Sewn Lips Seek Asylum

(Christmas Island, Indian Ocean) About 1,000 miles from the Australian mainland, Christmas Island Territory is tiny, covering a mere 135 square miles.



Christmas Island, Indian Ocean
Nonetheless, there's plenty of room for a troublesome alien detention center.

The Federal Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen says there are rising tensions at the Christmas Island detention centre because of the increase in rejection rates for asylum seekers.

Ten Iraqi, Iranian and Kurdish men are refusing medical treatment after sewing their lips together.

My guess is that the detainees are just adding attention-getting flair to a run-of-the-mill hunger strike. They need more people to learn of their plight.

Well, it worked. I'm in Ohio and writing about it.

By the way, Christmas Island is noted for being inhabited by an estimated 40,000,000 red crabs which all head for the sea during mating and spawning season. The migration is a regularly featured on the nature channels.