Eli Shakiba is a detainee on the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru, where about 400 other Australian-bound asylum seekers are being held. Ms. Shakiba, originally from Iran, has been on the island for three years and she calls it a place of "hell."
"There are people here who have committed suicide and the rest are fed up," Ms. Shakiba told Sputnik.
However, since Amnesty International presented their report to the Australian government, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rejected the claims of abuse.
New report "Island of Despair" about Nauru detention centre. NZ Govt should speak out about Aus #humanrights abuseshttps://t.co/qSJ9YKOHPY pic.twitter.com/yK7fTw7lmG
— Amnesty New Zealand (@AmnestyNZ) October 17, 2016
Due to the length of time that they end up staying on the island, many of the detainees have given up hope of ever having freedom or seeing their loved ones again.
Ms. Shakiba, has lived on the island for some time, says the conditions are so bad that suicide is the only way out, as escaping the island by boat is impossible.
Many of the detainees and those who support their cause are fighting back, by holding protests and momentum is fast gathering behind their plight.
#Nauru jail cell where female refugees were imprisoned for 30 hours and given only one bottle of water to share [during March 2015 protests] pic.twitter.com/afV8GAE350
— @Aussies4Refugees (@Aussie4Refugees) 18 October 2016
"Yes, I am so happy that there are protests, we have protested for more than 200 days. We have written on our banner to ask the world to take us from this hell because the situation of living in Nauru is hell," Ms. Shakiba told Sputnik.
Peaceful protest in Nauru 🙅
— ELI SHAKIBA (@elahe_zivardar) 18 October 2016
Tuesday 18th October 2016
Day 213👊
We will Never give up ✊ https://t.co/T0NdpghMVi
However, hope for the future appears to be very distant as nobody knows what will happen to the detainees, which is one of the reasons why so many are contemplating suicide.
"I do not know what will happen to us… all I know is that all the people are fed up and tired and they can only think about suicide," Ms. Shakiba told Sputnik.
Escaping the island is not an option, according to Ms. Shakiba, who says it was easier to flee her own government than it is to escape the island.
"There is nowhere to escape, it is a small island so far in the middle of the ocean… We could escape from our government and there are many people and refugees from different countries. We could escape from our government but there is nowhere to escape from the Australian government.
"If I could make a boat and leave this island but we can't leave this island [because] we are not allowed to go anywhere," Ms. Shakiba told Sputnik.
It's not just the adults who are facing the pressure of being held on the island, there are also hundreds of children being detained.
"There are 50 to 60 children at the detention center, even newborn babies… And then there are 150 children in refugee camps around the island. All of them have no school or education facilities," she added.
Amnesty International, have claimed in their report titled "Island of Despair," which they presented to the Australian government, that there are hundreds of people who are living in prison-like conditions and contemplating suicide each day.
