Writing Through Fences: A History from Below

AMIS Guest Lecture by Behrouz Boochani, Associate Professor in Social Sciences, UNSW and Omid Tofighian, researcher, community advocate and Adjunct Lecturer, UNSW/University of Sydney.

Discussant  Zachary Whyte, Associate Professor, AMIS

Moderator  Annika Lindberg, Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher, AMIS

Abstract

Writing Through Fences formed out of relationships between human beings beyond the prison fences and beyond borders, which involved refugees communicating with each other and with people in Australia too. It was a safe online space and involved many people from detention centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Christmas Island, Indonesia, and later on Manus Island and Nauru.

Behrouz Boochani and Omid Tofighian have engaged with Writing Through Fences for years, and this talk critically analyses the initiative and the fundamental role of people such as Janet Galbraith and Hani Abdile. Writing Through Fences is a part of Australia’s historical memory since it involves events from Australia’s dark history and writers that document Australia’s unofficial and forgotten history: “A history from below”.

These writings can help form a kind of knowledge that comes directly from the lived experience of refugees. The philosophy that emerges from writing and creating inside the detention centres helps imprisoned refugees to survive the hardship of incarceration, in addition it can become a significant and large field for researchers, writers and artists to understand Australia’s detention system. By engaging in Writing Through Fences refugees want to say that they are not voiceless, they do not need others to be their voices. They want to project their own voices. In other words, refugees are part of the main discourse. They are not passive. They want to make change.

The event will take place via Zoom. Please register at amis@hum.ku.dk to receive the link.

References

https://www.writingthroughfences.org/

https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/author/behrouz-boochani/

https://www.facebook.com/events/1817820558358484?active_tab=about