Second refugee seeking asylum in Australia sets herself ablaze

A refugee from Somalia who was being detained on an island in the Pacific set herself ablaze on Monday, and the Australian government is putting the blame on refugee advocates, who it says have encouraged asylum seekers to self-harm.

"The recent behaviors in Nauru are not protests against living conditions," said Immigration Minister Peter Dutton at a news conference on Tuesday, as quoted in a Reuters report. "They aren't protests against health care, they aren't protests against the lack of financial support."

He said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, that refugee advocates have been "encouraging some of these people to behave in a certain way, believing that that pressure exerted on the Australian Government will see a change in our policy in relation to our border protection measures."

The young Somali woman, reported to be either 19 or 21 years old and who is now in critical condition, is being treated at a hospital in Australia. She was staying at a detention camp in Nauru. Prior to her self-immolation, a 23-year-old man from Iraq had done the same thing in front of United Nations officials. He was taken to an Australian hospital but later died.

"We are distressed that refugees are attempting such dreadful acts in order to attempt to influence the Australian Government's immigration policies," said the Nauru government in a statement, as reported by SMH. The refugees, it said, have the same freedoms as the locals and "their conditions are better than most other refugee camps across the world."

The offshore processing center in Nauru is one of the places where asylum seekers are sent after being intercepted trying to get to Australia by means of people smugglers. They are taken to these remote processing centers and are reportedly told that they would never get to settle in Australia. A similar camp located on Manus Island was ruled as illegal by the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea, reported Reuters, and was shut down last week.

The conditions in the camps are said to be harsh and, according to reports, child abuse happens within their borders. Some of the people are said to have stayed there for months. With this, Australia has been criticized for its strict immigration policies.

"There is no doubt that the current policy of offshore processing and prolonged detention is immensely harmful," said the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Australia. "There are approximately 2000 very vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru. These people have already been through a great deal, many have fled war and persecution, some have already suffered trauma."

However, the Australian government remains firm with their policies. Asylum-seekers in Nauru are allowed to settle in Cambodia, and those in Manus Island are welcomed to stay in Papua New Guinea, but only if they are willing.