Tower resident asks: Why are we prisoners in our own homes?
When crowds of police began to surround nine high-rise buildings in Flemington, North Melbourne and Kensington on Saturday, with no warning, tenants were confused, angry and shocked. Mohamed Yusuf reveals what life has been like inside the towers since their “hard lockdown” began.
VIC News
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On July 4, nine high-rise buildings in Flemington, North Melbourne and Kensington were put into immediate hard lockdown.
Without warning, crowds of police began to surround these buildings stopping people who wanted to leave and gather their necessities.
The tenants began to feel confused, frustrated, angry and shocked at these sudden strict rules.
While other lockdown suburbs were given a 24-hour warning before their stay-at-home directions were enforced, we were given no notice. Many tenants who were at work, or were not watching the news, were frightened to see such a large police presence at their homes. No specific information was given to the tenants themselves.
Then we were promised medical care, food and other necessities would be provided, but they have fallen short. Some tenants have reported that they had not been given any food from the DHHS, and those that have said some of the items were expired.
Four sausage rolls were dropped on our doorstep about 2am on Monday — no one even knocked on the door to let us know they were there.
Honestly, it is really tough, I feel like a prisoner in my own home. There is no space for the kids to play. We are living on top of each other.
There’s no fresh air — the windows only open 2cm — and you can’t even put your hand out.
As a dad, your priority is the survival of your kids, and I’m shocked and scared.
You wouldn’t believe that we are living in Melbourne — the most liveable city. It’s very far from it right now. I used to hear about Christmas Island; I never thought I’d be a part of detention like this.
It is clear there is a lack of communication between the DHHS and the police. More than anything else the tenants are confused. There are disparities between policing in different buildings and areas. Some police have allowed families to drop off resources to their loved ones while others have not. These disparities in communication cannot be tolerated.
There are tenants who require caregivers, which as of yet they have not had access to. There are also individuals that require daily exercise for health conditions, which has been denied by the police.
A concern among tenants is the high-rise nature of the towers and how quickly this virus could spread. We are happy to work with the government to keep ourselves safe – to stay at home and have the tests – and hopefully get back to our lives as soon as we can.
Our message to Premier Daniel Andrews is: we are not against a lockdown to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is stopped. However, we are disappointed and frustrated with the lack of communication and heavy onset of law enforcement compared to medical/DHHS staff. It appears as if there was not sufficient planning done for this hard lockdown. We demand that it be downgraded to the stay-at-home directions.
Mohamed Yusuf, 36, lives with his wife and three children in Canning St. He moved to Australia from war-torn Somalia and now runs a security business, Eagle Eye Guards & Services.