Inside Australia's Immigration Detention

Today, I went to the medical centre to see whether my prescribed anti-depressant which I use as anti-anxiety had arrived.  My medication is Prozac, a typical SSRI.  But somehow, it is not commonly used in Villawood.  So it has to be specially ordered for me.  It has not arrived yet.  I went the medical centre with my friend who is supposed to take a similar anti-depressant, Zoloft (sertraline).  He has never taken any anti-depressant before he got a prescription of Zoloft only about a fortnight ago.  When a nurse gave him a tablet, he said, 'That's not mine.'  Then the nurse told him that it was the medication he had been taking for the last fortnight.  Then she showed him a package.  It was a box of Seroquel!!!  I jumped up.   Seroquel is a psychotropic used for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.  It can be used as augmentation for severe depression.  But it is not the first choice drug for a mild depr...

Yesterday, I noticed one middle-aged male guard looked like he was not with it.  I asked him whether he was OK and he replied that he was just sleepy.  This morning, I witnessed him walking into a column!!!  He was definitely not all right!  I wonder whether he has the onset of something... I saw another medical problem today.  I met my next door neighbour.  She went to ... or was supposed to have gone to the hospital for an operation on the torn ligaments of her thumb yesterday.  She waited for the operation for a month with cordeine.  But according to her, she came back even before getting to the hospital.  It seems that there was a scuffle between her and escorts.  I don't know what really happened but no matter what happened, it sounds ridiculous to me to miss out the operation.  I am sure the surgeon and the hospital staff were annoyed.  No wonder this country's tax is so high. In the evening, my other side n...

I am not happy. The coffee shop in the Community is not open.  Still closed because there is no worker.  I thought there were plenty of applicants for that job, plus me.  I whinged about it to another detainee and was told that the security check usually takes a few weeks.  Security check?!!!!!  Just to make a coffee in a shop in the detention centre doesn't need a security check, does it?!!!!   It's just making espresso coffee!  Not brewing beer, you know?  What the hell is the security check for?!!!  I was amazed.   The detainee said that a barista handles boiling water so it is dangerous.  Well, boilers are in the dining rooms and we're always using them.  I have not seen or heard any accident or incident. We have kettles in the kitchen, too.  What's the difference?  Everybody here was well tested for that kind of risk.  Gee... There was another bewildering story.  One detaine...

Oh, it's nice to have the latest browser!  This should be installed in all  the computers, not be limited to the one designated for my use.  It is  also wrong  that only I have a computer specifically reserved for me.  But I decided  not to complain about it, at least for the moment. I received an email written by a counsel who was considering whether  to accept my pro bono brief.  He was apparently interested in my case  since he seems to have done a database search to find the court date  by himself. In the end, he declined with the statement that he thinks  my case needs 'resources'.  (*Resources means money.)  As soon as  people learned that I am a Japanese, they believed that they can  extract money from me.  Sorry, mate.  I have no money. In the evening, I went to the Medical Centre to get anti-depressant  which I use as  anti-anxiety.  I only take it when I feel like it,...

Day 7.  I started very early.  At around 6:30am, I asked the guards to  scan a rather large number of papers.  They did not refuse to do it  this morning.  That's good. I spend almost all day in shuffling papers to look for a pro bono  counsel both in Queensland and New South Wales.  My case is currently  in the Queensland Registry of the Federal Court.  But because I am  here, if I find a lawyer here, the case can be easily transferred to New South Wales.  If I find a lawyer in Queensland, the matter will  stay there as my attendance is not necessary in this case.  A few  organisations are considering my case in both States and I also made a  few enquiries to lawyers whom I personally know.  So far, I was  knocked back by one in Queensland and one in New South Wales.  So two  down, but several more to go. My peaceful day lasted until I heard a detainee's voice calling me. ...