Sky News crew given rare access to Nauru, asylum seekers don’t want to go to US

An Australian TV crew granted rare access to Nauru was shocked by asylum seeker reaction to the one-off US resettlement deal.

A crew from Sky News Australia has been granted rare access to Nauru.

Some of the asylum seekers on Nauru potentially eligible to be resettled in the United States under a one-off deal with Australia “don’t want to go to Trump’s America’’, says a Sky News reporter who was granted exclusive access to the island.

Journalist Laura Jayes and cameraman Josh Brown from Sky News have just returned from Nauru, only the third time a media outlet has been allowed to travel there and gain access to the asylum seekers.

Sky News journalist Laura Jayes on Nauru.

The visit comes two weeks after Malcolm Turnbull announced refugees held on Manus Island and Nauru will be resettled in the United States under a “one-off” deal that will not apply to future boat arrivals.

However Jayes said she was struck by a lukewarm enthusiasm among some asylum seekers at the prospect of being resettled in the United States.

“It was really interesting to actually hear what the refugees and asylum seekers were saying and I can tell you that there was a lot of pessimism,’’ Jayes said.

“Going over there, it was my perception that they’d be jumping at the chance to go to the United States. (But) there is a bit of cynicism around. There was some Muslim single men who said flat out ‘I don’t want to go to Trump’s America’. That is complicating the situation.

“The reactions were just stunning. Not everyone was jumping at the chance to go to the United States, some were willing to stay on Nauru, others just blindly want to get to Australia, willing to wait for policy change.’’

.@ljayes talks to @Kieran_Gilbert about her investigation on Nauru. You can catch the full program 6pm AEDT tonight https://t.co/Gk1Kc6ygKo

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 28, 2016

Jayes spoke to Aziz Khan, a young Rohingya Muslim man, who said he’d rather stay on Nauru than go to the US under the rule of President Trump. “Because, I am a Muslim. The President Elect Donald Trump doesn’t like Muslims in his country as a migrant,” Mr Khan said.

“This was a reoccurring theme among single men in particular,’’ Jayes said. “Family groups were more enthusiastic but very cynical about their prospects. Despite that over 900 refugees have formally registered their interest with the Department of Immigration.’’

Aziz Khan.

The Deputy Police Commissioner Kalinda Blake told Sky the Nauruan police force has seen tensions subside since the resettlement deal was announced by Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton earlier this month.

Authorities don’t expect that to last though, contingencies are already being put in place for protests and increased incidents of self harm, Jayes said. “We are gearing ourselves up and actually trying to communicate with their ring leaders … We hope there are no incidents (of protest and self-harm) but we are ready for it if there should be,” Mr Blake told Sky.

There are around 1150 asylum seekers on Nauru with some 750 living in unrestricted community housing with full access to schools and medical facilities.

“There are still a couple of hundred people in the camps, they are open camps, so there is no restriction on any kind of movement. They are provided with all the basic needs,’’ she said.

Jayes said “there is no doubt about psychological trauma experienced by many after two, three and in some cases close to four years in processing centres’’.

Laura Jayes says there is no doubt some of the asylum seekers are suffering from severe psychological trauma.

Media access to Nauru has been tightly controlled. Last year The Australian’s Chris Kenny was granted a visa to visit while in June access was given to a crew from Channel Nine’s A Current Affair.

After months of negotiation and “careful planning” with the Obama administration, the Prime Minister said the US would begin assessing refugees from Australia’s offshore processing centre for “gradual” resettlement to America.

“It is a one-off agreement. It will not be repeated. It is only available to those currently in the regional processing centres. It will not be available to any persons who seek to reach Australia in the future,” Mr Turnbull said two weeks ago.

However the future of the deal remains under a cloud following the election of Donald Trump.

Watch the full report from Laura Jayes on The Latest program on Sky News tonight at 6pm.