Asylum Seeker Dead After Setting Himself on Fire in Skate Park

A 23-year-old Tamil Asylum seeker has died in Australia after self-immolating, according to an advocacy group.

Mano Yogalingham died on Wednesday after he set himself on fire in Melbourne in the state of Victoria, sustaining burns on over 80 per cent of his body, according to the Tamil Refugee Council. The council, and other advocacy groups, say his death came following a decade spent with uncertain visa status in Australia, after fleeing Sri Lanka as a child.

The Victoria Police Centre confirmed in a statement to Newsweek that, “Emergency services were called to a skate park in near the intersection of Memorial Drive and Heatherton Road about 7:55 p.m.”

“A 23-year-old Noble Park man was located at the scene and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.”

The statement confirmed that the man died in hospital on Wednesday and that the police are preparing a report for the coroner. It also confirmed that the circumstances around the incident are yet to be determined, but the matter is not believed to be suspicious.

The Tamil Refugee Council shared a statement on its Facebook responding to the news, writing “The tragic death of a Tamil asylum seeker in Dandenong today highlights the devastating impact of the Australian Government’s refugee policies.”

“Mano was just 23 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. But the psychological torment inflicted by the Australian Government’s cruel and inhumane policies, compounded by personal challenges, drove him to a point where he believed he had nothing left to live for,” Rathy Barthlote, who said he was with Mano when he died, told the Tamil Refugee Council, an Australia based grassroots Tamil organization advocating for the rights of Tamil refugees in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

Newsweek has reached out to the Australia’s Home Affairs Department for comment.

Mano was a Christian from the Puttalam region in Sri Lanka. He came to Australia when he was eleven, after his family fled Sri Lanka in 2013 due to threats from the Sri Lankan military, the Tamil Refugee Council said.

The Tamil community are a minority group in Sri Lanka, consisting of mainly Hindu and Christian members.

Yogalingham had been waiting for 12 years to see if he would be able to stay in Australia, according to the Council.

“His mental health deteriorated under the strain of visa uncertainty, leading to this heartbreaking outcome.” the statement read.

Newsweek has reached out to the Tamil Refugee Council for further comment.

Yogalingham was “acutely aware” of recent statements made by the Minister of Home Affairs, Tony Burke, where he expressed his intention to deport asylum seekers, according to the Council.

Burke is currently Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs. He has served multiple positions in government, including Minister for the Arts and Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. He has faced criticism for his policies on immigration.

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