Australia: Asylum seekers on rampage burn down detention center
A fireman (below-R) directs a water hose towards burning buildings at Sydney’s Villawood Detention Center on April 21, 2011. Buildings were set ablaze as authorities struggled to gain control of the volatile situation, with a number of asylum seekers also protesting on a rooftop within the center.
Asylum seekers detained in Australia have reportedly gone on a rampage and burned down much of their immigration detention center in Sydney, in one of the most serious cases of such unrest.
A quarter of the 400 mostly Middle Eastern asylum seekers held at the Villawood Detention Center in the city's west took part in a night-long riot, DPA reported.
Detainees reportedly turned violent after their requests for asylum were turned down.
More than 6,000 people are being held in immigration detention centers in Australia, a coveted destination for asylum seekers from poor and war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Iraq seeking to start a new life.
Many of them attempt to enter the country by making a dangerous 230-mile journey from Indonesia in fishing boats, which are often operated by people smugglers, known as "snake heads."
Most will eventually be granted visas to stay in Australia, but those denied visas have occasionally resorted to vandalism and violence.
The Australian authorities have dismissed the complaints about conditions at Villawood and about the time it takes to process applications.
“Throughout this process there are case managers all the way, working with the detainees so any suggestion they’re not being informed of the progress of their claims is nonsense,” said Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan, Euronews reports. "They are being [informed], but we can’t say ‘yes’ to every claim that’s made."
Detainees reportedly climbed onto rooftops during the unrest, and the authorities said objects were thrown at firefighters to prevent them from reaching the burning buildings.
By daybreak Friday, the fires were out, but several buildings had already burnt to the ground, including a computer lab, kitchen and a medical facility.
A similar riot broke out last month at the Christmas Island high security detention center, 750 miles north-west of the Australian mainland and some 190 miles south of Indonesia.
More than 2,500 people are waiting at a processing center on Christmas Island for officials to rule on their plea for asylum in Australia.
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