She sits in a wheelchair looking utterly defeated, a small child in her lap. She appears to be in her mid to late 30s, but it is difficult to tell through her exhaustion. Her daughter's ears sparkle with little gold earrings and her cheeks glisten with tears.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
We don't know the woman's name or the reason she is here but she is one of about 1000 people who made the same journey to Christmas Island's jetty at Flying Fish Cove this week.
A record number of asylum seekers have come to Australian shores this year - more than 3300 have arrived by boat, compared with 1300 at the same time last year. The monsoon season - which slowed the boats to a trickle from November to February - is easing although not yet over.
This week Fairfax Media witnessed the quiet desperation of people as they arrived at the far-flung outpost of Australia.
As politicians quibbled in Canberra and across the mainland about who should be blamed for the boats, Indonesian fishing vessels continued their stubborn appearance on the horizon past Christmas Island.
The steady arrivals continue to occur amid Canberra's piecemeal implementation of the Houston panel's comprehensive recommendations to deal with the issue.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says Australia is not alone in recording a surge in arrivals.
In 2012 almost half a million people filed claims for refugee protection around the world, the highest number in a decade and 8 per cent more than the previous year.
