Episode 3: Track Changes
Early one Monday morning, having spent three and a half years building their life in Biloela, the Nadesalingams are forcibly removed from their homes, thrown into white vans, and flown to a detention centre in Melbourne. The family are told they can’t get access to a phone unless they sign documents saying they would leave the country. What do they do?
Why was their visa application unsuccessful? What information is the government using to assess them? And what else can they do to not be sent back to danger? Meanwhile, the Biloela community are left shocked by the sudden disappearance of the Nadesalingams and start organising.
Media
Resources
Key Resources
Want to know what a former SERCO guard’s experience was like in detention. Check out the Global Mail - At work in our detention centre: A guard’s story.
How does other reporting compare to what the 2019 Country Information Report says. International Truth and Justice Project Report on Torture (2019) will give you some insight.
Home to Bilo make their first Q&A appearance - check out the responses in the video.
Other References
DFAT Country Information Reports on Sri Lanka
Country Information Report 2013
Country Information Report 2014
Country Information Report 2015
Country Information Report 2017
Country Information Report 2018
Country Information Report 2019
Country Information Report 2021
Criticisms of DFAT 2019 Country Information Report on Sri Lanka
https://www.nswccl.org.au/dfat
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/dfat-urged-to-retract-inaccurate-report-saying-sri-lankans-face-low-torture-risk-following-uk-court-finding/16wiw7zau
https://www.racs.org.au/news/human-rights-groups-demand-suspension-of-reports-on-sri-lanka-to-assess-refugee-applications-following-rejection-by-a-uk-court
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/09/01/dfat-sri-lanka-tamil-family/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-17/sri-lanka-tamil-asylum-explainer-australia-deportations/100213684
Life in Detention for the Nadesalingams
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/03/australia-accused-of-failing-to-give-medical-care-to-two-year-old-tamil-girl
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/blackened-teeth-behaviour-issues-fears-for-child-asylum-seekers-held-in-melbourne/7m40if24r
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/two-year-old-in-immigration-detention-forced-to-have-rotting-teeth-surgically-removed/ed21vjmnu
Miscellaneous
https://itjpsl.com/reports/ongoing-torture
https://www.change.org/p/scott-morrison-bring-priya-back-to-biloela?source_location=search
https://itjpsl.com/assets/STOP_report.pdf
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/refugee-and-humanitarian-program/onshore-protection/protection-visa-cancelled#:~:text=You%20can%20make%20a%20request,provided%20in%20your%20original%20application.
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Former_Committees/immigrationdetention/report/c03
Transcript
Jay
Hey folks, just a warning that this episode talks about war, violence, deportation, and detention. Please take care of yourself and those around you whilst listening to this episode.
It’s the evening of the 5th of March 2018. Priya, Nades, Kopika and Tharnicaa have just been removed from their home in Biloela to be taken to a detention centre in Melbourne.
Thinesh
They were told by the immigration department that new bridging visas were coming by post. Instead, the police showed up.
Nades
I didn't even know what to do. I didn't understand what I should do.
Thinesh
Being taken literally the day after your visa expires is not what normally happens. Here’s the family’s lawyer.
Carina Ford
The fact that they chose to not only detain them but travel to a regional town early that morning to detain them, yeah, it just doesn't normally ever happen that way.
Jay
The family were awoken early that morning where they’re given 10 minutes to change their clothes. They were not allowed to pack any food or snacks for the kids,
Thinesh
And their youngest daughter Tharnicaa is only 8 months old. By the time they touch down in Melbourne it’s around 4:30 or 5:00pm.
Priya
There was no food, milk, or snacks for the kids during this time. There was absolutely nothing for the kids, nothing for two little children.
As soon as we got off the plane, we were immediately escorted into vehicles which were parked right next to the plane. We couldn’t look to our left or right, we would just get off the plane directly into the vehicle where we would be taken away.
Thinesh
The family are taken to Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation, or MITA for short.
Priya
When they took us there, it didn’t look like detention. It looked like we were going to a gaol, there were three security barriers. The first, was an electric gate, then a second gate and then the vehicle was checked with a detector and then we finally got to the detention centre.
Nades
They took us into the detention centre and started logging all of our things, by the time this all finished it would have been around 11:00pm and we were taken to our accommodation.
Priya
We then had to attend a medical check-up at 6:00am, IHMS did all these check-ups it was very onerous.
Thinesh
The IHMS is contracted to provide medical services to our detention centres.
Priya
Even after all this was done, we still didn’t have any food. Eventually, what they had for us was chicken, rice, and salad. How do I give an 8-month-old baby chicken, rice and salad? There was no food for a baby.
Thinesh
We asked Serco about this, and they said that all detainees are provided appropriate food and beverage while in their care. Now, the family are told that they can’t access a phone unless they sign documents saying that they would leave the Country.
Nades
We said to them that we needed to speak to people in our community, we said that we needed to speak to our lawyer. They said, if you sign these documents and volunteer to leave the country, we will let you use the phone.
Priya
3 days passed. I had decided, let’s sign the papers, get the number, and contact our lawyer because if we didn't sign it, we wouldn't be able to call anyone, and we wouldn’t be able to do anything if they tried to deport us.
Thinesh
They finally get in touch with a lawyer.
Priya
We couldn't email a single thing. Even to see a lawyer, we needed approval that would take 48 hours. Their job was to keep the clock ticking and pass the time in order to get our travel documents ready to deport us.
Thinesh
5 days after they speak with their lawyer, the lawyer calls and says that an injunction against deportation, a court order that would allow them to stay in the country, is coming that day. Priya refers to this as a stay order. They’re hopeful, but it doesn’t arrive in time.
Priya
At around 2pm, 50 or so SERCO guards came and dragged me one way, dragged Nades another way, and dragged the kids in another direction. They said that we are going to Melbourne airport so they could deport us.
They put me in one vehicle and put Nades and the kids in another vehicle. Nades and I couldn't talk to each other. I asked to speak to a lawyer. The immigration officer didn’t respond.
The Plane left for Sydney; as I was seated, there were 4 SERCO guards holding me down. As the plane landed in Sydney, I stood up and said I needed to speak to a lawyer as a stay order had been granted…
I told them, ‘If you take me after a stay order has been granted, firstly, you will lose your job, and secondly, the minister will also lose his job?’ I asked them if they knew that. I don't know what he was thinking at that point. I had memorised my lawyer’s number, so he rang my lawyer and handed me the phone. The lawyer told me that a stay order had been granted and they could not deport us.
Thinesh
Despite this, they’re put on a plane.
