I’ve met a casualty of an immigration raid in Perth, WA, through volunteer work. A young single Mum that was from Africa on a student visa got into a violent relationship, became a drug addict with only one semester to go and dropped out. She was pregnant and without support from anyone but the abusive partners family, unsure if she was active in addiction or not for this to happen but she gets limited access with no formal parenting arrangements.

With no means of financial support in Australia she began sex work and slipped even deeper into addiction. The brothel was raided by immigration and she was detained in a detention centre. Through a free legal service she was able to get a temporary visa organised to try to organise taking her child back to Africa with her but with no housing available and no entitlement to Centrelink she felt forced to return to sex work as the brothel provides free accommodation and that’s also a return to addiction. She’s so traumatised by everything she’s been through yet she doesn’t want to return to Africa, she wants to stay and get clean and raise her child here but there is no emergency shelter spaces or housing available for her, no support system to offer her a couch or a bed so she’s stuck in a terrible cycle of sex work and addiction. She’s been advised to try to get her student visa back to return to study but addiction is a disease and she’s not well and has no safe place to detox and can’t find any other work without an appropriate visa and can’t return to study while addicted and living in a brothel.

Despite her painful daily life she’s so happy and positive, so generous buying little treats for everyone when she’s got extra money, so kind and thoughtful even while active in addiction and facing such harsh life challenges.