AustLit

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.

'One of the central moral issues of our time is the question of asylum seekers, arguably the most controversial subject in Australia today.

'In this landmark anthology, twenty-seven of Australia's finest writers have focused their intelligence and creativity on the theme of the dispossessed, bringing a whole new perspective of depth and truthfulness to what has become a fraught, distorted war of words. This anthology confirms that the experience of seeking asylum – the journeys of escape from death, starvation, poverty or terror to an imagined paradise – is part of the Australian mindset and deeply embedded in our culture and personal histories.

'A Country Too Far is a tour de force of stunning fiction, memoir, poetry and essays. Edited by award-winning writers Rosie Scott and Tom Keneally, and featuring contributors including Anna Funder, Christos Tsiolkas, Elliot Perlman, Gail Jones, Raimond Gaita, Les Murray, Rodney Hall and Geraldine Brooks, this rich anthology is by turns thoughtful, fierce, evocative, lyrical and moving, and always extraordinarily powerful.

'A Country Too Far' makes an indispensable contribution to the national debate.' (Publisher's blurb)