Flotilla of Hope

The Flotilla of Hope was a voyage by yacht carried out in 2004 by protesters critical of the Australian government's asylum policy. The boats sailed to Nauru, a Pacific island nation which is host to Australia's offshore immigrant detention centre. They intended to deliver goods to those interned (most detainees are families who fled conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq), but were not allowed to land by the Nauruan government. Under an agreement put into effect earlier that year, Australia had taken responsibility for the island's finances and civilian police force.