Language help for refugees in detention

Hundreds of dictionaries covering a variety of languages and dialects are being distributed to asylum seekers in detention centres across WA.

The dictionaries, which provide much-needed assistance to people whose English language skills may be limited, are funded and distributed by volunteers from the Refugee Rights Action Network.

Each bilingual dictionary costs about $30 but all are given away to the detainees.

So far, the group has sourced Tamil, Farsi, Dari and Arabic English dictionaries and distributed them to 450 detainees.

Co-ordinator of the program Sally Woodliff said it was a pity that the dictionaries that had proved useful to so many detainees had to be funded and distributed by volunteers.

Her group had been providing the service for the past six months and had raised $5000 nationally for the program.

Ms Woodliff said detainees at the Curtin detention centre had recently organised their own English language classes and had asked for Oxford picture dictionaries to assist in the classes.

Human rights activist and member of the refugee action group Gerry Georgatos said asylum seekers had the right to be understood and the Department of Immigration should provide basic materials such as bilingual dictionaries.

"Dictionaries, and the right to be understood, are the most basic courtesy," Mr Georgatos said.