Cartoonists use #AddAFish to support a detained refugee artist on hunger strike
#AddAFish may be a simple hashtag, but it's trying to save a man's life.
On Twitter, illustrators are rallying behind an Iranian cartoonist, who has been living in Australia's mandatory offshore detention centre on Manus Island since 2013. Using the nom-de-plume Eaten Fish, the 25-year-old has been a victim of Australia's policy of detaining all asylum seekers who arrive by boat for processing.
SEE ALSO: Good one, humans. You've polluted even the deepest trenches of the sea.Following calls from the Professional Cartoonists Organisation and Cartoonists Rights Network International, illustrators around the world have rallied to the cause. Using the hashtag #AddAFish, they've been sharing their own images on Twitter inspired by his work.
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Eaten Fish had his refugee claim rejected by Australia in December, the Guardian reported. Suffering from mental illness, according to a website updated under his name, he has made claims of assault and sexual harassment suffered while in the camp.
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According to his blog, Eaten Fish has been on hunger strike since Jan. 31 in protest. In response to questions from centre authorities about the purpose of the strike, he said "Something happens with hunger strike and I think you know what that is. I will die and this will all finish."
Australia's treatment of asylum seekers has been deemed "torture" by Amnesty International. Calling one camp on the Pacific island of Nauru an "open-air prison," Amnesty documented rampant cases of abuse and harassment as well mental health concerns among detainees.
In 2016, Australia announced it would send those remaining on Manus Island to the United States as part of a deal with then-President Barack Obama. The agreement is now in doubt since Donald Trump expressed extreme displeasure with the plan on Twitter.
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In early February, the Australian journalists union, the MEAA, called for the government to release Eaten Fish from detention, along with Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani and writer Mehdi Savari who are also on Manus Island.
The MEAA believes the three men could make a valuable contribution in Australia, as well as rejecting the policy of offshore detention. As Mashablereported at the time, Eaten Fish won the 2016 Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning for work that pierced the "veil of secrecy and silence."
"They each sought refuge from Iran so they could freely express themselves without fear of persecution or harm, but instead their freedom has been further suppressed in detention," MEAA CEO Paul Murphy said in a statement on Feb. 3.
"All three have courageously continued to practice their vocations on Manus Island despite their incarceration."
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The Department of Immigration said it "does not comment on individuals' medical circumstances," stating that "appropriate medical care" is available in Manus Island's detention centre.
[h/t Pedestrian]
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