Waiting

An elderly man walks around the Immigration Detention Centre with headphones to his ears.  I see him often and smile at him.  He smiles back.  Occasionally I try to say something to him but he does not appear to understand.  I assume he is listening to music from his own culture.  Then I ask another man about the headphones.  He tells me a friend in Darwin gave him a cassette with Farsi and English.  He keeps listening to it all day trying to learn English.

I learn he has a brother in Perth who is anxious for them to be together.  Why does it take so long to do these Security Checks that most seem to be waiting for?  What sort of certainty are those doing the checking looking for?  Is it that the papers for all these searches are just piled up waiting for someone to look at them?  Is this a low priority as men like my elderly friend just wait an interminable time in detention?

Posted 23 April 2012