Derrick Silove, MD, FRANZCP; Zachary Steel, MPsychol; Charles Watters, PhD

In the past, most refugees who permanently resettled in the traditional recipient countries of North America, Europe, and Australasia were screened prior to arrival in a host country. In the last decade, increasing numbers of unauthorized refugees or asylum seekers, those who formally lodge application for refugee status in the country in which they are residing, have applied for protection after crossing the borders of these countries. Concerns about uncontrolled migration have encouraged host countries to adopt policies of deterrence in which increasingly restrictive measures are being imposed on persons seeking asylum. These measures include, variously, confinement in detention centers, enforced dispersal within the community, the implementation of more stringent refugee determination procedures, and temporary forms of asylum. In several countries, asylum seekers living in the community face restricted access to work, education, housing, welfare, and, in some situations, to basic health care services. Allegations of abuse, untreated medical and psychiatric illnesses, suicidal behav

More than 4,000 such immigrants arrived during 1999, sparking a controversial deterrence campaign from the Australian Government highlighting the dangers of making the journey to Australia.

Detainees at the three biggest camps -- Port Hedland, Curtin and Woomera -- have staged peaceful breakouts and hunger strikes and unleashed bursts of violence to protest being held and denied rights afforded to those refugees who arrive legally.

I write on behalf of the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR), a non-governmental organization concerned with refugee protection worldwide, to urge you to refrain from detaining asylum seekers except in exceptional circumstances and to examine more closely conditions within your refugee detention centers.

Critics of the camps protest the outsourcing of their management to the U.S.-owned prison management firm Australasian Correctional Management, saying it is wrong for a private firm seeking to seek profit from managing refugees.

One man tried to sew his lips together and two others cut themselves with glass during the riots, officials said.

They also complain that staff taunt and beat detainees and say people are sent away without adequate clothing and medication when their refugee claims are finally accepted.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1138
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)