One psychiatrist's experience of visiting offshore processing centres for people seeking asylum in Australia.

Abstract

To describe the author's experience of visiting Christmas Island and Nauru offshore detention centres as a visiting child and adolescent psychiatrist in the context of his own experience as a refugee from Europe after WWII. Following a visit to Nauru the author wrote to the Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition expressing his objections to the policies of recent Coalition and Labor Governments. His actions have led to the author not being invited to return to these centres as a visiting psychiatrist. The author acknowledges the importance of stopping the boats and proposes that a more humane approach is needed for asylum seekers who arrive by boat.