Manus Island Asylum Seekers Want To Give Organs To Australians For 'Freedom'; Julie Bishop Slams Protesters

Asylum seekers in the Australia-run Manus Island detention centre have declared they are ready to donate their organs to Australians when they die. One refugee in the facility believes giving away organs would mean a part of them would get out and enjoy freedom.

According to a letter written by an asylum seeker and obtained by ABC, asylum seekers in Manus Island currently on hunger strike have requested the Australian government to turn over their medical records to organ donation centres "in case of fatalities inside the cage." The letter was addressed to Transfield and International Health and Medical Services.

The asylum seekers are willing to donate their organs because they believe a part of them will gain freedom. Protests in Manus Island are now on their seventh day as some asylum seekers in at least one compound have locked out staff.

The letter contained the asylum seekers' plea that if someone dies in the protests or hunger strike, the organs will be donated for "we are honest people; loyal people; we don't mean any trouble." The detainee who wrote the letter said all asylum seekers just want a good and peaceful life.

In another revelation, a male asylum seeker told ABC that police SWAT teams are known to be brutal. In the Delta and Oscar compounds, he said people will get beaten when the team will come in. He believes some people will die since they will not give up the protest. He also said he has overheard someone in the compound planning to "poison ourselves" if security forces will enter.

Meanwhile, the Refugee Action Coalition said detention centre managers have cut off the supply of drinking water in the facility. The advocate group's Ian Rintoul believes the removal of water may have deadly consequences to the detainees. He said the action may be linked to some "atrocious dictatorship."

Asylum seekers have sent photos and videos to media with some material showing men digging holes beneath a fence to access crates of bottled water outside the compound. The detainees said they were being denied food and water.

However, a spokesperson for Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton said food and water continues to be available but the normal supply in certain areas were affected by the protests of some detainees. He assured that as soon as the situation will be contained, normal supply in those areas will resume.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has criticised the detainees protesting in Manus Island for not wanting to "safe haven" being offered to them, Sky News reported. She said their behavior will not bring them closer to an Australian visa.

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