Priya
The plane picked up some young men from Sydney,
Thinesh
Other Tamil asylum seekers,
Priya
…and then departed for Perth. Once the plane landed in Perth, I was given an interpreter, who was trying to comfort me. She said that nothing will happen and that I should calm down. I said, ‘you didn't come here to tell me these things. You are here to interpret. Don’t control me. I will do what I need to do. Shut your mouth and do your job, or I will break your nose.’ That’s what I said.
Thinesh
The family are eventually told by the interpreter they are going back to Melbourne. They’re placed in an apartment for the night.
Jay
What happened to the other asylum seekers on the plane?
Thinesh
They’re sent back to Sri Lanka.
Priya
The following evening around 6pm, they took us to the airport, and flew us to Melbourne on the same plane. Once we got to Melbourne, they placed us in the same accommodation with the same drama.
Thinesh
Serco refutes any claim that Priya was handled inappropriately.
Jay
Over three years in Biloela, and just like that, they’re forcibly removed from their homes and almost deported. Now they’re locked up in a detention centre in Melbourne.
Thinesh
Now you would think with the amount of money that goes into detention centres, that they’d be kind of nice with activities and good facilities.
Jay
And we have diplomats and sources in countries all around the world. Surely our information on a country like Sri Lanka that we have a close relationship with would be accurate.
Thinesh
So, you would assume that when our own reports say it’s safe for Tamil people to return home, it would actually be safe.
Titles
You Have Been Told a Lie. To stop the deportation of a Tamil family. Let them in, let them stay. Protecting Australia’s borders, hypocrisy. Detained on Christmas Island. The United Nations Convention on Refugee’s. This is our Country. We are a generous open-hearted people.
Jay
I’m Jay Ooi
Thinesh
I’m Thinesh Thillainadarajah.
Jay
This is episode 3, Track Changes
Wow, what a whirlwind of a couple of weeks for them.
Thinesh
Yeah, almost three and a half years in the Queensland town of Biloela, like they’ve built a life there. And one day, they’ve just disappeared.
Jay
It’s almost like the Avengers, Thanos has snapped his fingers, and without any warning, they’re gone.
Thinesh
The family’s secret and sudden displacement from Biloela was as much a shock to the community as it was the family. But one of the FIRST people to discover the family had been taken, was Priya’s hospital social worker, Bronwyn Dendle.
Bronwyn Dendle
The physio came into my office and said, "Oh, look, Priya, hasn't turned up for her appointment." And that's really unusual. It's not like Priya. Like she was very committed and dedicated to any appointments. She had a lot of respect for anyone that was working with her.
So, I tried to give her a call and the phone, it didn't even go to a message bank. So, a little flag went up. But at that stage I wasn't overly alarmed,
Jay
Bron is the sort of mum that is involved in so many community groups you’d think it’s impossible, especially with 5 kids, but then she sees another need in the community and feels compelled to help there too.
Thinesh
And she had also been advocating for the family before they were taken.
Bronwyn Dendle
When I wrote a letter to the then Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, I genuinely believed that my letter about how detrimental it would be for the children to be sent to a country they didn't know, and how detrimental it would be to Priya's health.
I just thought, "Well, that should be enough. That should be enough for them to agree."
Jay
So how did she actually find out what had happened to the family?
Thinesh
Well, the family’s neighbour had actually witnessed Priya screaming as they were being removed, and had spoken about it with her friends, one of which worked with Bronwyn.
Bronwyn Dendle
And they said, "Look, we've just heard that these big vans came and that they took Priya and Nades and the girls away, it was obviously Border Force and they've been deported.
At first was in shock and then just burst into tears. Because we'd been trying for two years to explain to the government why this family needed to stay, and it made perfect sense to everybody. And we had no warning. That was it. So, I was devastated.
And I remember saying to this one other worker, when she said, "There's not a thing we can do about it now, Bronwyn, that's it." And I just remember saying, "Like hell there isn't, this is not happening on my watch. No, thank you."
Jay
So, if the government is like Thanos, this, this right here, is the start of the Avengers, the start of campaign to bring the family back to Biloela.
Thinesh
Avengers, assemble! Now Bronwyn gets contacted by Aran from the Tamil Refugee Council to get some statements for a press release.
Aran Mylvaganam
From talking to number of people, we knew that there was outrage in the community, and to express that outrage. And in order to rally behind the family, you needed a face. And so, I thought Bronwyn could be that person.
Thinesh
But Bronwyn said her boss at Queensland Health said she can’t speak publicly about this.
Bronwyn Dendle
And I had been told slash warned that it wasn't part of my role and that I was not to get political, and that I was to leave it be.
Jay
She’s not going to leave it be, is she.
Bronwyn Dendle
So, I couldn't speak, but thankfully I had a friend and a colleague, Angela Fredericks, who was also a social worker, had gone out into private practice by this stage. So, I thought, "That's the ticket."
Angela Fredericks
It actually wasn't until several days later that I did actually find out.
Thinesh
This is Angela Fredericks, a RuPaul’s drag race enthusiast who is incredibly lovely and warm, and the sort of person who will put her entire life on hold to help people in need.
Angela Fredericks
I do remember just sitting on the phone with Priya while she sobbed, and all I could do was just keep saying, we've got you. We've got you. Yeah. Yeah. And I've been living by those words ever since.
Bronwyn Dendle
And I said, "I think, we need to fight this. We need to do everything we can." And she doesn't hesitate. She's like, "Absolutely. When do we ride?" type of attitude.
Aran Mylvaganam
And yeah, we connected everyone, we put the story together and we put out the press release the next day.
Thinesh
The ABC interviews Angela, and things start to move quickly.
Bronwyn Dendle
I arrived at work and my phone started running hot. People from, I had a phone call from someone saying they were from The Project and I'm like, " Okay, which project are you talking about?" And they're like, "No, no Channel 10, The Project." So, I was getting phone calls from seven, nine, ten, SBS. And my manager at the time decided to pull me aside and say, "You're on work time. This is not work stuff. You're going to end up with a warning. It's not okay." So, I developed a sudden illness and went home.
And then went to Angela, and so Angela was doing all of the interviews and just spearheaded it from there.
Thinesh
Then, Ben Doherty writes about the story for the Guardian.
Ben Doherty
It just struck me that it was an incredibly disproportionate response for what the situation required. This wasn't a family that was resisting, that was trying to game the system in some way. This was a family engaging in good faith with Australia's asylum system.
And we were able to publish a story pretty quickly. And that really kind of, I suppose, set the ball rolling.
Bronwyn Dendle
And then it kind of seemed to gather traction, and someone messaged us and said, " You should start a petition." And Angela and I were like, "Huh, do you know how to do that?" "No, I guess we could Google it."
