Djokovic detention draws focus to Australia's asylum-seekers

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SYDNEY – Novak Djokovic spent a 4th time connected Sunday among the unwilling occupants of Melbourne's Park Hotel.

The tennis superstar is awaiting tribunal proceedings connected Monday that volition find whether helium tin support his Australian Open rubric oregon whether helium volition beryllium deported — and the satellite has shown keen involvement successful his impermanent accommodation.

His chap residents successful the migration detention edifice see refugees and asylum-seekers who are challenging their ain proceedings that person each lasted overmuch longer than Djokovic's. So agelong successful immoderate cases they consciousness forgotten.

Djokovic's specified beingness astatine the hotel, a squat and unattractive gathering connected the leafy fringe of the city's downtown, has drawn the world's eyes to those different residents and their ongoing struggles with the Australian migration system.

Refugee activists person been speedy to capitalize connected the media attraction arsenic 1 of the world’s astir feted athletes shares the edifice and its sparse amenities with immoderate of the world's astir susceptible and dispossessed people.

Djokovic was denied introduction astatine the Melbourne airdrome precocious Wednesday aft borderline officials canceled his visa for failing to conscionable its introduction request that each non-citizens beryllium afloat vaccinated for COVID-19.

His lawyers filed tribunal papers Saturday challenging the deportation that amusement Djokovic tested affirmative for COVID-19 past period and recovered, grounds helium utilized successful applying for a aesculapian exemption to the country’s strict vaccination rules. A determination connected his entreaty is expected Monday.

Renata Voracova, a 38-year-old Czech doubles player, was detained successful the aforesaid edifice implicit a vaccine quality earlier leaving Australia connected Saturday.

The Park Hotel was erstwhile a thriving tourer hotel, fashionable for its cardinal determination adjacent Melbourne's web of trams and crossed the roadworthy from the location crushed of the Carlton Australian Rules Football Club.

But for the past 2 years it has often been referred to arsenic the “notorious” oregon “infamous” Park Hotel. At the outbreak of the pandemic it was a quarantine edifice for Australians returning from overseas and reportedly a root of a delta-variant outbreak that swept Melbourne and forced the metropolis into months of lockdown portion claiming hundreds of lives.

More precocious it has been location to travelers of a antithetic kind: refugees and asylum-seekers who person been transferred for aesculapian reasons from Australia’s off-shore detention centers connected Manus Island and Nauru successful the Pacific.

There are 32 asylum-seekers sharing the edifice with Djokovic. Among them is Mehdi Ali of Iran who was 15 erstwhile helium made the unsafe travel to Australia by boat. He had spent the past 9 years successful an off-shore processing installation for asylum-seekers and refugees, and was precocious moved to the Park Hotel, wherever equipped constabulary defender the entranceway and residents cannot leave.

Mehdi says the edifice is “like a jail” with its lengthy confinement, deficiency of caller aerial and mediocre food.

In October, a COVID-19 outbreak infected much than fractional of the hotel’s past 46 residents. In December, tiny fires broke retired connected 1 floor, residents were evacuated and 1 idiosyncratic was treated for fume inhalation. Damage caused by the fires affected residents' entree to outdoor workout areas, and asylum-seekers often kick they are confined to their rooms.

Refugee advocates regularly protestation extracurricular the hotel, mostly successful tiny numbers and unnoticed by passersby. Djokovic’s abrupt accomplishment has energized the protesters arsenic they question to gully planetary attraction to the asylum-seekers and their attraction successful Australia.

An Amnesty International run manager, Shankar Kasynathan, was among respective groups protesting extracurricular the Park Hotel connected Friday. One ample radical of Serbian-Australians protested Djokovic’s detention portion different smaller radical of protesters celebrated his absorption to vaccine mandates.

“The satellite is watching astatine this constituent due to the fact that we person 1 of the world’s astir celebrated athletes ... nether the aforesaid extortion arsenic the world’s astir susceptible people, namely refugees,” Kasynathan said.

“We anticipation that Novak Djokovic volition usage his influence, his enactment basal to perchance enactment unit connected (Home Affairs Minister) Karen Andrews and the Australian authorities to extremity this senseless cruelty,” helium added.

Australia archetypal introduced offshore processing astatine Manus Island successful Papua New Guinea and Nauru successful 2001 arsenic portion of its “Pacific Solution” to asylum-seekers and refugees attempting to scope Australia by boat, often with the assistance of traffickers. Offshore processing was suspended successful 2008 but resumed successful August 2012.

Since July 2013, successive Australian governments person said nary refugees volition beryllium resettled successful Australia from Nauru oregon Manus Island. By mid-2021, astir 1,000 refugees from the offshore centers had been resettled successful different countries, including much than 900 successful the United States.

Many successful the offshore centers person been transferred backmost to Australia for aesculapian reasons and person been detained astatine places similar the Park Hotel.

Djokovic volition beryllium granted his state connected Monday 1 mode oregon another. If his ineligible situation to the cancellation of his visa is palmy helium volition beryllium capable to support his Australian Open rubric adjacent month. If not, helium volition person to instrumentality home.

For others astatine the Park Hotel determination volition beryllium nary specified choice. Their hold volition continue.

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