Sayed Mirwais Rohani, a 32-year-old Afghan refugee and medical doctor who came by boat on October 15.
He had been detained on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island since 2013. In 2017 Rohani was transferred to Australia for medical treatment, and had resided in community detention for the past year.
After Rohani had left Afghanistan, his family reunited with his father in the UK, where he had been accepted as a refugee.
Rohani’s mother Hamesha was in Australia to visit her son when he died. She had not seen him for seven years and told SBS Pashto of her shock at what he had endured and his death.
“Mirwais was discharged from the hospital, and he came to pick me up from the airport. He was very good. He asked about me and took me to his home.”
Hamesha says her family had asked the Australian government several times to transfer him to UK so the family could look after him, but the Australian government rejected the requests.
“No one has taken his illness seriously, and his illness was deteriorating day by day.”
According to Rohani’s mother, he suffered from serious depression, feeling ill from the morning until the evening, when he would feel a little better.
“Mirwais was suffering from depression all day, and he was telling me, ‘Mother, I am very depressed, very depressed.’ Every day around 7pm he was feeling better and was able to eat, talk to me and laugh.”
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Hamesha had planned to stay with Rohani for a month, but one day she lost her bag along with her passport and driver’s licence. She flew from Brisbane to Canberra to get a new passport and says the one night of separation changed everything.
“I went to Canberra to get a passport and during my one night stay in Canberra, Mirwais committed suicide,” she says.
On Thursday October 31, Hamesha will leave Australia to take her son’s body to Afghanistan for burial. She says she never wants to return, and deeply resents the actions of the Australian government in her son’s case.
“Later this week, I will go back to Afghanistan to bury my son. My other family members will join me in Dubai and then will go together to bury our son in Afghanistan.
“[The] Australian government is very cruel and probably the most cruel government in the world. I have left Australia forever, and I have a very bad memory of Australia.”
She says any subsequent government support or sympathy means nothing to her.
“Now when people tell me they wish they knew about my son’s situation, I tell them that I have lost my son now and even if you give me the whole of Australia, it is nothing for me.”
When sought for comment, the Home Affairs Department confirmed an individual who was living in community detention in Brisbane had died.
"We extend our sympathies to the individual’s family. To ensure we respect their privacy, no further information will be released," a department spokesperson said in a statement.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has said only four asylum seekers and refugees remained on Manus Island.
Dozens have been moved to Port Moresby in recent months, with the Australian government-funded facilities on Manus set to close within weeks.
The Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) says Rohani is the seventh Manus Island refugee to die by suicide.
"The tragedy is a shocking tale of deliberate abuse and neglect," RAC spokesperson Ian Rintoul said.
Mr Rintoul said the devastating effects of offshore detention would continue to be felt for years.
"He's a very graphic and tragic example of the mental illness that has been created for the hundreds of people that [have been] on Manus Island."
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). More information is available at and .
