Salvation Army under fire over internet restrictions

Refugee activists gathered outside the Salvation Army City Temple on Bourke St, Darlinghurst last Friday to protest against restrictions to internet usage time in Nauru.

Organised by the Refugee Action Collective, the protest called for the reinstatement of previous internet usage arrangements provided by the Salvation Army.

Under the new arrangement, each person at the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru would be granted 30 minutes of internet access per 38 hours. The Refugee Action Coalition alleged refugees would be prevented from swapping allocated time among themselves, or helping each other with the internet.

“Using the internet has often been the only way asylum seekers on Nauru have been able to communicate their horrific conditions and publicise their protests and hunger strikes, as media have been barred from the detention centre,” said refugee activist Chris Breen.

“The Salvation Army’s decision to strictly implement government internet restrictions is an attack on the right of refugees to communicate. It means asylum seekers’ ability to let the Australian public know what is happening on Nauru will be severely limited.”

The Salvation Army released a public statement on Friday explaining the decision to alter availability of internet access on Nauru was made in consultation with representatives of Nauruan cultural groups. They argue the decision was based on the limited number of computer facilities available.

The “internet swap time” arrangement stopped due to complaints by refugees over inequitable internet usage in previous months, said the Salvos.

But Refugee Action Coalition activist Feiyi Zhang accused the Salvation Army of a stand-over approach towards asylum seekers.

“[The lack of internet facilities] does not explain why the Salvation Army are standing behind asylum seekers to watch what they are doing on the internet, or particularly policing one asylum seeker who has been posting on the Facebook Group, ‘Asylum Seekers on Nauru’,” she said.

“We think the protest has been successful in communicating to the Salvation Army that the internet restrictions will have a drastic impact on the ability of refugees to reveal their horrific conditions and protests, including hunger strikes and self-harm attempts.”

By Adra Anthoney