Asylum seekers forgotten in PNG

Asylum seekers still living in PNG are struggling with the uncertainty of daily life and many are presenting with signs of psychological stress.

In this July 17, 2018, photo provided by Aziz Abdul, a man standing on a balcony at the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Center on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. The question of what will become of the hundreds of asylum seekers banished by Australia to sweltering immigration camps in the poor Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru has become more pressing. (Aziz Abdul via AP) Credit: Aziz Abdul/AP

Jana Favero, deputy chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says:

"They've been living in accommodation, to be told one week, you're going to be evicted, and then they're not evicted. They turn up to hospitals to get treatment, sometimes they don't get treatment. So it's been ten years of absolute limbo and uncertainty, of family separation. So they've really faced every single hurdle imaginable that we could put in front of someone who's just trying to rebuild their lives and finding somewhere safe. It also means that they don't necessarily have enough money to eat, sometimes they don't have enough money to get on a bus, we've seen the deteriorating conditions in Port Moresby."

The federal government is offering limited financial support but it comes with certain conditions that many cannot meet without becoming homeless.