YAREN (Pacnews) — A prominent businessman in Nauru has denied claims by Australian human rights activist Kate Durham that Australia’s policy of detaining asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru has fueled anti-Australian sentiment among the islanders.
Durham, who has just returned from Nauru, says Australia’s policy has led to confrontations between locals and Australians working at the Nauru detention center.
She also says Nauruans are living in increased poverty because of the decline of public services that has resulted from the establishment of the camp.
Durham claims this is because the local government focuses on the business of detaining asylum seekers rather than caring for its own people.
“I witnessed violence against Australians with people saying ‘we hate all whites.’ I saw windscreens smashed and Australians escaping being beaten up, all because these people are earning A$5,000 a week to add new elements to these awful camps, while the people there are not earning those wages,” Durham said.
“The banks are frequently shut, there is a shortage of water, power goes off in the middle of the day (and) telecommunications is a huge problem,” Durham said.
However, one prominent Nauru businessman told Pacnews that the allegations were not true.
He said the problems with services on the island existed before the asylum seekers arrived. He also said Nauru does not have any banks.
He said the engines powering the island’s main power station was experiencing technical problems, but the Australian government is building a new power station that would be completed by December.
“None of the people here have been victimized. It’s not the nature of the Nauruan people,” he said.
