Advertisement

Somali refugee in critical condition after setting herself on fire

By Allen Cone
Hodan Yasin, a refugee at a detention center on Nauru island, like the one pictured, was transferred to a hospital in Australia after sustaining burns to most of her body. Photo by N. Wright/Australian Human Rights Commission/
Hodan Yasin, a refugee at a detention center on Nauru island, like the one pictured, was transferred to a hospital in Australia after sustaining burns to most of her body. Photo by N. Wright/Australian Human Rights Commission/

BRISBANE, Australia, May 3 (UPI) -- A 21-year-old Somali refugee was in critical condition Tuesday after setting herself on fire in the detention facility on the Pacific island of Nauru, the second incident in a week.

Hodan Yasin was transferred to Australia for treatment after setting herself on fire and sustaining severe burns to most of her body.

Advertisement

One person told the Australian Guardian the incident was worse than when 23-year-old Omid Masoumali died last last week after self-immolating, also on Nauru.

Last November, Yasin was treated in Australia for a head injury obtained in a motorbike accident but was forcibly returned to Nauru last Wednesday, the Refugee Action Coalition said.

Many refugees arriving in Australia by boat are refused entrance and relocated to offshore islands.

Labor Party immigration spokesman Richard Marles is demanding to have the situation on the islands rectified. He said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull "must urgently seek a viable agreement to resolve the fate of people on Manus Island and Nauru."

Yasin had been held in Nauru for three years until being transferred to Brisbane, Australia. Last Wednesday, she screamed as she was forcibly carried out of the site.

Advertisement

The United Nations has been critical of Australia's offshore detention program.

Catherine Stubberfield, spokesperson for U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' regional representation in Canberra, said there was "no doubt that the current policy of offshore processing and prolonged detention is immensely harmful."

She said, the are "approximately 2,000 very vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru. These people have already been through a great deal, many have fled war and persecution, some have already suffered trauma. Despite commendable efforts by the governments of Papua New Guinea and Nauru, arrangements in both countries have proved completely untenable."

A report by the Australian Human Rights Commission exposed the life of migrant children living in government detention centers, where some have reportedly attempted suicide.

Latest Headlines