An Australian hospital is protesting the conditions of refugees in an offshore detention centre by refusing to discharge a baby of asylum seekers who face being sent back there by the government.
Lady Cilento Children's Hospital said it won't release the 1-year-old girl until a "suitable home environment is identified" for her and her family. Refugee advocates have been gathering at a vigil in support of the Brisbane hospital since Friday.
The baby girl -- known by the pseudonym "Baby Asha" -- was badly burnt at an immigration camp on Nauru, an island country in the Pacific. Her parents are asylum seekers, and have been allowed to stay in Brisbane while she is being treated. She is now in stable condition and all three face being sent back offshore to a detainment facility that has been dubbed "inhumane" by refugee advocates.
Over the past week, Australians have protested the government's decision to move 267 asylum seekers, and in particular 37 babies, to offshore detention centres. The #LetThemStay protests have swept the country and the online conversation.
Doctors for Refugees spokesman Richard Kidd told the ABC that the situation was distressing for doctors, and that detention harms children. "So for doctors and nurses we just can't send children from hospital into a place where we know they're going to be harmed," he said.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the doctors were risking their careers with this refusal.
"Doctors and nurses involved in the care of this child are risking two years jail for standing up for the rights and for the medical profession to be able to stand by their ethics," she said.
The Refugee Action Collective called for the vigil to last through Sunday, with a rally at noon.
#LetThemStay !!!! At Lady Cilento Children's Hospital pic.twitter.com/Y0eTtRan7P— RAC QLD (@racqld) February 13, 2016
#LetThemStay Supporting the doctors & nurses at Lady Cilento protecting baby Asha pic.twitter.com/G9rQhP9WRa— CreateDestruction (@CreateDestruct) February 12, 2016
Refugee Action Collective passes on msg from baby Asha's mum: "endlessly grateful" for vigil support. #LetThemStay pic.twitter.com/JdyREjwteh— QCU (@TheQCU) February 13, 2016
#LetThemStay 2am and still here. pic.twitter.com/h1LXiIKUCS— Brigette Ellen (@BrigetteEllen) February 13, 2016
Hey Brisbane folk. Come on out and join the vigil. We will be here all night. #LetThemStay pic.twitter.com/sNjhWDhEEq— iain (@iainp327) February 13, 2016
Several politicians and churches have offered to house the refugees, but the Australian government hasn't responded to the offer. The office of immigration minister Peter Dutton hasn't commented on the baby's case, according to the Guardian.