Jay
So, The Avengers are sort of gathering and organising, but we still have the family in detention. So, what was the detention centre actually like?
Thinesh
Well, it depends on who you’re talking to. A number of Biloela residents visited the family in detention.
Margot Plant
You push the buzzer to get into the compound.
Angela Fredericks
It's the setting of a prison. So, the big fencing, the big, gated door.
Simone Cameron
You're allowed to take some snacks in to the person that you're visiting, but it's not allowed to be fresh fruit, or fresh food at all, it just has to be sealed food.
Margot Plant
What I did do though, was I bought a shawl with me, and I wore it in and then I gave it to Priya and just said, "You put this shawl around you. And it's just a big hug from people in Biloela."
Angela Fredericks
And then, you step into this room, which is just like a mass hall with all these tables,
Margot Plant
and Nades would be up there, he'd been making your coffee or tea and providing biscuits.
Angela Fredericks
And he goes, and he makes you a cup of tea. And yeah, just still trying to make it as pleasant for me as possible, which it's just insane.
Simone Cameron
very upsetting to see Nades, who I had remembered as this lovely, bouncy, smiley fellow from Biloela, but looking absolutely like a broken man.
Angela Fredericks
Some guards were very strict, in that you couldn't leave your table, which is very fun when you've got a toddler who... Try to tell a toddler they've got to stay in one spot for two hours. Doesn't happen. But then, other guards were fine with you roaming.
Marie Austin
you can't imagine that not being able to just go to the shop or just go outside, just have personal time with yourselves or even space without the children right in the room with you all the time. That's hard going, raising children at the best of times is hard going, let alone in such tight quarters where they had no space from each other.
Simone Cameron
It was a very dehumanizing process to see all of these structures in place, controlling people. Yeah, that would've been a moment where you sort of think, "I'm not going to leave them on their own. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm not going to leave them on their own."
Jay
Wow, all of these people who knew the family when they were in Biloela, traveling to Melbourne just to comfort this family. Such an incredible showing of support. But what is the detention centre like for the family?
Priya
3 or 4 Serco officers would always be watching us. They would open our bedroom door as well as the toilet door. They made it very difficult for us.
Jay
Not even the toilet is private, I feel like that’s my one space where I can’t be disturbed.
Thinesh
I just want to poo in silence and peace and with good acoustics.
Jay
Acoustics are important to you when you poo. Aren’t they?
Thinesh
Very, very important.
Priya
They were checking on us at night. When we'd ask why they were harassing us like this, they would say, ‘you are people that were meant to be deported. If you did something to yourselves, how would that look?’ They would be with us 24 hours a day.
Nades
While we were sleeping, they would check in on us every 30 minutes. They wouldn’t knock. I told them, “There are four of you. If you need something just knock and ask. Priya could be breastfeeding; we have a small child that needs to be fed.” I told them to not open the door without knocking, to have manners, but they wouldn't listen. They would just barge in.
Jay
All these constant checks feel a little over the top.
Thinesh
And we don’t know exactly why it’s happening to this family, but there was a joint committee review of Australia’s detention centres, and it talks about this thing called “suicide watch”
Jay
Right! Where a guard would have to check on them every 30 minutes and keep a log, and kind of stay near them at all times because they were at risk of taking their own lives.
Thinesh
And detainees can be placed on suicide watch with or without their consent. One psychologist on Christmas Island said the constant monitoring, quote, “would often be perceived as punitive by the client, and would sometimes increase the detainee's distress and paranoia about the situation they were in.”
Jay
Now we don’t know whether the family were actually on suicide watch, but their experience sure sounds like it.
Priya
Anytime we went to the visitation area, they would do two checks. For the first check they would pat their hands all over our bodies. The second check involved a scanner machine. When they would check us, they were required to have a witness. It was uncomfortable.
Thinesh
Another thing the review found was that, quote “a significant proportion of officers on duty in centres are not adequately trained to perform the roles expected of them”.
Priya
They would give food from their kitchen, but they didn't have food that was suitable for children. We would get the same menu as all other adults in Australian detention centres. There was no baby food, soft cheeses, or fruits that were appropriate for kids beyond oranges, apples, and pears. We couldn’t ask for anything else.
Thinesh
Journalist Rebekah Holt, who has been to the Melbourne Detention Centre over 100 times, heard this as well.
Rebekah Holt
The parents I interviewed including Priya and Nades really struggled to get what they thought was the food their children needed.
Thinesh
They didn’t even have access to a blender to make baby food until early 2019, nearly a year into detention.
Rebekah Holt
And making it even more frustrating the parents had to try and make food with only disposable plastic picnic cutlery because they're never given knives so that's just impossible when you think about having to make baby food.
Jay
Wow, making baby food with a plastic knife sounds ridiculous. Detention doesn’t sound great for children.
Thinesh
Yeah, there were a couple of teenagers there, but the only other child in this detention centre was a Vietnamese baby.
Rebekah Holt
Both mothers, Priya and the mother of the Vietnamese baby told me that they were not allowed to see each other, so they had toddlers so Kopika and Tharnicaa couldn't see the only other toddler in the centre. I was told by both women that guards had told them the families were not allowed to mix. They'd been telling me that they were only let out of their units and by which, I mean their kind of cabins for 30 minutes a day play on the playground.
Thinesh
Aside from medical check-ups and visitors, they were stuck in their accommodation. Now this does change shortly after Rebekah asks them why the toddlers can’t interact with each other, but it has a real impact on their kids, particularly the older child, Kopika.
Nades
She was an independent girl, but when she was put in detention, she started to pull out her hair. She couldn't go outside. She couldn't get any of the things she wanted.
So, she started pulling her hair, biting her fingers, pushing Tharnicaa around. It was mental torture for her. I thought, 'Oh god, what is my daughter going through?' So, then I would pretend to be a toddler and play with her to get her out of her rut.
Thinesh
Rebekah was given access to a medical report from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. The report said:
Rebekah Holt
Kopika was biting her arm when she got frustrated and she was noticeably very angry with the people around her and the people around her were her family.
Simone Cameron
The only time that they got to see any children was when they had visitors, and that was pretty infrequent at the beginning.
Thinesh
This is legal eagle Simone from Episode 1, Nades’s old English teacher.
Simone Cameron
My daughter, Isabelle, is very good with kids and loves kids, and she was struck by the story of Nades and Priya, so she was more than happy to come along. Just tried to sort of warn her about what it would be like, and she coped very well, and it was a lovely little bright spot, actually, to see three kids just sort of playing together. Kopika and Tharnicaa were not so aware of all of the things that their parents were worried about, so in those moments, they were just able to play quite freely.
