News
Refugees formerly held on Manus Island have been robbed at gunpoint in Port Moresby. With Covid-19 cases rising in Papua New Guinea, advocates fear for these men and the others still awaiting resettlement after years in detention.
By
Rebekah Holt.
Stilt houses in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.
Credit: Gail Hampshire / Flickr
The men came about 4am, between six and eight of them, allegedly armed with guns. It was April 21, and the streets of Port Moresby were quiet. The Papua New Guinean capital has been under new Covid-19 restrictions for four weeks. About 15 asylum seekers housed in three rooms at a hotel (rented by the PNG government under agreement with the Australian government) say they were held at gunpoint by these men – their phones, laptops, clothing, cash and other electronics taken during a terrifying robbery.