It is a great honour for me to talk with you today. I think it’s important that we talk about the current situation, and are aware of what the Australian government has done on Manus Island over the past six years.
First, I would like to talk about systematic censorship and how the media have censored refugees for years and years. 
About three years ago I was nominated for a freedom of expression award in London, and I was a finalist among four people. I was also given the Anna Politkovskaya award for journalism. I’ve also been recognised in France and by Amnesty International. All of this is international, which is very interesting. 
In Australia, of course, I have received some awards and my works have been recognised by many in the literature and humanitarian community. But first I was recognised internationally, and that always amazed me because my work is about Australia. I think that shows that there is systematic censorship in Australia. 
The mainstream media have always denied refugees a voice. For years and years they have had a law that means if any of the staff working on Manus Island or Nauru share information with the media – for example a guard or a doctor or a teacher – they could be put in jail for two years, which is a lot in Australia. 
Liberal democracies like Australia claim to be free countries but they don’t allow journalists to visit Manus Island. Just two months ago, they deported an actor who was visiting us and wanted to tell our story. Then they deported my translator, who was there to do some work for the ABC. An artist who wanted to do a story on Manus was also prevented from coming last April. Then they deported some Australian advocates who had met with the Guardian journalist who I used to work with. There is systematic censorship of our story. 
In Iran I was a journalist and I was working and living in a dictatorship. In Iran you cannot write what you want. You are not free to talk about many things, and if you do, they put you in jail. My personal story is an example – I left Iran because I am an atheist and Iran is a religious dictatorship. Because I didn’t want to live in a jail for the rest of my life, I left Iran to go to Australia. I didn’t want to waste my time in jail. So I went to Australia and they jailed me on Manus Island anyway.
Sometimes I say that Australia is a dictatorship system, a fascist system. People blame me and ask, Why are you saying this? But I’m not living in Australia. My judgement is from the perspective of refugees. 
Australia is a dictatorship system for refugees. It’s a fascist system for refugees. People in Australia are free and I don’t claim that it’s a dictatorship system for everyone in Australia but for refugees it is a fascist system.
In Iran, the dictatorship puts you in jail after going to court. The court orders that you should be in jail for five years or 10 years or 15 years. But here they have kept us as political hostages for years, and we don’t have a court order and we have committed no crime.
It’s a very modern complicated dictatorship system. 
The Australian government has been successful at justifying it and carrying public opinion. The Australian government has kept us here for six years, and a large part of Australian society is aware of what the government is doing. It is horrible to think about this. A country like Australia that claims to care about human rights is doing this. It’s hard for me to accept this. 
For years I was trying to live with this system. I was trying through my articles and work to send out information, explain and expose this system because I was hopeful that people in Australia will one day break this policy. But unfortunately, after six years we are still here. History will judge and blame this current generation, and that is a reality. 
But unfortunately for the refugees on Manus and Nauru who have lost many things over the last six years, it’s not important how history will judge. History is not important for refugees. What is important for refugees is that they get freedom. 
I was talking about media. One of the things that I have said is that we should not accept the government’s official language. We should create a new language. For example, the government calls Manus Island and Nauru “offshore processing centres”. What kind of processing centre is it if it’s taken six years? What are you processing? Processing people to find out if they are refugees or not? You did this years ago. I am recognised, and most of the refugees on Manus Island are recognised, as refugees. This word, this concept, is government propaganda. 
For me it is a prison. And that should create a new language. In my book I describe this system as a prison. Even worse than a prison. This is only an example – I think we need to create our own language to break this policy. 
“This prison is quite frankly a graveyard”: tweets since the election
Behrouz Boochani‏ @BehrouzBoochani May 20 
The refugees in Manus have been dumped in a high depression. I have never seen people like this before. At least six people attempted suicide and three people are in hospital now that are critical.
May 20 
The federal election had a huge negative impact on people in Manus and Nauru. People have completely lost hope that the gov will accept the New Zealand offer [to resettle some of the refugees there].
May 20 
Australia’s become more fascist now after the election. Supporting innocent refugees in Manus and Nauru also means supporting Australian people damaged by this gov. When they destroy refugees they'll knock on your doors. It is the reality of a right wing gov.
May 20 
If I were to use one phrase to describe the situation in the Manus prison camps it is this: this prison is quite frankly a graveyard. A graveyard A graveyard. Total silence Total silence.
May 20 
The situation in Manus is out of control, today two more people attempted suicide. One last night, raising the total to nine now. No one is able to help anyone.
May 20 
These privileged bastards sitting comfortably behind their desks and talking to the people on television have always been supporting Australia's fascist political strategy of exiling people and keeping them hostage. They are exploited like slaves, in fact they’re modern slaves.
May 21 
As a witness to six years of torture &amp; violence by the Aus gov on Manus, I’m begging the people who still believe in human dignity to do whatever they can to help these broken souls on Manus &amp; Nauru. The refugees’ mental health state has never been as bad before.
May 21 
Today three more people attempted suicide and self harm. Two are in Port Moresby and one on Manus. So far we have recorded 12 self harm and suicide attempts. The number’s rising by hours now.
May 24 
Since yesterday three more people harmed themselves, one in Port Moresby and two on Manus. All three are transferred to the hospital now. The number of suicide attempts and self harm has reached to 14 since the election.
May 26 
Australia cannot ignore the human crisis in Manus and Nauru. The situation is getting worse day by day, it is a crime against humanity and violation of human rights. I wonder why the international humanitarian organisations are silent in the face of these crimes.
May 26 
Four more people did self harm. Since last night seven people attempted suicide in PIH hospital, three in Port Moresby, one in PIH hospital and three in Manus. We are recording self harm each hour. It is a human crisis.
May 26 
The local hospital in Manus is not capable of admitting suicidal and self-harmed cases any more. There is no medical facilities in the island for providing refugees with treatment. The situation is an extreme emergency.
May 28 
The world cannot be silent in the face of a fascist Australian government. People are dying here, they have destroyed many lives on remote islands. People need urgent help, no one can continue. No one can survive after six years torture.
May 28 
Since morning three people harmed themselves in Hillside camp of Manus and been transferred to local hospital. Since yesterday six people and since the election 26 people attempted suicide or self harmed. It is scary time in Manus.
MAY 30 
Since this morning four more people attempted suicide or self harm. 3 were on Manus and were transferred to local hospital. Another man was in Port Moresby. The number has increased to at least 31. I don't know what tragedy means in Australian culture?

