"Inside" Australia's Woomera detention centre

Abstract

In January this year, the number of people incarcerated at the Woomera centre fell to around 650 asylum seekers from a peak of around 1400 late last year. Conditions are now less crowded, but detainees still face harsh conditions. Woomera is located in Australia's isolated desert heart, where temperatures reach up to 50 deg C. Independent observers have great difficulty getting inside Woomera. However, information we have gathered during interviews with ex-detainees and centre staff paints a picture of a grim and punitive environment.