Fazileh Mansour Beigi

Fazileh Mansour Beigi, an Iranian refugee, and her sons were detained in the Nauru Regional Processing Center, managed by Broadspectrum for the Australian government, which enforces mandatory, indefinite detention for immigrants. The Nauruan government receives compensation for hosting the center, where media access is highly restricted. Leaked documents have exposed severe abuse and neglect endured by detainees. Since 2013, Fazileh and her children have been held there. In June 2018, her eldest son, Fariborz Karami, committed suicide after unmet pleas for mental health treatment. His body was stored at the camp for weeks despite Fazileh’s requests to bury him elsewhere, which were continually refused. 

Following her son’s death, Fazileh penned a letter to the Australian government, garnering media attention and highlighting the refugees’ plight in Nauru. In her letter, Fazileh describes her repeated, ignored pleas for help, stating, “I am the same suffering and miserable mother who repeatedly begged you to help...But instead of support, you replied that if I couldn’t tolerate it, I should return to my country... You even deprived me of having a mobile phone, lest I speak up...My 26-year-old son had his last breaths in your moldy tents and closed his beautiful eyes to your abomination, injustice, and disgusting policies.”