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'Abu Ghraib'-style images of children in detention in Australia

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Moosichu

Member
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...s-children-detention-australia-public-inquiry



Footage aired on the ABC’s Four Corners program on Monday showed one youth being stripped and physically held down by guards.

In another scene that the program compared with images from Guantánamo Bay or the Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad, 17-year-old Dylan Voller was shown hooded and tied in a restraint chair for two hours.

The chairs are among items recently including in a widened list of “approved restraints” under laws passed by the NT government.

It's good too physical evidence of the abuse coming out. There have been rumblings of this for a while now so hopefully something will get done. It's absolutely sickening.
 

Cerium

Member
I've read about this and with each new round of details I'm in disbelief that this is allowed to go on in the Anglosphere.

Trump himself couldn't come up with this shit.
 

Moosichu

Member
I've read about this and with each new round of details I'm in disbelief that this is allowed to go on in the Anglosphere.

Trump himself couldn't come up with this shit.

Tbf, some of this seems quite pleasant compared to some of the stuff that happened in children's homes in the UK.

It needs to be acknowledged that humans are always capable of great evil and we need to be really vigilant at all times. The greatest cover these things get is:

"That's so horrific, there is no way that can be true."
 

Yagharek

Member
It was just a matter of time. This is a national disgrace.

It's also a national policy for how to treat asylum seekers. Depressing to see that the Australian governments are still treating indigenous (and other) children in this appalling manner.

Hopefully the guards, the prison heads, the department chiefs and every Minister who implemented this policy get dragged before the appropriate international courts.
 

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
Appalling. There are no words.

The sad fact is the NT detention & rehabilitation system has always been the worst. Hopefully it brings other shit in to the light.
 
There was a reason he was restrained. He threatened to break his own hand so he could go to hospital and he was a wearing a spit hood because he has a history of spitting on guards.

Guard: "You just can't put toilet paper everywhere, you can't rip your, you can't start chewing on your mattress. You can't do that stuff, you know that."
Dylan Voller: "You can't lock me in here, bruz."
Guard: "Unfortunately you've put yourself in here by going at risk."
....
Guard: "Might get the restraint chair possibly as well."
Voller: "I don't want the restraint chair bro."
...
Voller: "Where's my f***ing mattress? I'm not a dog to you."
Guard: "You need to settle down."
...
Voller: "I'm going to break my hand anyway."
Guard: "Why are you going to break your hand?"
Voller: "So I can go to hospital … (inaudible)."
Guard: "Well you won't go … I doubt very much you'll go to hospital."
Voller: "I'll snap my bone through my skin."
...
Guard: "Alright, well I'll just give you the heads up, grab the restraint chair, we are going in the restraint chair."

Guard: "How are we going?"
Voller: "Good."
Guard: "Are we a lot calmer?"
Voller: "Yeah."
Guard: "How are you going to spend the rest of your night? Nice and quiet? Not much fun hey?"
Voller: "Nah."
Guard: "What we have to do just so you know you are going to be cuffed to the rear this time? Your hood will … ".
Voller: "… My wrist doesn't twist that far."
Guard: "We will see, we aren't trying to hurt you it's just easier that way because you've obviously spat on staff already."
Voller: "Yeah but my wrist doesn't twist (inaudible)."
Guard: "Have ya? Alright I'll give you that leeway yeah? Don't make me regret it. Yes? Alright?"
Voller: "Yeah."

The guard doesn't sound like a sadist to me.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
Gross, but not really surprised this is happening here.

It's pretty well known that Australia is racist as fuck, I don't know why it's surprising that the government is also racist and abusive as fuck.
 

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
There was a reason he was restrained. He threatened to break his own hand so he could go to hospital and he was a wearing a spit hood because he has a history of spitting on guards.

The guard doesn't sound like a sadist to me.

You're missing the point. I saw an image of someone restrained in a chair with a hood over their head. If parents are facing charges for hitting their kids or neglecting them then what the hell is this form of rehabilitation?

I'm sorry but if someone in juvenile detention is wanting to break their own hand "to get out" then there's something wrong with the way that they are being treated on the inside. And that needs to be corrected properly because I doubt being hog-tied to a chair achieves anything more than resent build-up and a slide in to depression with an urge to commit suicide.
 
Australia also treats asylum seekers in a similar fashion. When confronted about rape that happens in those immigration detention centres Tony Abbott essentially said "shit happens".
 

bjork

Member
The video in the OP link looks like an episode of that old show JAIL where they would put drunk dudes in a chair with the hood like that until they sobered up. But that was the US, and we're hardcore or whatever.
 

BunnyBear

Member
It's pretty well known that Australia is racist as fuck, I don't know why it's surprising that the government is also racist and abusive as fuck.

That sounds like a Trump tweet. Don't be ignorant. The country is populated by 24 million people so take a hike with your pathetic generalisations.
 

IbukiLordSA

Member
Guards didn't seem to have any malicious intent what so ever, and seemed to be quite nice actually, with the way they spoke and acted. I would like to know more about the story, this kid could have been a real rubbish, if he was spitting everywhere and at other people then the hood is a no brainer, if he was threatening to break his wrist then restraining him seems like the logical course. Until we know both sides I will side with the guards on this one.
 
That sounds like a Trump tweet. Don't be ignorant. The country is populated by 24 million people so take a hike with your pathetic generalisations.

Australia is. The system is, I mean.

Are all Australians racist? No.. But let's be real here, there is no smoke without fire and we've all read the stories about what is going on in certain institutions.
 

BunnyBear

Member
What is with Australia? Why hasn't things turned around yet, do people simply not care enough?

The issue of indigenous Australians is a complex one.
We fucked them over and destroyed their way of life for 200 years and almost every attempt to make amends and implement programs to help them have failed miserably.

