Faysal Ishak Ahmed died on Saturday or was it yesterday … or was it six months ago. Faysal Ishak Ahmed, 27-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker, collapsed inside the detention center on Manus Island, the dumping grounds for those refugees and asylum seekers who seek haven in Australia. This is the same Manus Island where 24-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati was killed two years ago. Eight months ago, the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea declared the detention center illegal. Papua New Guinea and Australia have “agreed” to close the center, but, to no one’s surprise, no time frame has been set. Faysal Ishak Ahmed did not collapse nor did he suffer a seizure. He was killed, and his blood joins the blood of Reza Barati; their blood flows everywhere.
Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s story is all too familiar. For at least six months Faysal Ishak Ahmed complained of chest pains, swollen arms and fingers, high blood pressure and a pain at the back of his head, seizures, blackouts and breathing difficulties. He begged and pleaded for medical care. Fellow prisoners begged and pleaded on his behalf. He wrote letters; fellow prisoners wrote letters. He deteriorated; he received no medical care. When he finally died, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection stated a refugee “has sadly died today from injuries suffered after a fall and seizure at the Manus Regional Processing Centre”. There is no sadness like sadness. Jesus wept, the State shrugged.
The story continues. Manus Island prisoners rebel for a while. Letters are written, protests are lodged, pictures and drawings emerge. In Sudan, Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s parents say they want their body returned to them. They also say that they have not been formally informed of his death by anyone from the Australian or the Papua New Guinean governments. The State’s great and deep sadness continues to oppress the vulnerable and the hurting.
Faysal Ishak Ahmed is just another name, just another death, in the litany of neoliberal global ethics in which he must bear full responsibility for the site of his birth, the color of his skin, and the nature of his faith. It’s Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s fault that he spent three years in prison on Manus Island. It’s Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s fault that he ever asked anyone for help, safety, or haven. It’s Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s fault that he begged for six excruciating, agonizing months without any attention. It’s Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s fault that the medical staff consistently claimed he was malingering and returned to his bed. It’s his fault, it’s altogether Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s fault that his blood flows over all of us. We are innocent, we never saw him, we never knew. It’s Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s fault.
(Photo Credit 1: SBS Australia) (Photo Credit 2: The Guardian)
Manus Island detainees blame Australia for death of young refugee http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/27/asia/manus-island-refugee-death-australia/
Manus detainee Faysal Ahmed told there was no bed for him at clinic days before he died http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/manus-detainee-faysal-ahmed-told-there-was-no-bed-for-him-at-clinic-days-before-he-died-20161228-gtives.html
His blood is on all of us, the heartless politicians who we voted for, the majority of the press who don’t even report these deaths in custody because the death of a non-white foreigner just doesn’t seem to matter, the self centered Australian people who are more concerned about reality television and b-grade cooking shows than the death of innocent people in our name. This whole period ever since John Howard used the Tampa incident to win an election, successive Labor and Liberal governments using refugees as political cannon fodder, will leave an indelible black mark on Australia’s soul and all of us who did nothing to stop it. If you believe in Karma then Australia is heading for some seriously bad times in the near future.
A `litany of dismissal’ on Manus Island http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/321421/'litany-of-dismissal'-on-manus-island
Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s life was full of pain. Australia had a duty to protect him https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/30/faysal-ishak-ahmeds-life-was-full-of-pain-australia-had-a-duty-to-protect-him
‘I need you guys to look after my family’: Sudanese refugee Faysal Ishak Ahmed’s final message http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/i-need-you-guys-to-look-after-my-family-sudanese-refugee-faysal-ishak-ahmeds-final-message-20161230-gtjrk4.html
Australia’s Death By Numbers http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/opinion/australias-death-by-numbers.html
Pro-refugee campaigners protest in Melbourne CBD, holding up traffic http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/prorefugee-campaigners-protest-in-melbourne-cbd-holding-up-traffic/news-story/9af10746a7b4191d5019429a992f1ee1
Manus: Australia cannot wash asylum seeker blood off its hands https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/manus-australia-cannot-wash-asylum-seeker-blood-off-its-hands,9902
The single story can also reveal a great deal about the teller(s), often more than it reveals about the intended subject. Consider Faysal Ishak Ahmed, who was detained at Manus Island and died just before Christmas. Faysal was/is routinely described as an asylum seeker, which is now a loaded term. But he was much more than that. He was a son, husband, father and friend. All of those roles defined him and fleshed out his life far more accurately than the term “asylum seeker”. http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-single-story-is-not-the-whole-story-20170110-gtowwj.html
‘The torture in my country is transparent, in Australia it is not obvious’ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/the-torture-in-my-country-is-transparent-in-australia-it-is-not-obvious-20170110-gtoqky