Behrouz Boochani, Manus Island

Voice from Manus Island

The situation in Manus is getting worse. Last night the refugees were in a dark place. People were lying down on the floor and were struggling with serious hunger, having not eaten since Tuesday.
At the same time they were struggling with tropical mosquitoes. Until recently the mosquitoes have been controlled with fumigation, but that has been stopped too. Now, malaria is a new worry to add to the many other risks the refugees face. Anyone who has been in tropical areas knows how hard it is to endure this kind of condition. Heat, humidity, hunger and incessant mosquitoes are taking their toll.
Some of the refugees were working so hard overnight to find water by digging holes in the ground in Oscar compound. They were digging for hours and finally found water. I don't know if this water is clean enough to drink or not, but the refugees are drinking from it. During the night, as some refugees dug for water, others were keeping watch to protect the prison camp in case of attack.
Most of the people could not sleep well and stayed awake until morning. A Rohingya refugee with epilepsy became temporarily unconscious. He has pain in his stomach too. It is impossible to clean with no running water and the conditions have become unsanitary.
Some of the refugees are coming down with infections. One man has an infection in his eyes and another has an infection on his leg. Also, early in the morning yesterday, a refugee with a serious mental illness harmed himself by cutting his wrist and chest. Some of the refugees have been taking medications for mental illness for a long time and need proper medical treatment. We are asking international organisations like Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to take action and help us.
This is not a hunger strike. It is a situation that the Australian government has created, forcing people into starvation and these harsh conditions by refusing to offer a safe place for resettlement. It is simply unacceptable to try to force 600 men to relocate into a small town where we are not safe and many refugees have been seriously attacked.
This place is like a war zone. We have become refugees for a second time inside this hell hole, abandoned and left to fend for ourselves as best we can. We are asking people around the world to hear our voice. We are forgotten people who have been under torture in an Australian prison camp for nearly five years, even though we have committed no crime. The Australian government is now wilfully forcing us into even more danger.

Diary from a war zone

To the Australian people,
In the heart of the dark nights, I yell out through the mass of metallic and hard fences. Surrounded by agony and torture, I yell out right next to the tropical birds, thousands of kilometres further away from the people’s world, in the heart of a remote island located in the corner of the vastest ocean. 
In the name of humanity and freedom, I yell out, in the name of all the values – values that connect human dignity with peace. I yell out, a yell from the hell where people are tortured and systematically humiliated. A yell having the quality of those flower-like ambitions even when petals are being plucked cruelly, and a yell having the quality of a heart that has been crushed under the steel boots of politicians. 
Here is the hellhole Manus prison.
Protecting the borders and saving lives from the dangerous sea journey are the excuses for this brutal policy. After 40 months of implementing this policy, now it is time to impartially evaluate how it has been applied. 
During this long period, the Australian government has been accused of human rights violations again and again by most of the credible international human rights organisations. So far, two people have lost their lives in Manus prison, and another died outside these fences when he was so tired from seeking justice. Two more people have lost their lives on Nauru. We have seen more evidence of rape and violence against women and children.
And more evidence of the suffering inflicted on people held in Christmas Island and onshore detention. At the same time, we have seen the cruel agony of those people living precariously in Australia on temporary protection and bridging visas who, like us, have no security for their future.
With the continuance of this policy, every day new cases of violence, abuse and unbearable suffering are added to the list.
Unfortunately, the government still insists on pursuing this policy, accusing the people who speak out against it of exaggerating and inventing the damning evidence. But the government is lying. And now we can see their plan clearly: they do not care that we on Manus and Nauru are refugees. They only want us to take their bribes and go back to certain danger, death and persecution. In response to overwhelming evidence of abuse, their only answer is “take our money and go back to your country of origin”.
After 40 months – more than three years – no-one has been settled on Manus Island. The few in Port Moresby are struggling to survive. Now several more of us have been attacked by local people who do not want us here. Therefore, we can only say that we are official hostages.
Saving people’s lives at sea is being used as a cover to implement this grossly inhumane and immoral policy. Turnbull and Dutton claim they are on the side of compassion. But this policy has not had any achievement; it has just caused intense suffering and extreme agony for asylum seekers in detention, while pushing other vulnerable people into harm’s way elsewhere and damaging the reputation of Australia in worldwide public opinion. 
True compassion comes not just when it suits political ends, but when it involves perspective-taking: recognising our shared humanity and imagining what you would have done in another’s shoes. Now, more than ever, it is time for Australian people to yell loudly at the government to urge it to confess that the policy of Nauru and Manus resettlement has reached a dead end, and to urge the government to bring an end to this cruel policy as soon as possible.

Voice from Manus Island

Diary from a war zone

A letter from Manus Island to the Australian people

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