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Latest Stories: Manus Island - Heaven and Hell

© Brian Cassey 2016 

Idyllic Manus floats in the Bismarck Sea north of the mainland of Papua New Guinea nudging the equator. 

It was virtually unheard of before the Australian Government negotiated with the PNG government and opened the Manus Island Detention Centre. The Australian government estimates it's investment in the island’s detention centres - which house refugees from the Middle East, Asia and Africa - at close to a billion dollars.  

Early in 2016 the PNG Supreme Court reached the decision that the detainment of asylum seekers on Manus Island was unconstitutional. Since that decision many asylum seekers have been allowed some freedom from detention and now mix freely in the Manus Island community, causing animosity to spread. Former detainees have been fraternising with local girls, selling cigarettes (paid for by Australia's tax payers) at prices that undercut the locals - and breaking local laws and traditions. Asylum seekers have been involved in fights with locals, have received death threats and been beaten by police and security.  

Tensions on Manus are mounting daily. 

Paradise is on a knife's edge ... Heaven & Hell … just depends on your perspective. 

© Brian Cassey 

  • Pacific Islanders arrive by boat at Lorengau - the capital of Manus Province PNG - to sell their produce at market. © Brian Cassey
  • Detainess inside the Lombrum Manus Island asylum seeker detention centre built and operated by the Australian Goverment. © Brian Cassey
  • Manus Island PNG  © Brian Cassey
  • Manus Island PNG  © Brian Cassey
  • A Manus islander on his outrigger canoe in a sea of tranquility and calm just out from the Manus Island capitol Lorengau. © Brian Cassey
  • Storm clouds gather over Manus Island as children enjoy the warm clear tropical waters.© Brian Cassey
  • Middle Eastern asylum seekers in the Lorengau police watch house following their arrest and beating at the hands of police and security.© Brian Cassey
  • Children play at their house on the foreshore of Lorengau, Manus Island - PNG  © Brian Cassey
  • A PNG child at the family home on Hawaii Island, Manus Province - just a short boat ride from Lorengau. © Brian Cassey
  • Two local teams battle the elements and each other during a football (soccer) game in Lorengau  - the capitol of Manus Island PNG. © Brian Cassey
  • A section of the near billion dollar Australian Lombrum asylum seeker detention cemtre on Manus Island PNG. © Brian Cassey
  • Children play on an abondoned car at the beach near Lorengau, Manus Island PNG. © Brian Cassey
  • Middle Easetrn asylum seekers - released from permanent detention following the PNG High Court decision - buy local goods at a Lorengau street stall. © Brian Cassey
  • Local boys spend their time lazing on a wreck in Lorengau - the capitol of Manus Island PNG.© Brian Cassey
  • Asylum seekers carry a newly purchased television back to the East Lorengau Detention Centre on the outskirts of the capital of Manus Island.© Brian Cassey
  • Residents of the village of Mokereng - just across the bay from the Lombrum refugee detention centre - pass the time playing cards. © Brian Cassey
  • A young girl - Chloe - in the village of Mokereng just across the bay from the Lombrum refugee detention centre on Manus Island. © Brian Cassey
  • Afghan rerfugee Riaz Samadi works volutarily in the Manus community after release from detention. He has been threatened with death by a Manus father following a relationship with a local girl. © Brian Cassey
  • PNG boys at their family home on Hawaii Island, Manus Province - just a short boat ride from Lorengau. © Brian Cassey
  • A young Manus girl on a local bus in Lorengau, Manus Island. © Brian Cassey
  • Detainess inside Australia's Lombrum Manus Island asylum seeker detention centre. © Brian Cassey.
  • Manus Island children arrive for a days study at their school oiutside of Lorengau.© Brian Cassey
  • Women sell the natural carcinogenic beetle nut (known as buai) in the new central market built with Australian aid funds in Lorengau, Manus Island. © Brian Cassey
  • A women carries fresh vegetables to sell at the new Lorengau central market - built with Australian aid funds - on Manus Island. © Brian Cassey
  • Detainess inside Australia's Lombrum Manus Island asylum seeker detention centre. © Brian Cassey
  • A young girl at home in the village of Mokereng - across the bay from the Australian Lombrum asylum seeker detention centre. © Brian Cassey
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