only because of the  absence of my little piggie boy but because of the people here.  One of the guards  said that the demogra...