By Casey Neill
A cry for help like the Springvale bank fire could happen again unless the Immigration Department makes changes.
Australian Burmese Rohingya Organisation (ABRO) founder and spokesman Habib, who has no surname, told the Journal that his community was reeling after Rohingya asylum seeker Nur Islam, 21, allegedly set the Springvale Road Commonwealth Bank and himself alight about 11.30am on Friday 18 November, injuring more than 20 people.
Commonwealth Bank Melbourne region general manager Michelle Winzer unveiled a temporary bank made out of shipping containers at the junction of Lightwood Road and Warwick Avenue in Springvale on Thursday 24 November.
She said it would remain in place until the Springvale Road branch re-opened in three to four weeks.
Ms Winzer said 15 staff were inside the bank when the “terrible event” occurred.
She said seven were taken to hospital and all had since been discharged and were recovering at home.
The bank was providing ongoing professional counselling and established a 24-hour support line at 132 221 for anyone affected, she said.
Ms Winzer said a full investigation was underway to understand what occurred and declined to comment on where in the bank the explosion occurred or whether automatic doors trapped victims inside.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the investigation remained active and ongoing.
A spokesman from The Alfred said one person had been discharged from the hospital and five remained, including one who was in a critical condition and one in a critical but stable condition.
“We cannot say it will not happen again because of the system that still exists,” Habib said.
“They leave the people in the community for three, four, five years.
“The Immigration Department has to finalise the cases in a timely manner.”
Habib revealed that Mr Islam had contacted support service Life Without Barriers for help as well as Centrelink, but wasn’t sure whether he’d been referred for mental health treatment.
An AMES spokesman explained that the Rohingya were an interesting case.
“They’re from the Rakhine State in Burma, or Myanmar, where they’re universally disliked and persecuted,” he said.
“The Burmese army has stopped fighting against other minority groups but they’re still conducting operations against the Rohingya.”
He said they were Muslim while Myanmar’s population was mainly Hindu.
“They’re at the bottom of the pecking order in inter-ethnic disputes and rivalries,” he said.
In a post on its Facebook page, Springvale CFA said the day “was a particularly difficult day for the brigade”.
Springvale Asian Business Association (SABA) spokesman Stan Chang said he’d heard from traders and shoppers that misinformation in the immediate aftermath of the fire caused fear.
“Business in the area was generally dropped for a few days, as the Commonwealth Bank normally draws a lot of people to the area,” he said.
Mr Chang welcomed the temporary centre. He said the incident was “a sad case which was perhaps avoidable if things could be done earlier to assist the offender instead of being driven to insanity and taken up the desperate action, and causing injuries to so many innocent people inside the bank at the time”.
Greater Dandenong Council community services director Mark Doubleday said the council had been working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Australian Red Cross to provide a crisis support line for anyone affected by the incident.
“The council will continue to work closely with lead agencies to ensure the community receives the support it needs during this difficult time,” he said.
Mr Doubleday said the council had also worked closely with the Commonwealth Bank to find the temporary branch location.
Life Without Barriers and the Immigration Department declined to comment.