Thinesh
And it’s this continual support from the community that gives this family hope - the phone calls, the gifts, and the visits.
Nades
They said, be strong. We are with you. We will not let you go. You will definitely come back to Biloela. They made this pledge to us.
Simone Cameron
I didn't want them to be on their own in Melbourne as well because they didn't really know too many people in Melbourne.
Angela Fredericks
They may take you from Biloela, but Biloela doesn't leave you.
Jay
But while this is all happening, them stuck in detention, I mean they have this injunction against deportation that came in just as they were being deported. That means there’s some legal issue that needs to be sorted out first, right?
Thinesh
I mean, yeah, it’s all a bit technical, but basically their appeals are knocked back, it’s escalated to a higher court, and it’s knocked back again, but remember in the first episode how we talked about only arguing about procedural matters?
Jay
That’s right! They can’t really resubmit their visa application, or ask for it to be reassessed, they can only appeal on the procedural matters.
Thinesh
Yeah, or as Simone puts it, that…
Simone Cameron
…some error of law was made in the decision makers process.
Jay
Thinesh
Yeah, but as we’ve seen, asylum seekers like Priya and Nades don’t always have the best resources, or even the right connections to make this first application and interview the best it can be. They also don’t have easy access to legal representation, let alone good representation. Here’s the family’s big fancy lawyer echoing this.
Carina Ford
So, there is no doubt that it can make a difference in terms of how cases are articulated in writing, but also in terms of preparing them to be able to answer questions and understand the process. Country research also is a real great benefit where you have people represented.
Jay
What does she mean by country research?
Thinesh
Well for every protection visa submitted by an asylum seeker, the people assessing their claims need to know what is happening in their country of origin. So, for people like Priya and Nades, they’re able to submit information about Sri Lanka to show what the situation is like there.
Jay
Right, gotcha, so sort of like, here’s why Sri Lanka is unsafe for me to return to. Here are some reports or articles or sources showing what the situation was like and is like there.
Thinesh
Yeah, and like the family lawyer said, this is something that proper legal representation can help with.
Jay
Right, but without it, how would you know what to submit, or even that you need to submit this information at all?
Thinesh
Exactly. But there’s actually a document that has to be taken into consideration.
Jay
Like, compulsory?
Thinesh
Compulsory. It’s a document called the…
Avi Selva
DFAT Country Information Report
Carina Ford
Country information
Iyngaran
The DFAT country report
Abinaya Nathan
Country reports
Thinesh
So many people mentioned the Country Information Report to us, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The reports are prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or DFAT, on the asylum seeker’s country of origin, in this case Sri Lanka, and they’re drawn up for the sole purpose of assessing their claims. They outline things like geography, population, current and past issues, the stability of the country, and how safe it is for people.
Jay
That sounds like a good thing, right? I mean, if asylum seekers like Priya and Nades don’t know they need to submit this information, at least the assessors have something to go off.
Especially if they’re like me and didn’t really know much about what's happening in Sri Lanka.
Thinesh
Well, it would be good if it was accurate. But it would be very bad if it wasn’t since it has to be taken into consideration.
Jay
So…is it accurate?
Thinesh
What do you think?
Jay
I’m not going to like this, am I?
Thinesh
Mmm, probs not.
Thinesh
So, there have been a handful of editions of Sri Lanka’s country information report ever since DFAT first started releasing them in 2013.
The latest one at the time of recording is December 2021, and to dissect whether the reports are accurate you’re going to hear from a few voices in this next section. You’ll hear from Avanitha Selvarajah or Avi for short:
Avi Selva
I am a senior legal officer with PEARL. So that's People for Equality and Relief in Lanka.
Thinesh
As well as Abinaya Nathan
Abinaya Nathan
I have been an editor and a writer at Tamil Guardian for the last 10 years.
Thinesh
Which is an English language newspaper turned website on all things Eelam Tamil worldwide. You’ll also hear from Damien Kingsbury from episode 2, Emeritus Professor of Deakin University
Damien Kingsbury
Sure. Of course.
Thinesh
And lastly, someone who regularly feeds information to DFAT about Sri Lanka, and has been doing so for over 10 years. He’s got contacts on the ground in Sri Lanka, and grew up there himself, and he says he has.
Krishna
Political connection, which is very high level, probably I would say the highest level in the country actually.
Thinesh
You’ll have to speculate on what this highest level means, and he’s asked to remain anonymous, but
Krishna
I mean, you can use my voice and you can say Krishna if you want, but not my name.
Thinesh
And we can’t reveal our sources, but we can say we have verified he does report to DFAT.
Jay
Juicy
Thinesh
Let’s get into it. Jay, can you read this section of the 2013 report?
Jay
Thinesh
No not that bit, there is a lot of economic and demographics stuff in there, but that’s not the juicy stuff, can you read that bit there?
Jay
Ah! Okay, so… Quote: “the Northern Province (as an area formerly controlled by the LTTE) is more heavily militarised than the rest of the country. Activities such as public gatherings are generally monitored by the police or military. While the population of the Northern Province is predominantly Tamil, this monitoring would apply to any persons who live in the province.
Damien Kingsbury
Distinction if you like, between the North and South is that in the North you have preponderance of Tamils overwhelmingly Tamil areas.
Avi Selva
Its anywhere that Tamil people consider homeland that is heavily militarised.
Thinesh
So the north and east are pretty much the only areas that are militarised, and it’s *because* they’re predominantly Tamil areas.
Jay
But really, it is. Those areas are predominantly Tamil and that’s why there’s this militarisation. But wait, Right, but the report makes it seem like it’s not *because* it’s a Tamil area.
Avi Selva
I believe the intended motivation is to eradicate any signs of a Tamil homeland.
Jay
But can we talk about what this militarisation actually looks like? I’m just struggling to picture it.
Thinesh
Imagine like, every day when you’re grabbing your morning oat latte, you see the army just…
Abinaya Nathan
Mostly standing around, so they're meant to just have an intimidating presence.
Thinesh
Or imagine driving down the great ocean road and seeing an army camp at every intersection.
Abinaya Nathan
You will see huge tracks of closed-off land, barbed wire, and you'll also just see their very extravagant gates and logos. They'll be like 58th brigade, whatever division.
Krishna
The school I went, Hartley College. The one side, the boundary, there's an army camp. Come on. What are you talking? It's a simple example. It's a school, which is one of the leading schools in Jaffna, which is Hartley College. Next door is army camp. It's a huge one.
Avi Selva
They run the schools, they run the businesses, they run the resorts, they run tourism. They've taken over everything, they're everywhere. You basically just have to live with it. They acquire in inverted commas land and build these things.
