No, no, it's very bad, impossible. He was not personally ill-treated, says Hussein, but he has heard reports from other other detainees who have been. The experience of simply being incarcerated has been a dehumanising experience for the gentle gardener from Afghanistan. He spent five months in detention waiting for a temporary protection visa. Then there was the uncertainty of the future.
Nobody knows what's happening tomorrow.
The monotony of the life behind barbed wire is a theme that Hussein keeps returning to. Life outside Woomera has had its own burdens. Although he found a job in a factory a few weeks ago, the lack of English and difficulty obtaining cheap rental accommodation have been particularly hard to cope with. It's a problem not confined to Hussein. More than 500 have been bussed to Victoria from Woomera alone since mid-year.