Photo credit: ABC
A Tamil asylum seeker has died after setting himself alight in Australia in protest against Australia’s refugee policy.
Daily Mail reports that Mano Yogalingam suffered 80 per cent burns of his body in Melbourne’s Dandenong region on Tuesday. He was rushed to the Alfred Hospital but died later on Wednesday.
His death highlighted “the devastating impact of the government’s refugee policies under newly appointed Home Affairs minister Tony Burke, according to the Tamil Refugee Council.
“But the psychological torment inflicted by the Australian government’s cruel and inhuman policies, compounded by personal challenges, drove him to a point he had nothing left to do.”
The deceased was 11 when he and his family arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka by boat from India. His parents and their five children had fled their home country because of alleged threats from the Sri Lankan military.
The family was detained for several months after arrival in Australia.
A spokesperson for the Tamil Refugee Council, Rathy Barthlote, said, “Mano had been waiting for over 12 years to learn if he could stay in Australia and escape the persecution he feared in Sri Lanka.”
Mr Yogalingan’s mental health deteriorated under the strain of visa uncertainty, according to Ms Barthlote.
