Dozens of asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea were moved to a detention facility annexed to the Bomana prison complex in Port Moresby. The men moved have all been deemed non-refugees. A letter from the PNG immigration and citizenship authority ordered the men to surrender their mobile phone, any medication, and to pack up their personal belongings.
Kurdish Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani won the $25,000 National Biography award this week for his autobiography No Friend But The Mountains. Mr Boochani remains in detention on Manus Island.
Protests were held outside the Department of Home Affairs in Sydney this week against the continued use of temporary visas for people found to be refugees and afforded protection. Temporary protection visas remain a key component of the Australian Government’s border protection policy. The bridging and temporary visas have been widely criticised for the damaging effects they have on their holders.
Australians have raised more than $100,000 to privately sponsor and relocate refugees on Manus Island and Nauru to Canada, as part of new project Operation Not Forgotten, launched this week. This project was launched by Syrian refugee, Hassan Al Konta.