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Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Personal accounts from over fifty Australians who became involved with the lives of refugees held in Australian detention centres.

'In recent years, thousands of Australians from all walks of life have been moved to act in support of asylum seekers and refugees and against the Australian government's immigration policy and practice. In 'Acting from the Heart', over 50 people who reflect the diversity of this movement describe how and why they became involved. The contributors shared a sense of disbelief and outrage that 'Australian values' suddenly appeared to include callous self-interest and a disregard for human suffering. The detention of over 4000 children could not easily be seen as necessary or 'a fair go'. The experiences described in this collection speak to the profound emotional impact of involvement in this movement. Advocates have undergone extremes of sadness, anger, frustration and joy. There is sadness at the loss of Australia's moral innocence and of identity; anger about the pain and damage inflicted on vulnerable individuals; and the frustration of dealing with a political and bureaucratic machine intent on detention at all costs, and operating within a punitive model where all are guilty. And, occasionally, all this is leavened with the joy of a detainee being released.
For some, the 'refugee issue' has become a defining personal stance, one which has engaged and divided families and communities. 'Acting from the Heart' shows the hardship and commitment behind this extensive grassroots political movement. Stories, poems and political cartoons by Australia's foremost, award-winning cartoonists, make up this powerful and provocative book. The refugee question has become a moral debate and, for some, a way of reasserting our essential human values. 'Acting from the Heart' represents a powerful contribution to the ongoing debate about the ethics of our nation and the politics of institutionalised inhumanity worldwide.' --Publisher's website.

Exhibitions

Notes

  • Dedication: To all those who seek refuge on our shores and those who welcome them
  • Epigraph: 'For those who've come across the seas / We've boundless plains to share / With courage let us all combine / To advance Australia fair.' From Verse 3, 'Advance Australia Fair', Australia's National Anthem
  • Epigraph: 'First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, / because I wasn't a Communist. / Then they came for the sick, the so-called incurables, / and I didn't speak up, / because I wasn't mentally ill. / Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, / because I wasn't a Jew. / Then the came for me, and by that time there was / no one left to speak up for me.' Pastor Martin Niemoller 1892-1984
  • 'The idea for this anthology came out of a series of writing workshops run in South Australia and NSW that were originally intended to assist advocates and professionals to deal with the stresses and vicarious trauma resulting from ongoing work with incarcerated families and with unsupported refugees in the community. The stories generated were a clear testament to the wrongs of the immigration policy, and also the strength, determination and grace of asylum seekers, refugees and their advocates. We then invited contributions, starting with a small list of known advocates [...]. The stories form an historical record of this significant period in Australia's social history. They also make compelling reading.' -- From the Introduction (p. xi)

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Finch , 2007 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
It Was the Boy, Ngareta Rossell , single work prose (p. 2-9)
The Arab and the Jew, Judy McLallen , single work prose (p. 9-16)
No Forgiveness : They Did Know and They Didn't Care, Trish Highfield , single work prose (p. 17-19)
Kassabe's Story, Frances Milne , single work prose (p. 20-27)
Morning Couragei"This morning", Helen Tait , single work poetry (p. 28)
What Kind of Asylum?, Michael Dudley , single work prose (p. 29-30)
Rimana, Michael Douglas , single work prose (p. 30-32)
Married to a Refugee Advocate : The Worst-Paid Job in the World, Frank Hetherton , single work prose (p. 32-36)
My Pleasure and Honour Always, Sue Hoffmann , single work prose (p. 36-44)
Hell Has No Holidays, Libby Turnock , single work prose (p. 45-52)
The Best of Times; The Worst of Times, Anne Pedersen , single work prose (p. 53-57)
Remembering, Diane Gosden , single work prose (p. 58-59)
Willy-Willy in Woomera, Diana Greentree , single work prose (p. 63-65)
Six Months in Woomera, Mira Wroblewski , single work prose (p. 65-74)
Villawood : Punishing the Innocent, Moya Turner , single work prose (p. 74-75)
People with Lives That Matter, Konya Roy , single work prose (p. 76-77)
Returning to Villawood, Lynette Chaikin , single work prose (p. 78-80)
Life Lessons : What Refugees and Asylum Seekers Have Taught Me, Aileen Crowe , single work prose (p. 81-87)
The Desert in My Country, Naleya Everson , single work prose (p. 88-91)
Brown Envelopes from Nauru, Elaine Smith , single work prose (p. 91-96)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Finch , 2007 .
      image of person or book cover 3228118093364404627.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: xiii, 242p.p.
      Description: illus. (b & w)
      ISBN: 9781876451783 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Shorts Always in Season Kathleen Noonan , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Courier Mail , 7 July 2007;

— Review of The Car Keys Peter Goldsworthy , 1993 single work short story ; Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories 2007 anthology autobiography prose poetry
Remarkable People 197 on Both Sides of the Wire Tony Dewberry , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Green Left Weekly , July no. 718 2007;

— Review of Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories 2007 anthology autobiography prose poetry
Untitled Laurel Lloyd-Jones , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Voice : A Journal of Comment and Review , September no. 23 2007; (p. 44-48)

— Review of Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories 2007 anthology autobiography prose poetry
In Praise of Those Who Went behind the Wire Adele Horin , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 June 2007; (p. 33)
Untitled Laurel Lloyd-Jones , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Voice : A Journal of Comment and Review , September no. 23 2007; (p. 44-48)

— Review of Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories 2007 anthology autobiography prose poetry
Remarkable People 197 on Both Sides of the Wire Tony Dewberry , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Green Left Weekly , July no. 718 2007;

— Review of Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories 2007 anthology autobiography prose poetry
Shorts Always in Season Kathleen Noonan , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Courier Mail , 7 July 2007;

— Review of The Car Keys Peter Goldsworthy , 1993 single work short story ; Acting from the Heart : Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories 2007 anthology autobiography prose poetry
In Praise of Those Who Went behind the Wire Adele Horin , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 June 2007; (p. 33)
Last amended 22 Oct 2014 12:48:54
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