Amin Afravi has been waiting to get out of Australia's detention system for almost a decade.
By the time the 32-year-old refugee was unexpectedly released last week, he was emotionally numb.
"If you have a right and it has been taken away for a long time, when you get it back, you won't have any feeling for it," Mr Afravi said.
"There is no word to explain detention. It's terrible. As much as you can think, it's terrible.
"Even someone in prison has a time limit, which is a reality we don't have at all."
Mr Afravi is one of 55 people released from immigration detention this year with no explanation from the federal government about what prompted the move.
He is on a six-month bridging visa and is considered a "transitory person" by the federal government, as it does not settle boat arrivals in Australia.
Multiple advocacy groups have estimated there are more than 550 asylum seekers and refugees living in the community on temporary visas awaiting resettlement to a third country.
Refugee advocate Rita Prasad-Ildes from World Wellness Group said the first step to rebuilding the lives of refugees who had spent years in confinement would be to provide holistic care for their mental and physical recovery.
"They're coming out of detention with quite longstanding, unattended healthcare needs, and that really does need time and attention," she said.
A Home Affairs spokesperson said transitory persons were encouraged to "take steps to start the next phase of their life including [whether] to resettle in a third country or voluntarily return home or to another country in which they have a right of entry".
Meanwhile, eligible people would be offered short-term transitional support, which included "financial, accommodation, access to health care, access to education for school aged children, case worker support and case management".
'At least let them be healthy'
Amnesty International spokesperson Graham Thom said more should be done to help them get back on their feet.
"These people should be entitled to the same level of assistance as everyone else is," he said.
"If the policy is they can't stay here, then at least let them be healthy so when they go to these other countries, they're able to get on with their lives."
Mr Afravi came to Australia by boat in 2013 to seek asylum, as he identifies as Ahwazi Arab, a minority ethnic group that accuses Iranian authorities of systematic oppression.
He spent six years in a processing centre on PNG's Manus Island before being moved to Brisbane under medevac laws in 2019.
Mr Afravi said he developed a range of physical and mental health disorders in detention, including a psoriasis skin condition and short-term memory loss.
"Now my priority is my sicknesses, nothing else," Mr Afravi said.
"The first sickness [that needs attention] will be my stomach problem. I lost so much weight my body is getting weaker — and I couldn't help it."
Mr Afravi said he became infected with the bacteria helicobacter pylori when he ate catered food at the makeshift hotel detention in Brisbane's Kangaroo Point.
The bacteria usually coat the lining of the stomach, which can cause gastrointestinal inflammation and more serious conditions like peptic ulcers.
Mr Afravi said he waited more than a year in detention to see a specialist about his stomach and, although the initial treatment helped, the bloating and abdominal pains came back.
Now, whenever Mr Afravi tries to digest food, his stomach produces an excess of gas that makes it difficult to breathe and puts pressure on his kidneys.
"Each day I have one meal and with that one meal I will struggle because I cannot eat properly," he said.
Over the three years he spent in Brisbane detention, Mr Afravi lost 24 kilograms.
He said he now wants to enjoy his newfound freedom and begin living his life, but he will first need to restore his health before he can do anything else.
"I want to get my sicknesses treated, so I can actually go to the gym to get my strength back … because I'm so weak I cannot work," Mr Afravi said.
"Once I've built some muscle, then I can actually take the step to find a job."
Ms Prasad-Ildes said medevac refugees like Mr Afravi have "quite problematic" access to healthcare because of their complex needs, language barriers, and delays in gaining Medicare access.
It is why she co-founded a charitable health clinic in South Brisbane that provides comprehensive services for asylum seekers and refugees.
"In a typical medical centre you have fairly short, quick appointments, and people who have really longstanding, complex health issues really do need the attention and time," Ms Prasad-Ildes said.
"On top of that, they come out on bridging visas … and what happens is they need to be renewed regularly, so every time their bridging visa drops out, their work rights and Medicare drop out too."
The visa renewal process can take months, disrupting their treatment because they do not have access to healthcare during that period, and have to reapply for Medicare each time.
Mr Thom said although Australia has committed to resettlement deals with New Zealand and the United States, some asylum seekers and refugees might wait up to three years before being relocated.
He said the Australian government should offer them income support and grant bridging visas longer than six months so that they can find work and receive consistent care.
"Finding somewhere to live is an incredible challenge for these people. On top of that, they have to find work very quickly because they have no other income support.
"All these difficulties add up on top of the medical conditions they may have developed, including some very severe psychological post-traumatic stress from what they've seen and witnessed from being offshore and in detention, not to mention what they fled from originally."
'I'm a bit stressed'
Ms Prasad-Ildes said people came out of immigration detention with "very limited" support.
"There is a three-week transition period of some temporary accommodation, some income support, but then they're really on their own," she said.
Mr Afravi said he received a one-off payment of $350 to support himself after he was released.
"I'm a bit stressed about how to start my life … I know that after three weeks I have to leave this house, and then I will be on my own," he said.
Ms Prasad-Ildes and Mr Thom said it then fell on already overstretched charities to pick up the pieces.
"We're finding with the fundraisers, it's getting harder and harder, so if the government would have a more comprehensive strategy to support people's healthcare, that would be very much welcomed because at the end of the day we will be paying for it," Ms Prasad-Ildes said.
"We will be paying for it through our public health system. People's health will deteriorate … and they will end up in hospital, emergency departments … and that ultimately is a cost.
"A lot of this can be prevented with stronger support in the community and primary healthcare."
'I just want to work'
Both the UN High Commission for Refugees and the Refugee Council of Australia estimate that when all resettlement options are exhausted, there will still be about 500 people like Mr Afravi with nowhere to go.
Under international law, Australia cannot forcibly send asylum seekers back to the country they fled from, while Australia's border policy does not offer protection to boat arrivals.
Earlier this month, Home Affairs reported that 998 people had been resettled in the United States since the start of February, and around 230 people had received provisional approval but were yet to leave.
New Zealand is expected to accept 450 people for resettlement over the next three years.
Mr Afravi said he did not know where he would go and planned to take one day at a time.
"I did not come in here to have the government pay me. I just want to work, stand on my feet, pay taxes, and live a life like everybody else."
