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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
This anthology 'was begun by a group of asylum seekers sharing stories around the table at the Refugee Claimants Support Centre in Windsor, Brisbane. The asylum seekers were from countries like the Congo, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan. [...] The idea behind the book was to help people have a voice. And what powerful voices have emerged! There were no preconceptions about what might be written; people were invited to share anything they wanted, and there was no pressure to share what did not feel comfortable or safe. [...] There are indeed stories in this book of great suffering and loss. However there are also expressions of joy, love, tradition, family and home. Hopefully then, through these stories, we can come to see the people behind the label 'refugee' (From the Introduction, pp. 6-7).
The collection is arranged in sections titled 'Hoping,' 'Remembering,' 'Falling,' 'Relating,' 'Believing,' 'Sharing' and 'Nourishing' and includes poems, short stories, autobiographic prose and, in the final section, recipes.
Notes
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Dedication: This book is dedicated to all those asylum seekers who have waited for years to be offered safety in Australia, only to be forcibly returned to their countries. From there, many are never seen or heard from again.
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Contents indexed selectively. [Recipes are not indexed.]
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Windsor,
Windsor - Kedron area,
Brisbane - North East,
Brisbane,
Queensland,:Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Brisbane
, 2006 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- Letter for my Grandma, single work autobiography (p. 12-13)
-
All I Need Is a New Skin,
single work
prose
(p. 14)Gabi Heuft illustrates how cultural differences impact upon refugees' lives.
- My First Working Day, single work autobiography (p. 15)
- First Months in Australia, single work life story (p. 16-17)
- What I'm Searching Fori"It's pure", single work poetry (p. 18)
- I Salute Australia, single work prose (p. 18)
- My First Train Journey, single work prose autobiography (p. 19)
- Just Now!i"Now, just now,", single work poetry (p. 20)
- Life in My Country, single work autobiography (p. 22)
- An Orphan, single work prose (p. 23)
- Why?i"Why?", single work poetry (p. 23)
- No-One Is Ever Born into Life Alone, single work autobiography (p. 24)
- Memories of a Happier Time, single work autobiography (p. 25-26)
- Refugee, single work short story (p. 28-29)
- Am Told Very Bad, single work autobiography (p. 29-30)
- Circumcision, single work short story (p. 31)
- Hard Times, single work autobiography (p. 32)
- War, single work autobiography (p. 33-34)
- An Unforgotten Period in My Life, single work autobiography (p. 35)
- The Day the Taliban Came, single work autobiography (p. 36-37)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Dialogue and Decentralisation in Australian Asylum Anthologies
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Life Writing , December vol. 7 no. 3 2010; (p. 285-302) 'In Australia, the field of contemporary creative representation of asylum is enriched by diverse non-professional and community-based work, including self-narratives by asylum seekers and refugees. This essay situates three Australian asylum anthologies as products of heterogeneous community engagements and dialogues...In each anthology, a range of subject types - men, women and children from different ethnic, cultural, religious and educational backgrounds - coalesces so that a diversity of voices is presented within the privileged space of the book. Drawing lines of rhizomatic connection between autonomous sections of society, the texts map the grassroots structures of support, advocacy and community within which relations between asylum seekers, refugees and Australians operate. In each, writers engage in acts of speaking across the borders of language, culture, education and power, claiming a subaltern stake in cosmopolitan conversation.' (Author's abstract p. 285)
-
Dialogue and Decentralisation in Australian Asylum Anthologies
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Life Writing , December vol. 7 no. 3 2010; (p. 285-302) 'In Australia, the field of contemporary creative representation of asylum is enriched by diverse non-professional and community-based work, including self-narratives by asylum seekers and refugees. This essay situates three Australian asylum anthologies as products of heterogeneous community engagements and dialogues...In each anthology, a range of subject types - men, women and children from different ethnic, cultural, religious and educational backgrounds - coalesces so that a diversity of voices is presented within the privileged space of the book. Drawing lines of rhizomatic connection between autonomous sections of society, the texts map the grassroots structures of support, advocacy and community within which relations between asylum seekers, refugees and Australians operate. In each, writers engage in acts of speaking across the borders of language, culture, education and power, claiming a subaltern stake in cosmopolitan conversation.' (Author's abstract p. 285)
Last amended 11 Aug 2014 10:41:59
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