Seven children sit in rapt attention in Dale Brittle's class at Christmas Island. But these kids - aged between five and seven - aren't like the others at the island's school. When they go home to their families, they'll return to the fences of their secure detention facilities.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
''It's just like teaching any children,'' Ms Brittle says. ''They're lovely kids. But some of them have been through a lot.''
There are 280 children at Christmas Island District High School (the name is a misnomer), between the ages of five and 17. Another 24 children from the nearby detention camps come here for daily classes, with five to seven year olds in one class, and seven to 13 year olds in another. Teenagers aged 13 to 17 are offered classes at the nearby recreation centre. Intensive English lessons are a priority for older children.
Teaching asylum seekers' children is complicated by the fact most only stay on the island for one to three months, before they are transferred with their families to mainland facilities or to Manus Island's processing facility.
Later, Ms Brittle sadly says: ''They're kids, and it is amazing how resilient they are. Like that little boy. It's quite interesting, you know, they all love playing in the [play equipment] boat. Some of them have been through some pretty terrible things.''
On Christmas Island, asylum seeker children spend half an hour each day playing with other children at recess and lunchtime. In the playground, they are just like any other child. But once they leave here for ''alternative places of detention'' on the mainland, not all will continue to go to school.
❏ An asylum seeker boat with more than 80 people on board has been intercepted west of Cocos Keeling Islands on Monday night.
