Sadness and fear: what the drawings by

children in detention showed us

We spent a week on Christmas Island as medical consultants we were
shocked by the pervasive sadness, the despair in children and in adults, and
the lack of dignity offered to detainees
In March, 35 children were on Christmas Island! "hotographs# $arah Mares
and %aren &wi
Sarah Mares and Karen Zwi
Monday '( May ()'*
+he recent announcement that most ,ustralian detention centres will close and all asylum
seekers will be transferred offshore to -auru and Manus Island confirms the fears of children
currently detained on Christmas Island!
In March, we spent a week on Christmas Island as medical consultants to the ,ustralian .uman
/ights Commission0s in1uiry into the impact of immigration detention on children! Most
families and children had been in detention for si2 to nine months, and no processing of their
claims for asylum had occurred! +hey were predominantly from countries we hear about every
day as places of war, conflict and persecution# ,fghanistan, $omalia, $ri 3anka, 4urma, $yria,
Ira1 and Iran!
0Many children are
symptomatic, an2ious and unhappy0!
,t that time there were ',5)) detainees on Christmas Island, including 35 children and about
(5 babies who had been born in detention! .alf of the children were aged five or under, and
there were *' unaccompanied children 6under '7 and without family to care for them8!
, young child draws the
sadness and isolation behind the bars!
,long with three other colleagues, we interviewed (3) families! While we talked, we provided
paper and pens and invited children to draw pictures that would tell us something about their
lives! +he drawings included here come from these interviews!
9ear on the boat trip to
,ustralia! -ightmares about the waves and drowning are common!
+he :- convention on the rights of the child, which ,ustralia ratified in ';;), can be
described in shorthand as identifying that children need#
< Provision 6of food, shelter, education8
< Protection 6from harmful and traumatic e2periences, including abuse, torture, e2ploitation,
arbitrary detention8
< +he chance to participate in decision=making about their lives! .ow this should occur
depends on a child>s age
+his drawing by an '' year
old 6read right to left8 shows war at home, the boat ?ourney and the sadness in detention of the
family, including pregnant mother!
+hese rights seem clear and unarguable and are largely enacted in policies and services for
children living in ,ustralia! What we saw on Christmas Island suggests that immigration
detention impacts on ade1uate provision for, protection of and participation by children at all
ages and stages, from birth to '7 years old!
+his is a very disturbing
drawing by a young child! +he figure has no mouth and is oddly proportioned! +he bars are
prominent!
Childhood adversity and e2posure to violence, trauma and parental despair disrupt normal
development and are well documented to impact on children>s outcomes! +he gravest impacts
come from cumulative and prolonged adversity which are not balanced or mitigated by
protective e2periences and relationships! "ositive learning environments such as 1uality
childcare,or meaningful activities with supportive adults are protective for children facing
adversity!
,nother drawing comparing
the sad life in detention with the happy life outside!
Immigration detention on CI is an impoverished and harsh environment with little opportunity
for safe play and e2ploration, education, physical e2ercise or for nurturing family time! Most
children have had very little schooling and many had only been for three hours a day for ')
days out of the eight months they were detained!
Clear message from an eight
year old girl!
@etention has been shown to be harmful for children in ,ustralia and in many other countries,
with worse impacts the longer the detention continues! Affshore detention with increased
isolation in remote and harsh circumstances e2aggerates that adversity!
It also increases the difficulties and the costs associated with providing health and educational
services! It is impossible for providers, however well resourced and intentioned, to ever balance
or mitigate the damaging impact of detention itself! ,nd parents, no matter how committed or
competent they are, cannot ade1uately provide for, or protect their children in this environment!
+his drawing by a child
includes a smiling +ony ,bbott holding a gun! +he e2perience of detention has been conflated
with that of war and death at home! , fear of transfer to -auru or Manus is included!
Most shocking about our visit was the pervasive sadness, the despair in children and in adults,
and the e2treme fears about the future! Many children are symptomatic, an2ious and unhappyB
some were withdrawn, had begun wetting the bed, and parents were concerned about delays in
their children> speech or recurrent games about drowning or playing at being CofficersD! $ome
younger children were biting themselves or hitting their heads in distress, many had disturbed
behaviour and sleep!
"ain and distress is showing
on all faces!
"owerlessness is reinforced for parents in daily humiliations! 9amilies line up in the sun or rain
6there is little shelter8 and wait, then show I@ cards for food 6holding their own issued plastic
cup, plate and cutlery8 for medicines to be handed out, or to see the nurse or doctor! 9or parents
with little ones there is additional lining up for nappies, baby wipes and scoops of formula
only three are dispensed each time!
:se three nappies or make up three bottles of milk and you need to line up all over again! ,nd
at ''pm and 5= am there are knocks on the bedroom door, entry of an officer with a torch and
roll calls! +his adds to the disturbed sleep in children and adults, which is very common
+he poignant words of a '
yr old boy who is in detention alone!
+he way that decisions about family separations are made and enacted is another source of
great fear and distress! +ransfers of family members for medical reasons to the mainland
sometimes result in prolonged family separation, including of children from parents! +he
Cageing outD of boys 6 the term for turning '78 means they can be moved suddenly to the adult
camp or to Manus Island, and some families have been suddenly Ce2tractedD to -auru! +hese
transfers often occur in the early hours of the morning and with no warning 6for Coperational
reasonsD8 and are big contributors to the pervasive fear and an2iety!
, young child0s drawing!
9or children in asylum seeking families who are detained on Christmas Island and will be
moved to -auru or Manus, the adversities are cumulative! +hey include past as well as current
trauma! +he children show in their drawings the issues that concern them and how this makes
them feel! +hey are elo1uent about the impact on their feelings about themselves, about life and
about the future! What we see and what the drawings show is children who are scared, sad and
disillusioned!
, young child 6about four
years old8 draws himself crying! +he face of the other figure is blacked out!
If they are moved to -auru or Manus their circumstances are likely to be even worse!