Behrouz Boochani

Behrouz Boochani
Born Ilam, Iran
Occupation Journalist and Writer
Education Political Geography and Geopolitics
Alma mater Tarbiat Modares University

Behrouz Boochani (Kurdish: بەھرۆز بوچانی‎) (Born July 23, 1983 in Ilam, Iran) is a Kurdish journalist, human rights defender, poet and film producer. He is the co-director, along with Arash Kamali Sarvestani, of the documentary Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time[1], has published numerous articles in leading media internationally about the plight of refugees held by the Australian government on Manus Island and released the book No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison in 2018. He has been held in Manus Island detention centre since 2013.

Behrouz Boochani graduated from Tarbiat Modares University with a master's degree in Political Geography and Geopolitics. Boochani worked as a freelance journalist for the Iranian newspapers Kasbokar Weekly, Qanoon, and Etemaad[2] where he published articles on Middle-East politics, minority rights and the survival of Kurdish culture.[3] He cofounded and produced the Kurdish magazine Werya.[2] In February 2013, the offices of Werya were raided by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[4] Boochani went into hiding for three months and on May 23, 2013, fled Iran. On his second attempt to make a boat crossing from Indonesia to Australia he was intercepted, detained on Christmas Island and after one month was transferred to the Manus Island detention centre in August 2013.[3]

While living in the Manus Island detention centre Boochani has published articles in several newspapers internationally such as "The Day My Friend Hamid Kehazaei Died" in The Guardian[5] and "Life on Manus: Island of the Damned" in The Saturday Paper.[6] He has also published poems[7][8] and narrates his story in the documentary film "Nowhere Lines: Voices of Manus Island".[9] Boochani is also the subject of the play "Manus" written by playwright Nazanin Sahamizadeh.[10]

The film "Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time" was shot inside the Manus Island detention centre by Boochani, entirely on a mobile phone.[11] A review of Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time was written by the award winning writer Arnold Zable.[12] In March 2017, Boochani's plight was raised in the Australian House of Representatives by Australian parliamentarian Adam Bandt.[13] Boochani is on the shortlist for the Index on Censorship's Freedom of Expression Award in the category of Journalism.[14]

In July 2018, his Memoir "No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison" was published by Pan Macmillan Australia. It chronicles his boat journey from Indonesia and his detainment on Manus Island. It interleaves his recollections with a great deal of poetry, as well as constructing an analytical framework of what Boochani calls the "Kyriarchal system" of the Manus prison (a term borrowed from Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza). He rigorously analyses how the prison systematically implements a regime of dehumanisation and deprivation in order to torture the prisoners into despair.

References

  1. ↑ "IMDb", Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Zable, Arnold (21 November 2015). "Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani tells of the horrors of Manus Island: out of sight, out of mind". Sydney: Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 The Pacific Solution: What can we learn from the case of Behrouz Boochani?. Melbourne University. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Hazel, Andy (3 April 2017). "Reporting from Inside a Refugee Detention Centre". IPS News. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Boochani, Behrooz (27 November 2016). "The day my friend Hamid Kehazaei died". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Boochani, Behrooz (4 March 2016). "Life on Manus: island of the damned". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Boochani, Behrouz (1 November 2016). "Untitled". Cordite Poetry Review. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Black Kite and the Deep Dark by Behrouz Boochani". PEN International. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Schrank, Lukas. "Nowhere Lines: Voices of Manus Island". 99 Media. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  10. ↑ Robinson-Drawbridge, Benjamin (5 April 2017). "Behrouz Boochani - 'I will not be silent'". Radio NZ. New Zealand. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Tlozek, Eric (3 April 2017). "Iranian refugee's film shot on mobile phone shows life inside Manus Island detention centre". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  12. ↑ Zable, Arnold. "Across the Void: Behrouz Boochani". Autonomous Action Radio. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  13. ↑ Bandt, Adam (13 Feb 2017). "Statements by Members: Mr Behrouz Boochani". Open Australia. Open Australia. Retrieved 19 Apr 2017.
  14. ↑ "Freedom of Expression Awards 2017". Index on Censorship. Index on Censorship. Nov 2016. Retrieved 18 Apr 2017.

Works

External References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.