JOHN BISSET/Things
Timaru U3A committee member Solome Mair and Kurdish-Iranian writer, journalist, filmmaker and activist Behrouz Boochani.
Despite his global profile, Kurdish-Iranian writer, filmmaker, academic and activist Behrouz Boochani prefers to deviate from his own story, which he called “boring,” when he visited Timaru this week.
Boochani was in town to give a presentation at the University of the Third Age (U3A) and to break bread with members of Amnesty International, and ahead of his speech on Monday said his talk would be on issues such as colonization, language and resistance.
He said references to his life would only be to draw parallels to the shared experiences of colonized people.
His brief visit to South Canterbury came just weeks after a new documentary about him, Behrouzhad its world premiere in Christchurch.
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Boochani, who was imprisoned indefinitely in the Australian government’s Manus Island detention center for nearly seven years, has lived in New Zealand since performing at a Christchurch literary festival in 2019 granted him a sponsored one-month visa. by Amnesty International, and was eventually granted refugee status.
JOHN BISSET/Things
Boochani said the most important thing people can offer refugees is to treat them with respect and dignity.
Timaru wife Solome Mair invited Boochani to join Timaru in her role at U3A and seized the opportunity to arrange a meal with members of Amnesty’s Timaru branch.
“I will talk about colonialism, because of my background as a Kurd. I think it’s very akin to the history of colonialism here, and I’ll look at New Zealand from my perspective in terms of decolonization.”
His speech would also address Iran, the oppression of the Kurds and the situation of refugees worldwide.
“People are sometimes not aware of what’s happening in other parts of the world, for example about Afghanistan – it’s good for people in New Zealand to understand what those countries are and why people have to leave.”
Boochani said there was a marked difference in the way Ukrainian refugees have been treated compared to those from other countries.
“It shouldn’t matter where refugees come from or what their background is, they should be protected under international law and conventions.”
Boochani also said he hopes to draw attention to the increasingly harsh treatment of refugees around the world.
JOHN BISSET/Things
Mair, seen here with Boochani, has strong ties to Amnesty’s Timaru branch, which helped secure her sister’s freedom thirty years ago
“It is very important that we expose and explain the United Kingdom’s plan to send refugees to Rwanda, for example. Australia [and the offshoring of refugees] you have become a model for other countries.”
He urged New Zealand to consider taking in more refugees as part of a policy that accepts relatively small numbers and often falls short of that modest goal.
New Zealand’s official quota says it will resettle about 0.3 refugees per 1,000 people living here. Australia’s quota is 1.74 refugees per 1,000 people, Canada’s is 2.68 per 1,000.
“Australia has a very dark history, especially in the last decade, about how they treat refugees, which has caused a tragedy, but at the same time they accept more refugees on a population basis than New Zealand.”
He said there are resources and structures to help refugees adapt to New Zealand once they are granted asylum, but the most important thing the wider community can do is “treat refugees with respect and dignity”.
Boochani’s next book, Freedom, Only Freedom: The Writings of Behrouz Boochani, will be released in November.