Manus island had been used since 2001 to house asylum seekers who has come to Australia by boat, as part of the so-called 'Pacific Solution', keeping asylum seekers from mainland Australia. However, Manus fell out of use and was only returned to the purpose of refuge centre in 2012, after a rise in asylum seekers aimin to reach Australia by boat.

The Pacific Solution has long come in for criticism and successive Australian governments have been increasingly anti-immigration. The conditions on Manus island (as well as Nauru, also used for detainment) have come in for repeated criticism, as has the legality of depriving asylum seekers of their freedom.

In 2014 Hamid Kehazaei died on Manus from an infection after authorities failed to get him timely and appropriate medical attention. Journalist and filmmaker Behrouz Boochani was a friend and fellow detainee and has made a film as well as producing a considerable amount of writing about the conditions of the detainees.

In 2016 the supreme court of Papua New Guinea found both the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments guilty of breaking the constitution and detaining the asylum seekers illegally.

In April of 2017 there were a series of shootings at the camp, staff and detainees alike, by locals, some of whom were in the military. In February 014 an attack by loals, including ex-camp guards, had injured 70 people and resulted in one death.

By 2017 some of the remaining 866 detainees took up the offer of $25000 to return to their country of origin. The rest remain, detained illegally, as found by the Papua New Guinea supreme court, in a processing camp that is neither processing their application for asylum in atimely way, nor keeping them safe.

no. its inhumane