“The terror hotel”: what is the refugee accommodation where Djokovic is isolated in Australia

From the Australia, the message was always clear: Novak djokovic I was not going to receive special treatment. The first Minister Scott morrison had announced that if the evidence of his medical exemption to enter the country was insufficient, they sent him on the next plane back home. However, after several hours of detention at the airport, the Serbian tennis player was transferred to a refugee hotel. He will be there at least until Monday, the day when a decision should be made about his future while his lawyers work around the clock.

Djokovic remains in Australian territory and will spend the next few hours in quarantine in the Park hotel from Melbourne, where he awaits the resolution of his case after receiving the veto of the local government for irregularities with your visa and medical exemption that had been granted to dispute the Australian Open, where he was aiming to become the top Grand Slam tournament winner of all time.

It’s in the Park hotel, located in the suburb of Carlton, a place that has a very particular history. It is an area that generates criticism from the inhabitants of Melbourne and its walls are full of protests related to arrests. There, in addition to Nole, are currently staying dozens of refugees detained that were transferred to Australia from places like Papua New Guinea, Manus Island, Nauru or Iraq.

There are people who have been locked up there for years and have experienced the advance of the coronavirus, with its different variants, with great fear. In an article he published The Guardian last October, they reported that the staff working at the hotel and the detainees denounced that it was an “incubator” of COVID-19. In that month, 22 of the 46 occupants tested positive. Some were medicated by the nursing staff. Those who needed medical attention were transferred to the hospital and returned to the hotel upon discharge.

As reported at that time by the channel 7News, a 90% of infections that were reported in the state of Victory, to which it belongs Melbourne, in the second wave of October, had their origin in the complex in which Djokovic is currently waiting to define its future.

Refugees and asylum seekers share a common kitchen area and use the same elevator, one at a time, accompanied by a security guard. On the fourth floor there is a small outdoor area, one of the few that is not hermetically sealed, since the windows of the rooms do not open. In that sector, refugees and asylum seekers often go smoking. Always one at a time and under the watchful eye of a guard.

Last December 23th, just before Christmas, refugees and asylum seekers had to be evacuees from detention hotel after several sources of fire were detected in the five-story building. They were two separate fires on the third and fourth floors. The Police pointed out that one of the hotel workers was attacked, but did not disclose the causes that led to the incident.

From the press Serbia there is great anger at the housing conditions that were imposed on Djokovic. The newspaper Telegraf rated the site as “horrible” and they charged hard against the conditions in which their occupants are. “The horror hotel where Novak is staying has a horrible history, a deadly wave spread from there “, they aimed from the middle of the native country of the world number one.

According to this same medium, Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia, acknowledged that Djokovic he just asked you to help him “Escape from the horrible hotel” and thus be able to wait for the definition of his future in the house he had rented in Australia to remain during the dispute of the first Grand Slam of the year. For the moment, he will spend his days with immigrants from an enclosure that generates controversy in Melbourne.

Serbian journalist Sasha Ozmo from Sport klub reported in his social networks that Novak they denied the request to pass the isolation in the site that had rented and warned that the tennis player they still haven’t given him his “wallet and belongings”, which are still at the airport. In addition, he reported poor conditions in the hotel room since “There are some bugs”.

“He went to a hotel for migrants, to a dirty room, without any of his belongings. The lawyers are doing their job. They are working to help Novak move to suitable accommodation and gain freedom. “her brother Djordje said at a recent press conference.

Thus the first hours of his international conflict transits the number one in the world of tennis, while his fans show their support from the outskirts of a Park hotel that has its walls full of messages. “30 children are locked up here and have been tortured for 3,092 days”says one of the most notorious writings. In that context, Novak djokovic awaits to know the final decision on your stay in Australia after appealing his deportation.

Nole arrived in a taxi to this hotel where most people are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and that it has been a major source of contagion only a few months ago. The fans hold a vigil at the door of the place and await the prompt resolution of their case to find out if Nole can play the Australian Open, which starts next Monday January 17.

For now, some media indicate that the punishment if they finally revoke their visa for good could profoundly influence their career, since they would expose themselves to a ban of up to three years without being able to enter Australia.

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