“It is only when our theoretical positions are put into practice that we can know their profundity.”
—Behrouz Bouchani, No Friend but the Mountains
We invite you to an event organised by Academics for Refugees at the University of Sydney as part of a national day of action on WEDNESDAY 17 October. From 11 am to 1pm, in front of Fisher Library, staff from the university will conduct a public reading of short passages from the brilliant, ground-breaking book NO FRIEND BUT THE MOUNTAINS by Iranian journalist, Behrouz Bouchani.
Bouchani is one of the asylum seekers currently marooned on Manus Island by the Australian Government, after years of administrative detention. His book was composed in a series of text messages that have been translated by Sydney University academic, Dr Omid Tofighian.
There will be a group photo at 1pm to send a message of hope and support to the men, women and children who are who are struggling as a result of an increasingly harsh and harmful system of immigration detention.
This will be a great opportunity to hear about the conditions on Manus Island directly from the source. There will also be an opportunity to engage in ongoing campaigns, find out about forthcoming actions, and meet with colleagues who are pursuing justice, human rights and essential services for asylums seekers and refugees.
These rights can be secured only by a broad social movement in Australia. And there is more going on in this space than many of us realise. Come along and find out.
Organised by Louise Boon-Kuo (Law School), Vivian Honan (Department of Indonesian Studies), Chris Jordens (Sydney Health Ethics)
If you can’t join us, please take action on your own campus – check out Academics for Refugees – and follow events across across the country via Twitter:
#NoMoreHarm
#EndOffshoreProcessing
#EducationNotDetention
#EndMandatoryDetention
#AcademicsForRefugees
Sydney Health Ethics 