It, A, puts some people out of business because they're competing with Tamil local businesses. It puts parents at unease, knowing that their kids are going to school, being taught by someone who could potentially be the perpetrator of a war crime.
Damien Kingsbury
It is, in effect, an occupied country in its own right, and the Tamil people do feel that they are being militarily occupied. Many of them have been moved or pushed out of their homes, their lands have been occupied.
Thinesh
It’s this constant reminder that you’re not trusted, and the government needs to watch you.
Jay
Yeah, it’s like that feeling when you’re driving down the highway and you see a police car. You’re not even speeding, but you hit the brakes anyway. Except in the North and East of Sri Lanka, you’re not even driving, and they’re just everywhere, all the time.
Thinesh
Exactly. The country reports talk about this military occupation, but they don’t talk about why it’s happening, or the effect it has on Tamil people’s connection to the north and east. As Krishna puts it,
Krishna
It's a huge psychological impact, that people, particularly the young people, they are growing up on this type of fear and apprehension.
Avi Selva
The, I guess, overarching sense that I gather from people back home from, I guess, speaking to relatives back home, and what my family members have seen when they've visited, is that people would rather just go unnoticed, unseen.
Thinesh
Which brings us to this next part of the reports
Jay
Okay here we go. So, the 2013 report says, “The security situation in the north and east has greatly improved since the end of the military conflict.”
Avi Selva
Look, is it an improvement from overt war? Probably yes. Is it an improvement from constant shelling and bombing?
But by forcing people who were subject to a genocidal regime to live under the watch of the very people who perpetrated unimaginable violence on them is not what I would consider an improvement. People live under constant fear with soldiers who committed, basically, war crimes, torture, rape, out on the streets. It's not an improvement, by any standard of the word.
Krishna
Army camps are there, okay? And at least three or four Tamils, there's one soldier.
Thinesh
This depends on where you are and at what time - sometimes it’s one soldier for every 10 Tamil people, sometimes it’s one for 20, regardless, it’s a huge military presence.
Damien Kingsbury
We still see Tamils trying to leave when they get the opportunity. It's not as though the problems have gone away if Tamils aren't fleeing the country. It's not because things are good for them, it's simply because the opportunities for leaving have become very much reduced.
Jay
So, when the report says it’s “greatly improved”, it’s really glossing over how bad it still is.
Thinesh
And even if we go to the 2021 report, it still says “The security situation in Sri Lanka, particularly in the north and east, has improved significantly since the end of the civil war in May 2009.”
Jay
So not much different. What it should actually say is, “whilst the north and east of Sri Lanka are not under constant shelling and bombings since the end of the civil war, the people living there, mainly Tamils, are still living under a heavily militarised presence, restricting their freedom.”
Thinesh
Which leads us into this next section, torture.
Jay
Right…so the 2013 report says torture is prohibited by law, but “In practice, there are reports that Sri Lankan citizens of all ethnic groups have been tortured and/or abused by the Sri Lankan police and security forces. ” It then goes on to say “There is no evidence that all such reports are credible.”
Can I just say that this wording is already suspicious? Like they could have said there’s evidence that some reports are credible, but they’ve just flipped it to the negative where there’s no evidence that all reports are credible. I smell a fish.
Abinaya Nathan
It's quite outrageous, really, that the agency can even claim that there's no evidence that all reports of torture are credible, because 2013 was actually almost, I don't know how to say it, like a bonanza year for torture reporting.
News Reporting
We’ve spoken with some of those who allege state brutality. We’ve got 75 cases where we are very clear that the evidence is very clear that these people were subjected to rape and sexual violence, and overwhelmingly it is violence carried out by the Sri Lankan Security Forces.
They beat me severely; they burned cigarettes on my back.
Avi Selva
If you analysed the political situation in Sri Lanka at the time the president was still Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was the president during 2009.
Thinesh
As in, the president in 2013 is the same president who oversaw the end of the civil war, Mullivaikkal, where at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed if not more.
Avi Selva
He spearheaded the genocide against the Tamil population.
Krishna
Yes. Tamils are being tortured and another thing is, documented very clearly by the reporter from the UNHRC.
Thinesh
Jay
So, people like, Nades?
Thinesh
If the shoe fits. Now things change in the 2019 report.
Jay
Right, uh… “DFAT assesses that reports of torture carried out by Sri Lankan military and intelligence forces during the war and in its immediate aftermath are credible;” okay, so they’re credible now!
Thinesh
But look down there.
Jay
Ahh…. “however, DFAT is unable to verify allegations of torture since 2016.”
Abinaya Nathan
Yeah, so with 2016 onwards, with the new government, Western governments especially were very reluctant to take seriously accusations of abuses and violations going on, and it also just speaks to the methodology and research of these reporters. So when you have reports, so the International Truth and Justice Project reported on it, Freedom From Torture in the UK reported on it, that torture is still ongoing, and that they have seen examples of this, they have investigated, they've done their due diligence, and these are organisations that, they are experts in this.
Thinesh
Avi Selva
I think it's important to recognise that people live with a very high level of fear. Fear of speaking out, fear of being seen or noticed by any authorities.
I don't think enough is being done to investigate whether there is any credibility to these claims before saying that there isn't any credibility to it.
Jay
This kind of gives off flat earther vibes. Like, you yourself may not be able to verify the earth is round, but there’s a whole lot of evidence and experts that say it is, just like there’s so much reporting and witnesses of torture post 2016. Please tell me the report gets better in the 2021 report.
Thinesh
Why don’t you have a look?
Jay
Okay…So it doesn’t have that line about being unable to verify allegations of torture since 2016, that’s good.
Thinesh
Yeah, but ut that’s not all, look down there.
Jay
“DFAT assesses that Sri Lankans face a low risk of torture overall. Is that not the case?
Avi Selva
By grouping all Sri Lankans as one, you take away the reason Tamil people are being persecuted, and the Muslim population is being persecuted, and the reason they're fleeing that persecution coming to countries like Australia.
Thinesh
If you look at this whole section on torture, Tamil people aren’t mentioned once.
Jay
So, by grouping Tamils in with all other Sri Lankans, you minimise what’s happening way more to one particular group, and it just makes it seem like it’s not that big of a deal overall.
Thinesh
Yeah, it’s as weird as saying, like, the risk of breast cancer amongst all people is low so we don’t need to worry about it, when in fact we know it affects women significantly more than men.
So the 2021 report says “DFAT assesses that Sri Lankans face a low risk of torture overall.”
Jay
But what it really should say is “DFAT assesses that Tamils face a higher risk of torture overall compared to the Sinhalese.”