Many of their communities are beyond repair in the Northern Territory. Crime, sexual assault and alcohol abuse are massive factors that have contributed to this destruction. What you're seeing in these videos is some of the results of these troubled communities.

It's incredibly complex and saddening and as a country we are not close to fixing the situation.

Racism is one component of it, particularly in the past. But it doesn't come close to summarising the problem now.

And it's hard to single out for Australia for 'racism' when the next president of the USA is likely Donald Trump who has found stunning success running on a platform of closing borders to Muslims and building walls to keep out Mexicans.
 
You're missing the point. I saw an image of someone restrained in a chair with a hood over their head. If parents are facing charges for hitting their kids or neglecting them then what the hell is this form of rehabilitation?

I'm sorry but if someone in juvenile detention is wanting to break their own hand "to get out" then there's something wrong with the way that they are treated on the inside. And that needs to be corrected properly because I doubt being hog-tied to a chair achieves anything but more resent and a slide in to depression with an urge to commit suicide.

Possibly. He went in when he was 11, he may just be damaged goods. Obviously his treatment exacerbated the situation though.
 
Yeah, those restraints seem over the top. As for the hood, I've seen that fabric and design before, it's a spit guard. Most police cars keep them available to officers in the back seat due to the high frequency of being spit on by arrested/intoxicated persons. Weird that he wouldn't have the spit guard removed after he was restrained, tbh.

Hopefully the enquiry brings forth some good evidence, reports and changes. We'll see how it goes, I suspect it will take longer than we'd like though.

It's pretty well known that Australia is racist as fuck, I don't know why it's surprising that the government is also racist and abusive as fuck.

While racism is a primary issue in many communities here, the generalisation that all Australians are racist is silly. Most of the crap that you'll hear from the 40+ crowd you won't hear nearly as much from the 18-30 age demographic. It's still a big problem though.
 

Log4Girlz

Member
Hasn't there been horrific human rights violations in Nauru detention centers as well? Shame. Hope this is rectified asap.
 

Monocle

Member
There was a reason he was restrained. He threatened to break his own hand so he could go to hospital and he was a wearing a spit hood because he has a history of spitting on guards.





The guard doesn't sound like a sadist to me.
Oh no, spitting. Better lock him up like a fucking animal.
 
I've read about this and with each new round of details I'm in disbelief that this is allowed to go on in the Anglosphere.

Trump himself couldn't come up with this shit.
That's because Bush and Obama beat him to it?

Not like Trump would be reinventing the wheel by doing these types of heinous acts.
 
Hasn't there been horrific human rights violations in Nauru detention centers as well? Shame. Hope this is rectified asap.

As do I, man :/

Oh no, spitting. Better lock him up like a fucking animal.

...what? The spit guard is totally fine. I agree the chair is too much though, you can't keep him in the chair forever. If he really wants to break his hand, he'll do it eventually.

As for the video of the kid, I have no idea what was going on there. Those individuals should be held accountable for that and justify their actions in court.
 

Anticol

Banned
There was a reason he was restrained. He threatened to break his own hand so he could go to hospital and he was a wearing a spit hood because he has a history of spitting on guards.





The guard doesn't sound like a sadist to me.

Really? ok, what about the video of the kid in solitary confinement crying, and then the guards get inside throw him on the floor, hold him by the neck and the stripped him completely naked to finally leave him again in the cell for who knows how many hours.

What's your excuse there?
 

mjontrix

Member
The thing is there is nothing we can do to help the indigenous.

There's so much domestic violence as a result of decades (for those living) of humiliation and torture, and centuries of state sponsored racism.

The Government can't even hint at any sense of intervention lest the Elders explode in the Media.

Alcohol keeps getting smuggled in, and if it's not alcohol it's a substitute. Rape and domestic violence is literally a way of life - they don't have anything else. Education is a dream- if they even complete high school. No family support, no community support, limited if any government support and this is the result.
 
Possibly. He went in when he was 11, he may just be damaged goods. Obviously his treatment exacerbated the situation though.
He is "damaged goods" due in part to the years of abuse endured by guards like these cunts.

I'm aboriginal and I am shocked at the footage itself but in no way at all surprised.
 
Guards didn't seem to have any malicious intent what so ever, and seemed to be quite nice actually, with the way they spoke and acted. I would like to know more about the story, this kid could have been a real rubbish, if he was spitting everywhere and at other people then the hood is a no brainer, if he was threatening to break his wrist then restraining him seems like the logical course. Until we know both sides I will side with the guards on this one.
Please watch the whole Four Corners report and then re-evaluate your side.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2016/07/25/4504895.htm

Forget that the kids are in detention for a second and just remember that they're kids.
 

mjontrix

Member

Any attempt at further Government involvment and the Media will have a field day bringing up memories of the stolen generation. If the Libs or Labor is in power makes no difference since other will go for the political points.

The best chance will be when ALL current elders pass away and the only ones left are those that experienced or have close relatives who have directly been affected by domestic violence or abuse. They'll be more supportive of Government involvment.

You can't blame them when the older generations lived through the Stolen Generation.

Basically anyone who was born around the 90s. Heck I doubt I'll be alive to see the day or my children will be to see when Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals are equal. That's how bad it is and how deep the scars go.
 

Jarmel

Banned
There was a reason he was restrained. He threatened to break his own hand so he could go to hospital and he was a wearing a spit hood because he has a history of spitting on guards.

The guard doesn't sound like a sadist to me.

Seems like a reasonable response on the part of the guards.
 
I'm glad to hear that you're watching it in its full context. I wish more people would do the same instead of just reading a portion of an article and claiming it "seems reasonable".

Thank you.
 
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