Michael Coates worked as a Safety & Security Advisor at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre from February 2014 to October 2016 as a member of the Emergency Response Team. Michael and his colleagues saw the human face of the asylum seeker issue at its worst. As they navigated the thin line between humanitarianism and security, they found themselves under attack from all sides – both from the “refugees” within the centre and their advocates at home in Australia. When the much-heralded PNG resettlement program finally came into effect, the long-brewing tensions finally boiled over into violence. Whilst the asylum seeker advocates claimed peaceful protest, Michael and his colleagues found themselves under siege. They were asked to charge head-first into a powder-keg of desperation and violence.
