Australia: Tamil Asylum Seeker Mano Yogalingam From Sri Lanka Sets Himself on Fire in Melbourne, Dies of Burn Injuries

Mumbai, August 28: Mano Yogalingam, a 23-year-old Sri Lankan seeking refuge in Australia, succumbed to his injuries due to an alleged self-immolation on August 28. He died at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Yogalingam suffered burns to 80 percent of his body after allegedly dousing himself in petrol and setting himself on fire. The incident occurred at a protest against the Australian government's anti-refugee policies in the Dandenong region on August 27.

Yogalingam had applied for a claim as a refugee seeking asylum and had spent more than a decade on the bridging visa to appeal the rejection. According to their Facebook post, the Tamil Refugee Council (TRC) claimed that rejecting Yogalingam's refugee status under Australia's "fast-track" system introduced in 2014 was a contributing factor behind his extreme step.

Tamil Refugee Council on Mano Yogalingam’s Death

Yogalingam, a Christian originally from Sri Lanka's Puttalam region, had migrated to Australia with his family in 2012 on a boat full of refugees, which had set sail from India. He was reportedly detained for a few months upon his arrival and only later allowed to settle alongside the Australian community. His parents, four siblings and he had first fled to India from Sri Lanka fearing persecution by the Sri Lankan military. Thus, since 2012, Yogalingam had been waiting to learn if he can stay in Australia or be deported. What Is Right To Disconnect Law? Know All About Australia’s Fair Work Amendment Act That Allows Employees To Ignore Work Calls After Working Hours.

Snap Rally for Mano Yogalingam

Rathy Barthlote, Spokesperson of the TRC, who was beside Mano during his last moments, claimed that Yogalingam was aware of the anti-refugee stance of the Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. The minister had allegedly expressed his notion of deporting all the asylum seekers who had used the fast-track process to immigrate to Australia. As per an ABC News report, when asked about Yogalingam's death, a Home Affairs spokesperson said that the department offers condolences to family members and other people affected "at this difficult time" but that they "cannot comment on individual cases" due to privacy concerns. ‘Sex Is Changeable and Not Necessarily Binary’: Women-Only Social Media App ‘Giggle for Girls’ Ordered To Pay USD 6,700 for Denying Access to Transgender Woman Roxanne Tickle in Australia.

Rathy Barthlote, who too has spent years on bridging visas like Yogalingam, through ABC urged the Australian government, "Please, stop this limbo for all of our life, we don't want to lose anyone else anymore. Give us a permanent residency because we are living this life for more than a decade." Refugee advocates as well as friends of Yogalingam gathered to protest against his death, whose mental health had deteriorated under the constant pressure of visa uncertainty. “We now mourn the loss of another young man who, like so many other young Tamils ​​on bridging visas, woke up each day wondering if this would be the day he would be forced to return to the persecution he fled,” Barthlote further told ABC.

Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Helpline Numbers:

Tele Manas (Ministry of Health) – 14416 or 1800 891 4416; NIMHANS – 080-46110007; Peak Mind – 080-456 87786; Vandrevala Foundation – 9999 666 555; Arpita Suicide Prevention Helpline – 080-23655557; iCALL – 022-25521111 and 9152987821; COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ) – 8322252525.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2024 06:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).