Thread by @drlouisehansen

“When Abdirahman Ahmed Mohammed first sought asylum in Australia, he still carried a bullet in his leg.” Mr Mohammed passed away this month a day after his 39th birthday.

Exclusive: by Erin Handley, 2021. 1/22 #TimeForAHome #HomeToBilo #AusUPR20 #Auspol

“But the Somali refugee's health problems would only become more severe in his years in offshore detention on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and later on Nauru. Mr Mohammed died of a heart condition in Perth this month, on February 15, a day after his 39th birthday.” 2/22

“Mr Mohammed first received tests on his heart in late 2014, when he was in PNG. But he was not transferred to Australia for treatment until almost five years later, when he suffered a heart attack on Nauru in April 2019.” 3/22

“Refugee advocates said his case painted a "sad picture of the ongoing medical neglect" in offshore detention, which they said created new health problems for refugees and exacerbated existing issues.” 4/22

“In 2013, the then-Labor government installed a system of offshore processing, saying anyone who came to Australia seeking asylum by boat would never be resettled here, a policy that continued under the current government.” 5/22

“On Thursday, there were fresh calls to overturn that policy, with medevac refugees and advocacy groups presenting a petition to Parliament, with almost 37,000 signatures, calling for those transferred from offshore processing to be released and resettled.” 6/22

'A genuine man of peace': “He was a deep thinker and had a lot of wisdom," Ms Hall told the ABC. "Many of his friends from detention have told me... he was always the one to calm them down and help them see things from a bigger perspective, when they weren't coping.” 7/22

"He didn't believe in fighting fire with fire. He was a genuine man of peace." Ms Hall said his pacifism came from his Muslim faith and an aversion to the kind of violence that led him to flee Somalia... 8/22

“He witnessed his father and brother being shot dead, and was shot himself as he fled, Ms Hall said. She added he was beaten in the head during the unrest, which left him half blind in one eye.” 9/22

"Biixi had always been an overcomer. He'd always managed to stay upbeat and crack a smile and even laugh at his situation, but when I finally got hold of him on Nauru — after weeks of losing contact — he was a shell of the man I'd known," she said. 10/22

"Like every refugee, all Biixi wanted was a chance to live and contribute to society..." Ms Hall said. "Biixi never got a chance to pursue any of those dreams. Instead, he went over 8 years w/out knowing if/when he’d be free and safe. It's a slow, crushing kind of torture.” 11/22

"There's no doubt in my mind that had Biixi been allowed to settle in Australia when he first sought to in 2013, he'd still be alive today." 12/22

'The ultimate neglect': Nina Field, the ASRC's detention rights and advocacy casework coordinator, said Mr Mohammed's case amounted to medical neglect. "This is a really sad picture of the ongoing medical neglect that occurred on Nauru, Manus, and PNG," she said. 13/22

"Conditions were ignored, minimised, not properly treated. A culmination of physical and mental health problems contributed to significant deterioration of people, and it unfortunately, in this case, it led to someone's death. And that is the ultimate neglect." 14/22

"There are still over 100 people who are transferred for medical treatment, under the medevac laws in onshore detention in Australia," she said. "And many of these people have not had their medical issues addressed adequately." 15/22

“Refugee Council of Australia's senior policy officer, Sahar Okhovat, said 12 people had died on Nauru or Manus Island, "mainly as a result of inadequate healthcare or by suicide", and another man took his own life in community detention in October 2019.” 16/22

"The death of Mr Mohammed brings the total death toll of refugees and people seeking asylum subject to offshore processing to 14," she said. "We are also aware of a number of people in this cohort who died after being returned to countries of origin." 17/22

“She said the ongoing limbo can damage people's mental and physical health, adding that "years of substandard medical care" had exacerbated pre-existing health issues and created new ones.”” 18/22

“Those who have been transferred to Australia for medical care continue to face uncertainty and many remain in closed detention," she said. "We know this makes people more unwell. We fear that unless people are provided with a durable solution, we will see more deaths." 19/22

"”There's basically a whole group of guys who spent a lot of years with him on Manus, who are just devastated by this loss — absolutely devastated," she said. Ms Hall, shared details of her friendship with Mr Mohammed because she hopes it will provoke change.” 20/22

“"He had a heart of gold — as anyone who knew him would tell you," she said. “Nothing can bring Biixi back to us, but I implore all members of Parliament to examine their own hearts in the light of Biixi's death," she said.” 21/22

"My prayer today is that we will see a radical change in the government's treatment of all who've come seeking our protection."

ABC: Man's death years after heart attack on Nauru shows toll of Australia's refugee policies, advocates say, Exclusive by Erin Handley, 2021. 22/22

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