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Article: Asylum Seekers Protest in Australia
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- January 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Associated Press. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Associated Press. (Hide copyright information)
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Dateline: SYDNEY, Australia
At least 18 asylum seekers collapsed Tuesday at a detention camp in
Australia's outback after refusing food and water to protest their
harsh conditions.
Nearly 200 mainly Afghan asylum seekers on a hunger strike at the
camp in Woomera, a bleak former missile testing base. About 70 of
them have sewn their lips together, as well as those of four children.
Eighteen people collapsed from dehydration as temperatures at Woomera
rose well above 85 degrees.
All refugees seeking political asylum in Australia are locked up in
spartan detention centers, many of them in remote outback settlements.
Conditions are harsh and asylum applications can take ...