Sudanese refugee’s death set to be probed by Senate committee http://www.nambuccaguardian.com.au/story/4404669/sudanese-refugees-death-set-to-be-probed-by-senate-committee/
Death of refugee Faysal Ahmed on Manus Island to be investigated by Senate committee http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-16/manus-island-refugee-death-to-be-investigated-senate-committee/8184808
Manus healthcare provider forced to leave for practising unlicensed https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/03/manus-healthcare-provider-forced-to-leave-for-practising-unlicensed
Australia must end ‘fiction’ it does not control Nauru and Manus centres, Senate inquiry finds https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/21/australia-must-end-fiction-it-does-not-control-nauru-and-manus-centres-senate-inquiry-finds
Commonwealth agrees to pay Manus Island detainees $70m in class action settlement http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-14/commonwealth-agrees-to-pay-manus-island-detainees-compensation/8616672
Manus Island refugees seriously injured in machete attacks https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/31/manus-island-refugees-seriously-injured-in-machete-attacks
Moment of truth for refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island https://www.opendemocracy.net/elaine-pearson/moment-of-truth-for-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-on-manus-island
Refugees Trapped Far From Home, Farther From Deliverance https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/18/world/australia/manus-island-australia-detainees.html
Manus Island: AMA calls on Australia to let doctors help refugees https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/18/manus-island-ama-calls-on-australia-to-let-doctors-help-refugees
‘The situation is critical’: cholera fears on Manus as water and medicine run out https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/20/the-situation-is-critical-cholera-fears-on-manus-as-water-and-medicine-run-out
Shocking footage reveals refugees living in squalor at former Manus Island detention centre http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/shocking-footage-reveals-refugees-living-in-squalor-at-former-manus-island-detention-centre-20171120-gzp1xh.html
Australia built a hell for refugees on Manus. The shame will outlive us all https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/24/the-shame-of-the-evil-being-done-on-manus-will-outlive-us-all
Manus police pulled my hair and beat me. ‘You’ve damaged our reputation,’ they said https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2017/nov/24/manus-police-pulled-my-hair-and-beat-me-youve-damaged-our-reputation-they-said
With Asylum Seekers Cleared From Manus Island, New Phase Begins https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/world/australia/manus-island-detention-refugees-asylum-seekers.html
Manus Island: MSF denied access to refugees as thousands rally in Australia https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/26/manus-island-msf-denied-access-to-refugees-as-thousands-rally-in-australia
Manus camp removal: Uncertainty awaits refugees in PNG http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/manus-camp-removal-uncertainty-awaits-refugees-png-171126081937933.html
Australia’s offshore detention regime is a brutal and obscene piece of self-delusion https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/30/australias-offshore-detention-regime-is-a-brutal-and-obscene-piece-of-self-delusion
Gillian Triggs: The reality is we’ve got human lives in these detention centres https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2017/dec/05/gillian-triggs-qanda-human-lives-refugees-detention-centres-video
I write from Manus Island as a duty to history https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/06/i-write-from-manus-island-as-a-duty-to-history
Ex-New Zealand PM: Manus refugees deserve humanity http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/zealand-pm-manus-refugees-deserve-humanity-171207204141543.html
Manus Island: 60 refugees to be moved to Port Moresby for US interviews https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/08/manus-island-50-refugees-to-be-moved-to-port-moresby-for-us-interviews
The Politics of Manus Island http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1712/S00052/the-politics-of-manus-island.htm
Manus Island asylum seeker tied down, force fed in PNG hospital http://www.smh.com.au/national/manus-island-asylum-seeker-tied-down-force-fed-in-png-hospital-20180126-p4yyxy.html
Salim fled genocide to find safety. He lost his life in the most tragic way | Behrouz Boochani https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/25/salim-fled-genocide-to-find-safety-he-lost-his-life-in-the-most-tragic-way
Hamid Kehazaei: Australia responsible for ‘preventable’ death of asylum seeker https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/30/death-asylum-seeker-hamid-kehazaei-preventable-coroner-says
Behrouz Boochani, brutalised but not beaten by Manus, says simply: ‘I did my best’ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/16/behrouz-boochani-manus-says-simply-i-did-my-best?
Interactive timeline: what happened to every person caught up in Australia’s offshore processing regime https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2020/dec/10/timeline-australia-offshore-immigration-detention-system-program-census-of-asylum-seekers-refugees
Australia ends controversial asylum detention deal with Papua New Guinea https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-58812578
For eight years, Australia has been taking refugees as hostages. It’s time to ask: who has benefited? | Behrouz Boochani https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/21/for-eight-years-australia-has-been-taking-refugees-as-hostages-its-time-to-ask-who-has-benefited
Manus Island refugee reported ‘shortness of breath, chest pains’ before he died https://www.smh.com.au/national/manus-island-refugee-reported-shortness-of-breath-chest-pains-before-he-died-20220121-p59q50.html
Refugee raised health concerns before he died on Manus Island, court told https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/refugee-raised-health-concerns-before-he-died-on-manus-island-court-told/news-story/e980c7f00f5ca9cdf1c13597f775b982