Transnational communities for dismantling detention: From Manus Island to the UK

Authors

  • Behrouz Boochani UNSW; Birkbeck, University of London
  • Diana Flores City of Sanctuary UK; University Centre of Leeds City College; White Ribbon Alliance; Women's Health Matters; Abigail
  • Agatha Sibanda These Walls Must Fall
  • Victor Mujakachi These Walls Must Fall
  • Temboman *
  • Fafa *
  • Rosie Huzzard These Walls Must Fall
  • Lauren Cape-Davenhill These Walls Must Fall
  • Ala Sirriyeh Lancaster University
  • Hannah Lewis University of Sheffiled
  • Gwyneth Lonergan Lancaster University
  • Deirdre Conlon University of Leeds
  • Bruce Bennett Lancaster University
  • Omid Tofighian UNSW; University of Sydney

Keywords:

Behrouz Boochani, Border Violence, Colonialism, Refugees, Immigration Detention, Manus Island

Abstract

Behrouz Boochani published No Friend but the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison in 2018 which went on to win the 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature while he was still incarcerated in Manus Prison. Since its publication the book has attracted a great deal of worldwide attention, particualrly from UK academics – it was released in the UK in 2019. Prior to winning Australia’s richet literary award his film Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival and its international premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. The feature-length film has also been screened at numerous UK universites. In February 2020 Behrouz and translator Omid Tofighian engaged with academics and activists in the UK over a series of events; this article is an edited version of various conversations that emerged from these collaborations and critically discusses the global nature of border violence and the colonial ideology at the heart of immigration detention.

Author Biographies

Behrouz Boochani, UNSW; Birkbeck, University of London

Adjucnt Associate Professor of Social Sciences; Visiting Professor of Law

Diana Flores, City of Sanctuary UK; University Centre of Leeds City College; White Ribbon Alliance; Women's Health Matters; Abigail

Chair of Heath Stream; Law student; External Representative; Members' Board; Board Member

Agatha Sibanda, These Walls Must Fall

Organiser

Victor Mujakachi, These Walls Must Fall

Organiser

Temboman *

Temboman is a pseudonym

Fafa *

Fafa is a pseudonym

Rosie Huzzard, These Walls Must Fall

Organiser

Lauren Cape-Davenhill, These Walls Must Fall

Organiser

Ala Sirriyeh, Lancaster University

Senior Lecturer

Hannah Lewis, University of Sheffiled

Senior Research Fellow

Gwyneth Lonergan, Lancaster University

Research Fellow

Deirdre Conlon, University of Leeds

Associate Professor

Bruce Bennett, Lancaster University

Senior Lecturer

Omid Tofighian, UNSW; University of Sydney

Adjucnt Lecturer; Honorary Research Associate

References

Agamben, G. (1998). Homo sacer: Sovereign power and bare life. (D. Heller-Roazen, Trans.) Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Boochani, B. (2017). A letter from Manus. (O. Tofighian, Trans.). The Saturday Paper, 9–15 December. Retrieved from https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/12/09/letter-manusisland/15127

Boochani, B. (2018). No Friend but the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison. (O. Tofighian, Trans. with translator’s note and essay). Sydney: Picador.

Boochani, B. (Director), & Kamali Sarvestani, A. (Producer/Director). (2017). Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time [Motion Picture]. Netherlands: Sarvin Productions.

D. Conlon (2017) Immigration policy and migrant support organizations in an era of austerity and hope, in D. Brotherton and P. Kretsedemas (eds.) Immigration policy in the age of punishment: detention, deportation and border control, NY:Columbia University Press.

Feldman, R. (2013). When maternity doesn't matter: Dispersing pregnant women seeking asylum. London: Refugee Council.

Gill, N., Conlon, D., Moran, D. & Burridge, A. (2018). Carceral circuitry: New directions in carceral geography. Progress in Human Geography, 42(2), 183-204.

Independent Asylum Commission. (2008). Fit For Purpose Yet? The Independent Asylum Commission's Interim Findings. Retrieved from London: http://www.independentasylumcommission.org.uk/files/Fit%20for%20Purpose%20Yet.pdf

Moran, D. (2015). Carceral geography: Spaces and practices of incarceration. Birmingham: Ashgate.

Roberts, H. (2016) Paved with good intentions: Terra nullius, Aboriginal land rights and settler-colonial law. Sydney: Halstead Press.

Sibanda, A. (2018). These Walls Must Fall: Fighting immigration detention in Liverpool. Pluto Press. [Online]. Available from: https://www.plutobooks.com/blog/these-walls-must-fall-fighting-immigration-detention/

Silverman, S. J., & Griffiths, M. E. B. (2019). Immigration detention in the UK. Migration Observatory, COMPAS, University of Oxford, UK.

Sirriyeh, A. (2018). The politics of compassion: Immigration and asylum policy. UK: Bristol University Press.

Sukarieh, M. and Tannock, S. (2019), Subcontracting academia: Alienation, exploitation and disillusionment in the UK overseas Syrian refugee research industry. Antipode, 51: 664-680. doi:10.1111/anti.12502

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Published

21-03-2020

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2020): Community Psychology in Global Perspective - Special Issue: Migrant resistance and acts of solidarity

Section

Special Thematic Section

License

Authors who publish with Community psychology in global perspective agree to the Creative Commons Licence - Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Italy.