Prison

A few days ago I heard MTLH talking to some guy on the phone about getting me into a place. She had to ring him and then he rang her back and said that it was ok.

Yesterday 4 people turned up here at around 11am. We all got in the van and started driving. We drove for about an hour, stopping once to pick up someone else, and another time to get petrol. Finally we got to where we were going. We got out of the car and I started to worry about where MTLH was making me go. There were big double fences with sharp wire on top and big gates with locks. It looked like a prison. I didn't want to see criminals.

We walked into a big waiting room and some man came and talked to MTLH and me. He said he used to be a police dog handler. "Oh no!" I thought "a policeman! We must be in jail!"

I waited nervously and then MTLH and I had to tell them why we were there. Then we went through a metal detector, like at the airport. Everyone had to get a tag on their wrist and a stamp on their hand. I think the man who did it forgot to use any ink because I couldn't see anything on MTLH's hand after he had stamped it. I didn't get a tag or a stamp - and I like stamps! We waited for Nana and then went through a big door, through another locked gate, and then we were in a big open area - surrounded by the big fences.

At first there was only the people who had come in our car there so it was ok... but then people started being let out of another locked gate. I didn't want to talk to criminals... I'm a good dog! I didn't let any of them pat me in case I caught their badness. MTLH took me for a walk and explained that they weren't criminals. We were in a detention centre for asylum seekers who have not broken any laws - they have have had to leave their own countries for many different reasons and have fled to Australia seeking protection. Instead of finding a compassionate government, they have been locked up in this horrible place. Their only crime was not being lucky enough to be born here.

After that I started to actually look and listen to people. Some of the people I met have been in there for two years, waiting for their visas. MTLH said that some people have had to wait for up to six years!! She also said that they even used to make children live inside the fences! They were all really nice and loved shaking my paw and patting me. When it came time to leave, I didn't want to. Everyone wanted to keep me there but MTLH wouldn't let them.

To get out everyone had to show their tags to three different people. We went into a strange blue coloured room that made my white fur glow! The person must have actually used magic ink as this room made the stamps glow on everyone's hands. All up on the way out, we had to go through four locked doors and gates.

When we left, it was so nice to be out of the horrible fences - and I had only been there for a few hours!!

All of the pictures used in this post are of the Detention Centre. I couldn't get MTLH to take any of me cause you can't take your cameras in.

Below are two pictures drawn by kids while in detention.