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'On 9 December 2017, The Saturday Paper published ‘A Letter from Manus Island’, an essay and manifesto written by Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist and refugee being held on Manus Island with hundreds of other men. Boochani writes in a radical, ‘poetic’ voice that makes the ordinary strange again, as he talks of love, the interdependence of human beings, and the strength to be derived from acts of solidarity. He challenges not only the prevailing vituperative tenor of contemporary public rhetoric, but also the dehumanising discourses within which humanitarian practices in Australia, and in the west more broadly, operate. This paper is written as a letter, in direct reply to Boochani’s own. It is inspired by Lilie Chouliaraki’s critique of contemporary practices of humanitarianism and the ways in which politics, the market and technology have transformed ‘the moral dispositions of our public life’. It explores the unsettling effects and provocative insights presented by Boochani’s poetic voice – the refugee as human subject and agent rather than victim or object of pity (or hate). The paper thus reflects on our conventional responses to the ethical call to solidarity from vulnerable subjects and imagines how we might respond otherwise.' (Introduction)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Manus Prison Poetics/our Voice : Revisiting ‘A Letter From Manus Island’, a Reply to Anne Surma
2018
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media and Cultural Studies , vol. 32 no. 4 2018; (p. 527-531)'Even if there were only one person reading my writings beyond this island, I would continue writing for that one reader.
'Dear Anne,
'This here is a pledge, a personal commitment. I made this pact with myself five years ago, during a time when no one knew where Manus Prison was. And now, after five years, I honestly cannot hide my feelings of joy. I cannot contain the satisfaction and pleasure it gives me to know that there are people in the public sphere and among intellectual circles who critically analyse what Australia is doing on Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) and the Republic of Nauru (Repubrikin Naoero) from philosophical and historical perspectives. After numerous years of writing from Manus Prison, my work has slowly entered public discourse and scholarly debate. I have discovered people who draw on these writings as foundations for serious academic research, and for me, this is the beginning of new initiatives and future approaches.' (Introduction)
-
Manus Prison Poetics/our Voice : Revisiting ‘A Letter From Manus Island’, a Reply to Anne Surma
2018
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media and Cultural Studies , vol. 32 no. 4 2018; (p. 527-531)'Even if there were only one person reading my writings beyond this island, I would continue writing for that one reader.
'Dear Anne,
'This here is a pledge, a personal commitment. I made this pact with myself five years ago, during a time when no one knew where Manus Prison was. And now, after five years, I honestly cannot hide my feelings of joy. I cannot contain the satisfaction and pleasure it gives me to know that there are people in the public sphere and among intellectual circles who critically analyse what Australia is doing on Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) and the Republic of Nauru (Repubrikin Naoero) from philosophical and historical perspectives. After numerous years of writing from Manus Prison, my work has slowly entered public discourse and scholarly debate. I have discovered people who draw on these writings as foundations for serious academic research, and for me, this is the beginning of new initiatives and future approaches.' (Introduction)
Continuum : Journal of Media and Cultural Studies