Thinesh
Oh my god, you’re doing so well Jayby.
Jay
Aww thank you!
Thinesh
And the problem is, this information was known back in 2016. It was known well before 2016. And like, you can literally just Google or YouTube this stuff, and you have the Associated Press, Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera, all reporting on torture, sexual violence, rape, some even reporting on Theravada Buddhism.
And you have people like Krishna who are constantly reporting to DFAT on the situation in Sri Lanka. You have organisations like RACS and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and the Human Rights Law Centre, letting DFAT know their concerns about the Country Information Report, and updating them with current information. You have people like Avi doing this as well.
Avi Selva
So, I've had meetings with DFAT, where I've expressed concerns about the Country Information Report. I've written reports highlighting precisely where it's inaccurate, and providing the accurate version of those points, and have had acknowledgement for what I've said, but haven't really seen the results of it reflected in reports.
Thinesh
And there are so many other examples of misinformation in the report, like the appointment of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which…
Krishna
It's a one way of trying to reduce the heat of that war crimes. I don't think anything has happened.
Thinesh
Or how it says Tamils quote “face a low risk of official or societal discrimination based on ethnicity or caste”.
Avi Selva
All of the logic is missing.
Thinesh
And we asked DFAT about these reports, even giving them timely evidence contradicting the reports, and they said: “The Country Information Reports are developed, through a rigorous process of in-country information gathering, and extensive consultation. Country Information Reports are a snapshot in time and situations in countries can change rapidly. Over time, reports will inevitably become less current.”
Jay
Okay and what do you think of that response?
Thinesh
They’re pretty much ignoring the timely evidence that we just provided to them in their response. It’s a bit bullshit.
Jay
Okay, so, wow, so the reports are consistently inaccurate and really downplay the discrimination and experience of Tamil people in the north and east, even though they have the correct information, like it’s not hard to come by. So why? Why are the reports doing this?
Thinesh
Because of international government relations.
Jay
Thrilling
Damien Kingsbury
Australian Country Reports, indeed, any Country Reports on other countries, are always going to be influenced by the perspectives of the government of the day, and what they want out of the bilateral relationship. So, they're not necessarily accurate documents.
Abinaya Nathan
Obviously, they serve a purpose, which is to very, very narrow down who and who isn't eligible to apply for asylum in Australia, and I think that's what we've seen in the UK as well. So, I think in that sense, I’m not very surprised at all.
Avi Selva
I think they're inaccurate, because if the Country Information Report was to accurately depict what life in Sri Lanka is for, particularly Tamil, the Muslim people, then it would mean accepting Tamil refugees who've come here. It would mean accepting that what the Australian government has done to these people for the last decade has been nothing short of inhumane. And it just doesn't serve the purpose of any of the Australian governments that we've had thus far or are likely to have.
Jay
How do these reports make you feel?
Avi Selva
Really disheartened, particularly when I was working as a refugee lawyer, because you wait for the reports. And then they come out, and you're like, "Oh, control F, Tamil's mentioned four times, great. This is going to be solid."
Then you sit there reading the report, and you think, "Okay, well now I need to go and do the job that this person should have done in the first place, and find all the information that they're missing, corroborate it, and put them in submissions back to the Department of Immigration.
To have the department come back and say, "Sorry, we accept that you've given us this information, but because we rely on the DFAT information, we don't accept your claims." It just feels like, it always felt like a never-ending cycle.
Jay
So, am I right in saying, that even if you present other evidence, they would hold the DFAT Report higher than that?
Avi Selva
That's right.
Krishna
Everything, they know everything, which is at least the amount of information that I’ve given for the last 10 years. I believe that the Australian Government knows the gravity of the problem and what has happened. They know.
Jay
So just to summarise, our country information reports on Sri Lanka are probably deliberately inaccurate because one, we don’t want to piss off the Sri Lankan government who we have close ties with, and two, we don’t want to accept Tamil refugees. Like, we can’t say the situation is so bad for Tamil people because it will not only mean we have to approve more claims of Tamil asylum seekers, but it would also say that we know the Sri Lankan government, the government we have this relationship with is still doing horrific things to Tamil people.
Thinesh
And so, we have these inaccurate reports that have to be used in an asylum seeker’s application, and it means that so many people’s claims for asylum would have been rejected because of this. Here’s Carina, the family’s lawyer again.
Carina Ford
I don't necessarily think it was fair because I think the problem also with Sri Lanka at the time was that there was a general view that it was safe for Tamils to return.
Thinesh
But in a world where the reports were accurate, and if Priya had proper representation to help her with her visa application…
Jay
I mean, yeah, with that information it’s much harder to say that she doesn’t need protection.
Thinesh
But that’s not the world we’re living in, the one we’re living in is the one where Priya, Nades, Kopika, and Tharnicaa are almost deported back to Sri Lanka.
And they’re now being held in Melbourne detention because of the country information reports, and because of the broken visa application system. They’re being held there because our government, it seems, doesn’t want people like them to be able to stay.
Jay
But you know who does want them to stay? Their Biloela community.
Thinesh
Right, you have all of these, mostly, women who have gone, “hang on, we’re not okay with what the government is doing to this family.” And so, they start to organise. First with a small vigil in Melbourne, and then a rally, but remember, this group of people don’t have a history of activism.
Angela Fredericks
Fortunately, we had some amazing groups that took us under their wings at the start, and showed us the ropes.
Jay
This is drop-everything-and-go Angela again, who ends up being the main spokesperson for the campaign.
Angela Fredericks
Most people think I'm this outgoing person, but I'm actually an introvert with social anxiety. But I was just so overwhelmed, like when I turned up just to see all these individuals who had never met Priya and Nades, who turned up and who just wanted to witness, and just wanted to show their support and, you know, people that brought their signs who... Like it was just so uplifting.
Thinesh
And then another friend of the family’s, Vashini, who was living in Biloela at the same time as Priya and Nades, gets looped into the campaign. She’s also a Tamil refugee.
Vashini Riswan
They wanted to talk to Priya so I'm like interpreting for Priya, interpreting for her.
Thinesh
And Vashini starts helping and speaking at the rallies.
Vashini Riswan
Even though my English wasn't good. But I thought I need to speak because I've been in a situation, I'm a Sri Lankan. from Sri Lanka. I'm in a war. So probably it's powerful to tell the story from my voice.
Thinesh
Meanwhile Tharnicaa turns one and has her first of three birthdays in detention.
Angela Fredericks
When the girls would have birthdays, you know, you'd actually see a group photo with lots of the detainees all standing together, celebrating. And it's amazing how humanity survives, even amongst the harshest of conditions.
