Speaking to CNN, refugee Aziz Adam said the authorities hadn’t told them anything Friday before they moved in and “started to break things.”
Around 600 refugees have been without food and water for over a week after services were shut off at the Manus Island center, which officially closed on October 31.
The refugees, detained in the center for years, say if they leave they risk being attacked by locals who don’t want them living in their town.
Unlike the existing facility, which is located on a secured site far from residential areas, the proposed new facilities are located in the town of Lorengau.
The site’s closure follows a PNG Supreme Court ruling last year, that the refugees — who were not allowed to leave the Australian-run immigration center — were being deprived of their personal liberty.
-CNN
