The plight of an isolated Somali refugee recovering from severe self-inflicted burn wounds in a Brisbane hospital provides a “test of whether we are a civil society”, Queensland’s anti-discrimination commissioner has said. Professionals have raised concerns that Hodan Yasin, who suffered burns to 70% of her body and lost some fingers after setting herself alight inside Nauru detention centre, has been denied basic levels of social support over nearly five months of treatment. She has since been in direct contact with her mother and been visited by one member of the local Somali community. Yasin, 21, has received two visits by an imam from Moorooka mosque, most recently during Ramadan several months ago. While the department “carefully considers proposed visits of a compassionate nature”, it had not received any visa application from Yasin’s mother or other family members, he said.

Source: The Guardian September 21, 2016 22:27 UTC