The less knowledge we have of anything the more insignificant it seems. Our hatred of a person often decreases as we learn to know the person better.                                                                                            -Bishop Fulton J Sheen.

Indefinite imprisonment in Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation, i.e. asylum seeker jail, is made possible by lack of transparency from those responsible for their detention.

Without knowledge of story / circumstances of people seeking asylum, it is easy to understand why the general population is oblivious to the incarceration of these persons in BITA who are also made in God’s image.

Night-time is worst for detainees. The stillness, darkness and solitude of the night is when tortured memories, the absence of kith and kin, the warm embrace of loved ones, the peace of mind vainly sought through waking hours dissipates into bitter loss.

Hence texting these broken people during the loneliness of night has become an extension of my visitation ministry, an example of which follows:

Hope you have had a good day. It must be difficult for you. I hope your (loved ones) are OK.

Yeah it is very hard to live here with no hope of your future life, it is so painful. I want to keep my hope alive, because I still want to live, to be one day free in my mind, my soul and my life, maybe one day I will be able to hold tight in my arms my (loved ones). But some days I feel that could be a dream which will never come true and it kills me slowly. One day I will wake and find I am no longer the same guy. The depression will put me down one day because I’m a human, I have feelings too, I cry always, I’m always scared, May God help me.

How would you respond to the above text?

Steve Jorgensen

(Image from Pixabay by Designer-Obst )