‘My heart is full of pain’: hotel detention is ruining lives – I’ve seen the damage up close | Lorraine Finlay

Australians would be shocked to learn about the plight of people detained in hotels under Australia’s immigration system

The plight of people detained in hotels under Australia’s immigration system usually goes unnoticed, though it would probably shock most Australians. Last year, when I inspected one such hotel and interviewed people who had been detained in hotels in Melbourne and Brisbane, I knew what to expect but found it confronting nonetheless.

The first thing that struck me was the proximity. Other guests stayed in the same hotel, coming and going without ever realising they shared the place with people who were imprisoned – who looked out their windows as the world went by in the city centre but were unable to join it. The invisibility of detainees within hotels themselves emphasised their political invisibility.

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