A 21-year-old asylum seeker alleged to have started a fire in a Commonwealth Bank, injuring 27 people, was mentally ill and was likely to have been trying to self-immolate, according to a community leader.
Noor Islam remains in a critical condition at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne after he allegedly walked into the bank in Springvale, 23km south-east of Melbourne, and started a fire on Friday.
Islam was a Rohingya asylum seeker from Myanmar who arrived in Australia by boat when he was 17, the president of the Australian Burmese Rohingya Organisation, Habib Habib, said on Monday. After a period in detention, he was released into the community on a bridging visa, which does not allow him to work.
Islam lived with three housemates in Springvale, and told one of them that he was worried about the safety of his mother and sister who remained in Myanmar because they were part of a persecuted Muslim minority.
“He was trying to send money to his sister for medical treatment but his Centrelink money had not come through,” said Habib, who has spoken to the housemates.
“Financially he was struggling, and he kept going between the bank and his caseworker and Centrelink for a couple of days trying to figure out what had happened to his payment.
“He was also struggling mentally, and after running around for a couple of days and being back at the bank yet again we believe he was not thinking. I have been told he might have poured petrol on himself and set fire to himself deliberately and would not have been thinking anyone could be harmed but himself.”
Habib said while thousands of others had been receiving letters from the immigration department as part of a fast-track process saying they were eligible to apply for a temporary protection visa, Islam had not received such a letter, making him anxious.
“Because of his religion he did not have citizenship in Burma and like about 40,000 other Burmese in Australia he was in legal limbo here,” Habib said
“He was suffering mentally due to the government keeping him hanging on, and he didn’t know if he would be sent back or allowed to say or sent to some Pacific Island nation like Nauru.
“We have seen many people set fire to themselves or jump off buildings because of the uncertainty and if the government keeps doing this to people there will be more.”
Habib said the man’s housemates were in shock.
“The entire community is shocked,” he said. “We don’t want any kind of violence. We are so sorry for what’s happened to staff and the people involved and who have been hurt.”
Habib said Islam was under police watch and that he had been unable to speak to him.
On Sunday the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, urged people not to use the attack as a “political weapon” in the debate about Australia’s refugee policy.
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Hotlines in other countries can be found here
