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Asylum Seeker Narratives

(Status : Public)
Coordinated by AustLit UQ Team
  • The Arrival (Play)

    'In the ruins of a circus tent, a troupe of actors gather to tell the story of an asylum seekers journey to a new country. Based on the multi-award winning picture book by Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, The Arrival is a new, large-scale theatrical work from acclaimed independent company Mutation Theatre. The Arrival tells the story of a man who travels from his oppressive homeland, leaving his wife and child behind, to find a new life for them in a far away country. It is a captivating and heartfelt tale about the journey of an asylum seeker, and the challenges they face after arriving in a new country.

    (...more)
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  • Asylum (Poem)

    First line: Will you please observe through the wire

  • Australia (Poem)

    First line: To achieve your grand freedom

  • Australia Locked Up (Picture Book)

    image of person or book cover
    This image has been sourced from online.
    This picture book for older readers outlines the history of Australia's various prison systems, from the historical transportation of British convicts to the contemporary 'transportation' of asylum seekers. (...more)
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  • Baxter (Poem)

    First line: How do you choose a figure from history

  • Boxman (Play)

    '"This is my home. I made it myself. It didn't cost me anything... I can tell you stories. What are my stories worth?" Meet Ringo, homeowner and survivor. Displaced from an African homeland and disconnected from this new one, come spend some time at his new address in downtown Footscray.' Source: www.bigwest.com.au/ (Sighted 24/11/2011). (...more)
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  • Boy Overboard (Play)

    image of person or book cover
    Cover image courtesy of publisher.
    Play about asylum seekers coming to Australia. Jamal and Bibi have a dream. To lead Australia to soccer glory in the next World Cup. But first they must face landmines, pirates, storms and assassins. Can Jamal and his family survive their incredible journey and get to Australia?
    Source: Libraries Australia
    (...more)
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  • Citizen X (Play)

    'Imagine if your destiny was to abandon your country, many of your family, all that was precious, in order to save your life and the lives of those you love.

    Elections have been fought over them, the newspapers are full them. We know them by their labels - asylum seekers, detainees, and queue jumpers. We know of their attempts to gain our attention - suicides, hunger strikes, breakouts. But what do we know of their humanity, the situations they have fled or the ordeals they continue to endure?Some Australians have reached out and made contact by writing to detainees.

    (...more)
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  • Danny in Detention (Poem)

    First line: Dad works at Hills but he

  • Dead Air (Poem)

    First line: Having stitched your lips shut

  • Detention 14/8/2001 (Poem)

    First line: My name is Shayan

  • Eyes in Time of War (Poetry Collection)

    'This collection of poems depicts an individual's perceptions and passions in times of war, and bears witness to the conflicts in the Middle East, "the clash" between the West and Islam, and the ways in which a person's ideals, passions and language are affected by violent political and religious conflicts.' (Publisher's blurb) (...more)
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  • I Could Be You (Play)

    Expanded from a short play written in 2008 and produced at St Kilda's Theatre Works as part of Caution: Girls at Work!

  • Home (Play)

    Six actors enact the words of 16 people interviewed inside detention centres and outside: people such as Paul, an Afghan meatworker in Albany; Cambodian-born teacher Channary, who was widowed during Pol Pot's regime, Kashmiri detainee David and schoolgirl Penny, who fled the Congo and found a new home in Perth. (...more)
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  • I Dream of Johnny (Play)

    'After losing his passport and his memory, John Howard finds himself on a boat to Norway as part of a 'refugees for nuclear waste' exchange scheme, devised by his own government and outsourced agencies. A series of mishaps leads to him being thrown overboard and marooned on a desert island with an irate Tony Abbott, who has been using his thinking time to devise a new dastardly portfolio for himself called the 'Department of Industrial Convalescence'. After being rescued from the island, both men wind up in the Baxter Detention Centre and must face the consequences of their past actions. (...more)
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  • Illegal (Poem)

    Author's note: On visiting Woomera Detention Centre on Mother's Day

  • Morning Courage (Poem)

    First line: This morning

  • Please Explain (Play)

    Dramatic monologue recounting the life of Ethiopian-Australian former refugee Assefa Bekele.

    (...more)
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  • Refugee to Resident (Artwork)

    An educated girl from a prosperous family in Iraq finds her world turned upside down by circumstances arising from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. With her young husband she flees first to Iran, then Turkey, experiencing the humiliation, discomfort and powerlessness of being a refugee. Ibtihal gives birth to a baby boy, lives in a tiny hut with no electricity or running water, tries to protect her baby from hungry rats, and attempts again and again to get approval from the UN to migrate. After years of hardship and persistence, Ibtihal and her small family arrive in Australia, where her youthful ambition leads her to study and later teach art as therapy for trauma. The book includes photos of the author’s story and art work.

    Find library holdings here.

  • Refugitive: A One-Man Theatre Work (Play)

    'Scene A small room with a mattress in one corner. There is a dirty bed sheet on the mattress. The whole atmosphere is lit by a blue fluorescent light, covered in the ceiling by a cage. Suddenly the door of the room, which is located in the back, will open and a MAN will be thrown in. He tries to stand up, but he feels pain in his stomach, so he bends and tries to bear it.'

    Source: Opening scene, from Southerly republication.

    (...more)
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  • Satan (Poem)

    First line: I've been asked, and I'm building

  • Something to Declare (Play)

    This play is a collection of interviews with refugees in Australian detention centres which were recorded by Michael Gurr.

  • A Story in Verse (Poem)

    First line: My land is ever so

  • A Woman Refugee: Woomera Detention Centre 2002 (Poem)

    First line: Behind the iron bars

  • Woomera (Poem)

    First line: a ragged group of refugees

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