On June 20th the International Day of Refugees was marked around the world, but just one day after an asylum seeker set himself on fire on Australian offshore detention centre.
The world’s attitude is changing towards refugees, more war and poverty is making people displaced around the world, but yet little focus has been given to the root causes of such massive displacement.
“I have been detained for six years; I don’t know what wrong I have done that I am detained for it” This is the desperate situation of an Afghan asylum seeker in Australian offshore detention.
“I flee the prosecution, and I am persecuted here.”
Shafiullah flees his home country, Afghanistan, which according to the Institute of Economics and peace, In 2018 Afghanistan was the most unsafest country in the world.
Shafiullah is living in the detention since 2013; he claims after their boat was intercepted the authorities promised him for a quick process of his asylum case, but it’s the 6th year that he lives for that hope.
According to Refugee council Australia as of 26 March 2019, 508 people had departed for the US, and as of 26 March 2019, 915 people are at Australian off-shore detentions.
Since the past six years, Shafiullah is taking medication for mental health.
He says, “ the most important thing to happen to me is to be cured first, cure me first, then settle me.”
UN Refugee Agency reported, a record high 70.8 million people are displaced.
Afghanistan is among the countries that due to the ongoing war, a significant number of Afghans flee the war.
“It's not important for us who wins the Australian elections, we are mentally suffering and are dealing with our problems, we don’t want to live even for one minute as we don’t like our lives anymore.”
Shafiullah is married and has four children, but he does not remember his children's’ age.
Sharifullah spoke to SBS Pashto on the day that an asylum seeker set himself on fire after he was denied medical treatment.
Please listen to the full interview in Pashto.