Thinesh
And remember that change.org petition they started?
Jay
Oh, yeah.
Thinesh
Well in May 2018 they deliver the petition to then immigration minister Peter Dutton’s office. It had 98,745 signatures. The crowdfunded campaign buys up 22 billboards, including one in Dutton’s electorate pleading the Prime Minister to bring the family home.
And then a year later in May 2019, the petition gets delivered again to the new Immigration Minister David Coleman’s office. We spoke to change.org’s campaign bae Nic Dorward who was working there at the time.
Nic Dorward
This extraordinary coalition of people turned up. Mums for refugees, folks, men and women from Biloela, Craig Foster, you know Socceroos Hunk and Human rights hunk. Lots of other amazing community groups. And they just walked on in and delivered the box to David Coleman’s office.
Jay
What was in the box?
Nic Dorward
What was actually in the box would've probably just been a... Like a ream of paper from office works and the petition on a USB. I don't think we printed the petition. We don't usually do that because it's not very good for the environment, but the box had the sign on the front with the number and it was... That was 190,000 signatures back in 2019.
It’s really big, for a bit of context we usually will think about delivering a petition when it's around 35,000 to 50,000 signatures to the federal parliament.
Thinesh
Do you want to look at what the petition is at now?
Jay
Okay, the petition is now closed, with a total of 596,429 signatures. That is huge!
Thinesh
Fucking huge.
Thinesh
And then another friend of the family, Marie, she’s a non-confrontational, doesn’t like the spotlight on her, doesn’t want to make a fuss sort of person, a Christian conservative - even she goes down to Sydney to ask a question on the ABC show Q&A.
Marie Austin on Q&A
Our town love this little family and we want them, we want them to come home. I personally have travelled, along with other people from Biloela, the 1800km to Melbourne to visit and support this family in whatever way we can. I guess our question tonight is what more could we do to ensure Priya, Nades, Kopika and Tharnicaa return home to Biloela?”
Thinesh
The liberal party member on the panel that night says he’ll bring it up with then immigration minister Peter Dutton.
Jay
It’s incredible how this one incident got all of these people to come together, kind of like the Avengers, all these different superheroes with different priorities and interests, joining forces to fight for this one family.
Thinesh
Yeah, and it’s not like they were all close friends before and they definitely weren’t activists. The HomeToBilo campaign literally brings them together to fight for this cause.
Jay
So, do they make any progress with our government?
Thinesh
Not at all. The family are kept in Melbourne detention, essentially a prison, for almost a year and a half. The Department of Home Affairs themselves state that detention remains a "last resort" and "occurs for the shortest possible period".
Jay
Yeah, evident by people being in there for over 9 years.
Thinesh
And their day to day is pretty grim as well.
Nades
For 8 months, there were no activities. we were under house arrest. We couldn’t go outside; we couldn’t meet people. At a later point, people from Nauru were brought to the other 13 houses that were in our facility. That’s when they relaxed our restrictions, and we were able to talk to some of the other asylum seekers.
Thinesh
And for their two young girls this detention centre is just not a conducive environment for learning and hitting all those developmental milestones that parents are always looking out for. There aren’t any playgroups, no social interaction with other kids, Priya even says they have very little access to the outdoors for seven months.
Jay
Seven months?
Thinesh
Medical records seen by Guardian Australia note both girls suffered severe vitamin deficiencies.
Jay
I mean, little access to the outdoors and other kids, that’s surely going to have a huge impact.
Thinesh
Yeah, and Tharnicaa hasn’t even turned one when she is detained. And as any new baby would, she starts growing teeth, but…
Priya
…as there was no healthy food, she became iron deficient, and her teeth started to rot. As soon as her teeth started to yellow, I knew something was wrong and took her to the doctor.
The doctors we had available tried to brainwash us. The doctor said, ‘sometimes kids have teeth like this, and that in a few days it will change colour.’ I disagreed and said ‘teeth that are newly grown should be white and shiny. For my older daughter, that's how it was.’ I told him that I didn't believe what he was saying. I was told to just wait and see.
Nades
We didn't know that being detained would cause all these problems for our kids. After, a paediatric nurse came to see us. She confirmed to IHMS that there was an issue with her teeth, and a follow up appointment was made at a Melbourne Children's hospital. She was diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency. The doctors said that they can quickly sort it out and give her fillings. But this couldn’t happen without SERCO’s approval. SERCO did not approve. Her situation worsened and she got an infection.
Jay
Wow, this story just gets wilder and wilder…
Thinesh
Now, Serco says Priya and Nades were responsible for the general care and hygiene of their children, as they would if living within the community.
Jay
…But they’re not actually able to care in that way, because being in detention means they can’t take their kids to the dentist or to hospital when they want to.
Nades
Her face was swollen. It had ballooned. I have photos as proof. I am not here telling any lies. I am speaking truthfully.
Jay
Which reminds me of that review of detention centres where it talks about how guards aren’t properly trained.
Thinesh
Yeah, and it’s in their contracts that they can’t talk to media or say much at all about their experience in detention centres, but there’s a great story by The Global Mail that recounts one guard’s experience, all anonymously. We’ve got a voice actor to read parts out for us.
Serco Guard
It’s not hard to get a job with Serco. They hire quickly and in big groups. You don’t have to have qualifications or anything. This guy came and introduced himself as our trainer. His last job was in the prison system. He told us: “The only thing that’s different is the clothes we let them wear.”
I remember one day they were teaching us how to physically restrain people. It was like a role play. I volunteered. As it was happening and the ‘officers’ were restraining me, sitting on top of me and squeezing my pressure points, all I could think was that this was happening to a refugee inside the centre, or a Tamil guy who had lived through war and was fleeing torture. I couldn’t handle it. I kept having to disappear out of the room.
Thinesh
So Tharnicaa doesn’t get the treatment she needs, and of course the situation gets worse.
Priya
The department of immigration didn't do what the doctor asked. The doctor had to write to the department 3 or 4 times with no response, before getting in touch with the children's commissioner. I had also complained to them about the conditions that we were in.
After four months of this, whilst waiting for the approvals, Tharnicaa’s teeth got infected and started to hurt. She was prescribed antibiotics. Her situation worsened, she didn't eat much and lost weight.
Thinesh
Priya has to now chew Tharnicaa’s food before feeding her. Now by this time they’re no longer being watched 24/7.
Priya
The officers would come and open up at 6am and leave and lock our doors by 6pm. Tharnicaa got sick, and I didn't have any Panadol syrup on hand. IHMS would not be available in the evening. I tried to call SERCO to take Tharnicaa to the hospital, but they would not pick up the phone.
