Ranjini is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n refugee to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

since 2010, who has been held in

indefinite detention Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency for an indefinite amount of time without a trial. The Human Rights Watch considers this practice as violating national and internatio ...

with her children since 2012 due to a negative assessment by the

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is the Intelligence agency, domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign inte ...

(ASIO), while at the same time a recognised refugee. Ranjini's story gained increased media attention since she was detained with her small children. Her case has raised questions about the ASIO's assessment process. It also highlighted the issue of

mandatory detention in Australia The Australian government has a policy and practice of detaining in immigration detention facilities non-citizens not holding a valid visa, suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportati ...

, and in particular the issue of children living in detention.

Biography

Ranjini's husband was killed in 2006 in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka. At a later date, Ranjini and her two small sons Pirai and Kathir escaped to India, from where they boarded a boat to Australia. Long after the boat had run out of food and fuel it finally arrived in Australian waters in April 2010. The Australian Navy brought them ashore for immigration processing on

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

. Later the family of three has moved to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and in April 2011 to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, when they were released to community detention. They received refugee status 5 months later.Hilary Whiteman
"Mom locked up in Australia as security risk has baby boy"
in CNN, January 16, 2013 Ranjini married her second husband Ganesh in April 2012 and moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Ganesh is a Sri Lankan from the same region as Ranjini, who studied in Australia and received a protection visa in 2009, and later was granted

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

. In May 2012 the

Department of Immigration and Citizenship The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) was an Australian government department that existed between January 2007 and September 2013, that was preceded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and was s ...

(DIAC) summoned Ranjini and her two children and informed her of a negative assessment result from ASIO, without having been explained the reason.Steve Cannane
"Family shattered by negative ASIO assessment"
in ABC, May 12, 2012 Ranjini, pregnant at that time, was flown to

Villawood Immigration Detention Centre Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, originally Villawood Migrant Hostel or Villawood Migrant Centre, split into a separate section named Westbridge Migrant Hostel from 1968 to 1984, is an Australian immigration detention facility located i ...

in Sydney along with her sons aged six and eight at the time. In January 2013 Ranjini delivered baby boy Paari in a Sydney hospital. Three days after the baby was born, both Ranjini and the baby were sent back to Villawood Detention Centre. As Ganesh is permanent resident, Paari is eligible for Australian citizenship, and on that basis could be allowed to leave the centre, but without her mother. Many Australian refugee advocates have taken up Ranjini's cause, including lawyer David Manne from the RILC who has challenged her detention in the High Court. In January 2013, hundreds of people gathered across Australia to celebrate the birth of her third son at an event called Born Free. Refugee advocate Anthony Bieniak created a website
Letters For Ranjini
to pay tribute to Ranjini and the other ASIO refugees. The website has collected hundreds of letters which have been passed on to the family. ASIO has never given the reason why she is considered a threat to national security. Ranjini, as per other refugees with negative ASIO assessments, have no legal right to appeal. She cannot be deported since she has already been found to be legitimate refugee.Michael Gordon

in ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', May 18, 2012

References

{{reflist Refugees in Australia