The life and awful death of a Tamil asylum seeker in Australia
Special report: #Leo_Seemanpillai was a hardworking 29-year-old plagued by the uncertainty of life in visa limbo, say friends
Leo Seemanpillai’s room has already been stripped bare, but a sheet of paper remains stuck to the door. “It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us,” runs the quote on it.
Out in the living room, in this small, shared house in Geelong, Victoria, a shrine sits on the dining table. A wreath of white roses, chrysanthemums and daisies circles a framed photo of the 29-year-old Tamil asylum seeker, who set himself on fire on 31 May. A glass of milk and a glass of water sit – full to the brim – next to the flowers, left behind for Seemanpillai’s spirit to sip, according to a friend. He is the second Tamil asylum seeker to self-immolate in Australia over the past year – the first survived. Seemanpillai died on 1 June.
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/05/the-life-and-awful-death-of-a-tamil-asylum-seeker-in-australia
#mort #décès #Australie #réfugiés #asile #migration #suicide