From the Logbook of Visits to Refugees in Villawood
Vittoria and Marisa visited M. R. and M.D. in Blaxland. M. J. was having his interview in Blaxland and we left before he finished. According to his friends he was feeling confident before going for his interview. The interview had started at 10 and would continue for 4 or 5 hours. We met G., a nurse from Blackheath, who was visiting M. from Afghan who was rather disturbed. According to M. R. he will be released soon and will be staying with G., who is already giving hospitality to other refugees recently released into the community.
We brought a panettone for good cheer and some playing cards for them. Also we gave a diary to M. to record his thoughts. We found both M. in good spirit. R. talked about his work experience in Pakistan with a computer program used by engineers to plan public construction work, such as roads and bridges. He was wondering whether he would be able to use his experience in this field in Australia.’
From the Logbook of Visits to Refugees in Silverwater
‘Yesterday 9am I visited M. R. at Silverwater. It has been an almost traumatic experience, one that makes you again and again aware of how prisons are made not to reeducate but to contain and repress. Together with Alison and Fabia (from RAC, she is the one who gave me all the names of our refugees) who were visiting M. D., we had to go through several eye photos, face photos, digital finger prints before being able to enter the visiting area made of 3 big rooms with metal tables and chairs sealed to the floor. Each room has glass walls. So while waiting for M. R. I was able to see in the other room M. D. waiting for Alison and Fabia.
We couldn’t talk, we could only communicate with hands and face. He showed me his white uniform and laughed, we waved and sent kisses. After a while M. R. arrived. Apparently inmates don’t have the right to know in advance when and who is visiting them. So M. was pleasantly surprised I/we had found out about their transferral to Silverwater. He seemed calm and told me he had been expecting to be trialled for the protest on the roof.
He was more concerned about the other M. than himself and said he had spoken about him to the welfare person, a nice woman, friend of his lawyer, asking her if M. r. could be put in a cell with only 1 other person. He instead is with 6 other people, but he doesn’t mind. He is reading a lot (they don’t have Internet access, but the library is quite big), does physical exercise and meditate. He is aware he can be deported. He said again he would like to keep a diary and write his story and whatever happened to him.
Alison, Fabia and M. D. came to seat not far from us but the guards said we couldn’t talk with them. It was good though to be all in the same room. At the end of our 1 hour meeting M. asked me to talk to his lawyer to find out about his trial. We left with the promise from Fabia (and possibly Alison ) to go to visit him on Monday.