I left Manus Island but it's hard to feel free while my refugee brothers and sisters are still detained | Imran Mohammad Fazal Hoque

Those of us who have resettled in the US and other countries all left someone very close to us behind

On 19 July 2013 the Australian government announced that those who arrived by boat seeking safety would never reach the mainland. The effect of this policy is beyond description and I am still haunted by the memories of the time myself and hundreds of others were held captive on Manus Island.

The concept of a system ruining people's lives is not easy to understand. It is complex, destructive and manipulative and every aspect is highly politicised. It is a form of systematic torture, the scars of which are not obvious, but they are real and will affect a person for the rest of his or her life.