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Ex-detainee of Australia’s offshore refugee detention centre shares fears over UK Rwanda plan

As the UK Home Office tries to get its Rwanda policy off the ground, a refugee who was held for six years on Nauru island tells Holly Bancroft about her concerns

Sunday 10 July 2022 13:52 BST
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<p>The South Pacific island nation of Nauru is home to an Australian detention centre for refugees </p>

The South Pacific island nation of Nauru is home to an Australian detention centre for refugees

When Ellie Shakiba arrived on Nauru island, a 21km-square patch of rock in the Pacific Ocean, she thought she wouldn’t be there for long.

She had survived a perilous journey from Iran, through Indonesia, into the hands of people smugglers and across the Indian Ocean.

Her head full of warm expectations about the Western world, she had hoped that Australia would house her as a refugee. Instead, she was shipped to a detention centre 2,800 miles away.

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