Title: No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison
Author: Behrouz Boochani
First published January 1, 2018
13 pages, Audiobook
ISBN: 9781487008000 (ISBN10: 1487008007)
Rating: 3.93
Overview
“Behrouz Boochani’s spirit could not be broken, even as his body was unjustly locked away on Manus Island, a remote refugee detention center off the coast of Australia. In his book, No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison, Boochani shares his harrowing account of survival, resistance, and exile.
Using only his mobile phone and translating from Farsi, Boochani’s firsthand narrative is a powerful witness to the plight of stateless refugees and migrants around the world. Through vivid imagery and lyrical prose, Boochani’s story is a cry for justice and a testament to the unbreakable human spirit.
Winner of the prestigious Victorian Prize for Literature, No Friend but the Mountains is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand the reality of life in refugee detention centers.”
About the Author
Meet Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish-Iranian journalist, scholar, cultural advocate, writer and filmmaker. He holds a Masters degree in political geography and geopolitics and has founded the Kurdish language magazine Weya.
He is also an Honorary Member of PEN International. Unfortunately, in 2013, he was forced to flee Iran and seek refuge in Australia.
However, upon arrival, he was deemed a political prisoner by the Australian Government and was incarcerated in the Manus Regional Processing Centre in Papua New Guinea.
Editoral Review
No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani is a powerful memoir that provides a harrowing account of one man’s experience as a refugee in Australia’s offshore detention center on Manus Island. Boochani, an Iranian-Kurdish journalist and writer, was one of the many refugees who were forcibly transported to this remote island in the Pacific Ocean as part of Australia’s controversial immigration policy.
In this remarkable book, Boochani employs a unique writing style that embodies the essence of his lived experiences. Structured as a series of interlinked essays, poems, and observations, No Friend but the Mountains artfully captures the brutal realities of life in detention while also conveying the resilience and humanity of those trapped within its walls.
At its core, the book is a searing indictment of Australia’s inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, as well as a poignant reminder of the universal struggle for dignity and freedom. Through his personal reflections and interviews with fellow detainees, Boochani exposes the myriad ways in which the offshore detention system dehumanizes and traumatizes its inhabitants, subjecting them to isolation, violence, and neglect.
Despite the darkness and despair that pervades the book, Boochani’s writing is infused with beauty and lyricism. His language is rich and poetic, evoking the natural beauty of the island’s landscape and the resilience of its people.
His storytelling is gripping and visceral, weaving together both personal and political narratives with masterful skill. One of the book’s greatest strengths is its ability to humanize those who have been demonized and dehumanized by the media and political systems.
Boochani introduces a range of characters, each with their own complex stories and struggles, and this diversity makes the book all the more poignant and impactful. If there is a limitation to the book, it lies in its focus on the experiences of male refugees.
While Boochani does touch on the experiences of women and LGBTQ+ individuals, their narratives are not as fully developed or explored as those of male detainees. This is perhaps understandable, given that Boochani was writing from a male-only detention center, but it does underscore the need for more diverse perspectives and voices in this ongoing conversation.
In conclusion, No Friend but the Mountains is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of refugee experience and the urgent need for change in our immigration policy. It is a work of great beauty, courage, and humanity that challenges us to confront the darkest corners of our society and strive for a more just and compassionate future.
I give it a well-deserved five stars.
