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Behrouz Boochani is a leading voice for asylum seekers detained in Australia Island detention camps
A high-profile refugee who was detained by Australia for six years received asylum in New Zealand.
Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian Kurd, has lived in Christchurch since fleeing arrest on the island of Australia in 2019.
He had initially applied for asylum in Australia in 2013, arriving by ship, but was brought to Papua New Guinea under Australia’s hardline asylum policy.
There he became a prominent voice for detainees and drew attention to their poor conditions in the camps.
Her experiences, which she documented on Twitter and elsewhere, helped focus international attention on Australia’s remote detention centers in the Pacific, where asylum-seekers can be held for an indefinite period of time.
- Behrouz Boochani: the refugee who secretly filmed a movie
More than 400 asylum seekers remain at Australia’s two controversial offshore detention sites, located on PNG’s Manus Island and the island nation of Nauru.
Speaking on Friday, Boochani, now a published author and associate academic, said he finally felt relief and a sense of security about his future.
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New Zealand had formally recognized his refugee status, offering him a one-year work visa and a path to citizenship, he told the Guardian Australia newspaper.
However, he said that “he cannot celebrate completely” because “many people who were imprisoned with me [on Manus Island] they are still struggling for freedom. “
How did Boochani come out?
As a journalist persecuted in his homeland, Boochani related his life and events at the Manus Detention Center on social media. In the early years, it was one of the only voices within the center, as Australia initially blocked visits by journalists and rights defenders.
In 2018, he published a book, No Friend But The Mountains, which won Australia’s richest literary award and other accolades. Since he was still in prison, he sent passages from the book to his publisher in Australia via WhatsApp.
The book’s success turned out to be his ticket off the island: New Zealand granted him a month-long visa after being invited to speak at a literary festival in November 2019.
He previously said his trip marked the first time he had tasted “freedom” in six years. There he filed a protection claim, which prevented Australian authorities from ordering his return to PNG.
What are detention centers like?
The Australian government has consistently upheld its island detention and border protection policies, which only apply to asylum seekers arriving by boat.
They say their policies are necessary to deter dangerous attempts to reach the country by sea.
However, the conditions of the detention centers and the policy itself, which allows indefinite detention as asylum claims are processed, have been condemned as “inhuman” by the United Nations refugee agency and the human rights groups.
During Boochani’s time in the camps, there were a series of violent incidents that included a riot involving guards and refugees in 2014, where dozens were injured and an asylum-seeker died.
Since 2014, at least 13 asylum seekers have died while in custody, including seven from known or suspected suicide.
In 2017, Australia paid A $ 70 million (£ 39 million; $ 49 million) in compensation to 1,905 men, including Mr. Boochani, after they brought legal action saying they had suffered damage to central Manus Island. The government offered payment but denied wrongdoing.
New Zealand has also previously offered to resettle 150 refugees from Australian island detention centers, but this has been rejected by Canberra.