Serco Guard
My co-workers were good people, but to be able to sleep at night they had to convince themselves that the people they were guarding were dangerous. None of the SERCO staff had any understanding of what the people had been through before they arrived in Australia.
Priya
I would knock our door, I would call, but no one responded. Tharnicaa was throwing up that morning, I kept calling but no one would respond. Eventually, at 5:30a.m., the woman at the reception returned my call. I explained that no one had picked up the phone or opened the doors despite me repeatedly trying to ask for help. The receptionist eventually arranged for us to see a nurse at 6am. Hours passed. It was almost 9:30 and still no one had come.
Serco Guard
The detainees did crazy things to express their frustration. One day, there was an emergency code on the radio. I walked around the corner and there was a guy with a whole bunch of broken glass in his mouth. He said he would swallow it if we didn’t meet his demands. His demands weren’t much. From memory, all he wanted was to see his case manager.
The SERCO officers told me to keep walking.
Priya
There was a phone, laptop, and TV. I smashed them all. Eventually SERCO came and asked what was going on. I said, ‘oi, are you taking us to the doctor or not or do I need to keep breaking things?’
Within 10 minutes, they took us to the doctor. After this, they put me under surveillance for a day because I broke all the things. They had told IHMS what I had done. IHMS came and asked me what had happened. I said I didn't know.
Serco Guard
I wondered about what they had been through before they arrived here. You know, war, torture, trauma, and I wondered whether we weren’t just making things worse. Nobody on the outside believed how bad it was in there.
Priya
They only took us to the hospital after I broke those things. If i had been calm, my child would have not received any treatment.
Thinesh
Tharnicaa is taken to hospital and has four of her teeth surgically removed. At 2 years old, she now won’t have any front teeth until her adult teeth grow in.
Priya
I used to be a very soft person. But they hardened me. For 36 years of my life, I hadn't spent a single night away from my parents. Even if people spoke bad about me, and even if they were wrong, I wouldn't say anything because they were older than me. I was always soft natured.
After being taken to detention and enduring this torture, I've become a cold, hardened person. When the kids do something wrong, I speak louder than I would have otherwise. Because of this stress, this depression, I’m left with anger and sadness.
Jay
Why is it so hard to get medical attention in detention centres? What are some of the other health impacts of detention centres?
Thinesh
And how do the family end up on Christmas Island? That’s next on You Have Been Told A Lie.
Jay
Did you enjoy today’s episode? Let us know over at @youhavebeentoldalie on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Because twitter has a character limit for its handles, find us @beentoldalie on twitter.
Thinesh
If you are bored and want to read the country information reports, the reports by the International Truth and Justice Project, the QANDA video, and the web comic by a SERCO guard published by the Global Mail, you can find links to those at our website youhavebeentoldalie.com, where you can also find all of our references and the transcript for this episode.
Jay
We note that asylum seekers experience a lot of trauma, not only before arriving at our borders, but also living in detention. This has an impact on recollection and details.
Thinesh
Due to the nature of Priya and Nades’s journey across borders, there are some aspects of their story that we will only ever know from their perspective. We have reached out to relevant parties where possible, and where comments were provided, a summary has been included.
Jay
When we reached out to Serco for response, they made a point to mention that Serco does not employ guards, they employ Detainee Services Officers, Welfare Officers, and Programs & Activities staff. Weirdly, SBS, The Guardian, ABC, and even the Department of Home Affairs refer to them as Serco guards. Additionally, it’s also hard for detainees and visitors to know the correct titles for the Serco staff, so you may have heard people in this episode refer to them as Serco guards.
Thinesh
This episode is written by Jay Ooi and produced by Jay Ooi and Thinesh Thillainadarajah.
Jay
Audio editing by Jay Ooi, and the sound mix is by Luke Mynott
Thinesh
Tamil translations by Thinesh Thillainadarajah and Neeraja Sanmuhanathan
Jay
Priya’s English translation is voiced by Emma Harvey and Nades’s English translation is voiced by Matthew Predny, who also composed the music you’re listening to right now.
Thinesh
The Consulting Producer is Rebekah Holt
Jay
Special thanks to Priya, Nades, Kopika, Tharnicaa, the HomeToBilo team, and the interviewees in this episode, Carina Ford, Nic Dorward, Bronwyn Dendle, Aran Mylvaganam, Angela Fredericks, Ben Doherty, Margot Plant, Simone Cameron, Rebekah Holt, Marie Austin, Iyngaran Selvaratnam, Abinaya Nathan, Avi Selva, Damien Kingsbury, Krishna, Vashini Riswan, and Macarthur Amey who voiced the SERCO guard.
Thinesh
Thanks to Miles Martignoni, Jess Bineth, Cassandra Steeth, and Scott Spark for script and story advice, and Macarthur Amey for helping with research and fact checking.
Jay
This series is possible thanks to the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship, thank you Que Minh Luu, Benjamin Law, Scott Spark, Jess Bineth, Kali Reid, Clare Holland, and the rest of the team.
Thinesh
There have been many people we’ve spoken to who have helped in so many ways, and many who have asked to remain anonymous. We see you and we thank you for your support.
Jay
This podcast was written, edited, and produced on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. We acknowledge all elders past, present, and emerging.
Thinesh
We also pay our respects to the traditional custodians of Gangulu country, where Biloela is now situated. This land were never ceded, always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
Jay
On the next episode of You Have Been Told A Lie, another attempted deportation?
News Reporting
Let them stay, let them stay, let them stay, let them stay.
Thinesh
And more health issues whilst the family is under the care of the government.
News Reporting
Now, they argue that this entire ordeal could have been avoided had she received treatment sooner.
Credits
Producer Jay Ooi and Thinesh Thillainadarajah
Consulting producer Rebekah Holt
Writer Jay Ooi
Audio editor Jay Ooi
Tamil translators Thinesh Thillainadarajah and Neeraja Sanmuhanathan
Priya’s English voice Emma Harvey
Nades’s English voice Matthew Predny
SERCO Guard voice Macarthur Amey
Credits music Matthew Predny
Interviewees Priya, Nades, Carina Ford, Nic Dorward, Bronwyn Dendle, Aran Mylvaganam, Angela Fredericks, Ben Doherty, Margot Plant, Simone Cameron, Rebekah Holt, Marie Austin, Iyngaran Selvaratnam, Abinaya Nathan, Avi Selva, Damien Kingsbury, Krishna, and Vashini Riswan
Script & Story advice Miles Martignoni, Jess Bineth, Cassandra Steeth, and Scott Spark
Research & fact checking Macarthur Amey
This series is possible thanks to the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship