Transcript
The detention of 1500 refugees on Manus since 2013 has drawn international condemnation.
Manusians say their social fabric has been ripped apart as their island hosted hundreds of men sent there against their will by Australia.
These men in turn have been broken mentally by their indefinite incarceration.
PNG's government says moving to the capital will be positive for the few hundred refugees left in the country and that they're welcome to resettle there.
But Sri Lankan refugee Shaminda Kanapathi says men already in the capital have found life there impossible.
"Port Moresby is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Refugees in Port Moresby are a target. Many refugees have been attacked threatened with guns and knives, and they have been bashed and robbed. The men who live in Port Moresby do not leave their accommodation after dark because of the violence. We will be still prisoners with no safety in Port Moresby."
The most celebrated author in Australia this year is Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani.
The winner of four major literary prizes including the nation's richest is, however, still not welcome in the lucky country and will be forced to try his luck in Port Moresby.
"There is not social services in this country. And there is not security in this country. So, what we should never forget is that the refugees left their countries because of discrimination, because of persecution. Still we have some kind of problem like this, and the refugees are vulnerable people so we need some protection to establish a new life, but I think in this country we cannot."
Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul agrees Port Moresby is no place for the Manus men.
"PNG is not a resettling country, it's not safe. The people who've been actually living in Port Moresby, many of the people I spoke to have been assaulted, not just once but some four or five times, have been robbed, have been threatened with guns and knives. I also expect there'll be much worse, medical conditions. There are no mental health services to speak of in Port Moresby at all. If people have to use the General Hospital, they will be way, way worse off than they are on Manus Island."
Even as it pays to sustain the refugees in Port Moresby, Australia's government is likely to tout the move as the successful conclusion of offshore processing in PNG.
But can leaving hundreds of mentaly ill refugees in a Melanesian capital without a resettlement programme be heralded as a success?
Mr Boochani says the move doesn't absolve Canberra of its reponsibility to find suitable countries for those it banished for seeking Australian asylum.
"Australian government cannot run away from this problem, and this situation. They are responsible, but unfortunately the PNG government always follows Australia, and they are part of this problem."
Mr Kanapathi says the refugees are afraid that in the PNG capital they'll be forgotten.
"Our greatest fear in this relocation to Port Moresby is that people will no longer be aware of our situation and we will be forgotten. We want the people to know that moving to Port Moresby is not a durable solution. As long as we are in PNG, we are not settled and safe."
Shaminda Kanapathi and 35 other men were flown to Port Moresby on Thursday with the last 35 men expected to leave Manus Island on Friday.
This is Ben Robinson Drawbridge.
