Manus Island: What did they expect?

Much has been written on the plight of the asylum seekers on Manus Island but as dire as their plight is, there are other casualties of Australia’s callous politically motivated policy: the people of Manus Island. By PNG Echo To establish an Asylum Seeker Detention Centre with less than humane conditions on an island in a country with such profound problems that media commentators have referred to it, variably, as a ‘hell hole’ or a ‘failed state’…well, what was the Australian government thinking?  (Oh yes, the polls.)

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The politics of fear: A vote winner

PNG Echo I can’t remember having any one particular conversation about it, but over time, I have come to know Manus Island vicariously, through the eyes of a local – as a lovely, lazy, tropical idyll populated by friendly, relaxed and gentle people. It was before the Australian Detention Centre opened there. Yet, ironically, in the latest reports coming out about the riots in Manus, it is the ‘locals’ who are being blamed for the breaching of the perimeter fences and for the vicious attack on the inmates How can this be reconciled? Let’s face it though, the reports have Continue reading The politics of fear: A vote winner

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