Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney
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0:16 - 0:17Hello everyone.
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0:17 - 0:19My name is Behrouz Boochani.
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0:19 - 0:23Some of you will know me;
some of you will not. -
0:24 - 0:26I am a Kurdish novelist and journalist.
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0:27 - 0:30In May 2013, I fled Iran
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0:30 - 0:34because of my journalism
and cultural activities. -
0:34 - 0:38I traveled to Australia by boat,
but never arrived. -
0:38 - 0:44I was exiled to Manus Island
alongside 1,000 other people. -
0:45 - 0:48Manus Island is a remote tiny island
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0:48 - 0:52in the north of Papua New Guinea, PNG,
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. -
0:53 - 0:54This is my story:
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0:55 - 0:59A man who left his country
because he didn't want to live in prison. -
1:00 - 1:07A man who sought asylum,
but ended up in a prison for six years. -
1:08 - 1:12My story is the same
as 2,000 other innocent people. -
1:12 - 1:15People who have been in prison
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1:15 - 1:19in Manus and Nauru
for seeking asylum in Australia. -
1:20 - 1:24My story is only one of many stories
in these two islands. -
1:24 - 1:28When they exiled us to Manus in 2013,
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1:28 - 1:33we found ourselves in a place
that was worse than a prison. -
1:34 - 1:38We were deprived from having
access to many things. -
1:38 - 1:41Basic things, including having a phone.
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1:41 - 1:46For four and a half years,
we were living in this prison -
1:46 - 1:51with metal fences and guards,
and with much deprivation. -
1:51 - 1:53At the end of 2017,
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1:53 - 2:00we were forcibly moved from that prison
to other compounds on Manus Island. -
2:01 - 2:05So the history of our life here
is in two parts: -
2:06 - 2:10The closed prison and now the compounds
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2:10 - 2:13which have fences around them and guards,
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2:13 - 2:20but we are allowed to move
around the island during the day. -
2:20 - 2:25Although we have been moved
from the first prison, -
2:25 - 2:27we are still in a prison,
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2:27 - 2:28a bigger prison,
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2:28 - 2:30an island prison.
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2:30 - 2:34After three and a half years,
the PNG Supreme Court ruled -
2:34 - 2:38that keeping innocent people
in prison is illegal -
2:38 - 2:41and deprived us of our human rights.
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2:42 - 2:46It also ruled that we
should have access to phones. -
2:47 - 2:49This was a big achievement.
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2:50 - 2:53Before that, I had smuggled
a phone into the prison -
2:53 - 2:57by exchanging my clothes,
shoes, and cigarettes -
2:57 - 3:00with a local man who was working
inside the prison, -
3:00 - 3:03and I started to communicate
with the outside world, -
3:03 - 3:06with people such as journalists.
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3:07 - 3:12The guards would sometimes
attack our rooms, looking for phones. -
3:13 - 3:18Twice they found my phone and took it,
and I had to smuggle another phone. -
3:19 - 3:22This happened to many of us here,
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3:22 - 3:26so it was not easy to communicate
to the outside world. -
3:26 - 3:31I didn't feel safe
with the authorities and guards, -
3:31 - 3:36and that's why I worked under a fake name
for more than two years. -
3:36 - 3:39When I became sure that I had made
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3:39 - 3:45a strong network of journalists
and supporters internationally, -
3:45 - 3:51I decided it was safe to publish
my work under my real name. -
3:51 - 3:55For me, writing has always been
an act of resistance. -
3:56 - 4:01In this situation on Manus,
it is still my resistance. -
4:01 - 4:07The system that operates this prison
aimed to reduce us to numbers, -
4:08 - 4:13to remove our individuality,
and destroy our identity. -
4:14 - 4:18For me, writing and creating
is a way of fighting -
4:19 - 4:24to get my identity, humanity,
and dignity back, -
4:24 - 4:30in front of a cruel system
that is established to take anything -
4:30 - 4:34that has meaning of life from us.
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4:34 - 4:38In Manus, I soon found
that the language of journalism -
4:38 - 4:44is not able to describe
the systematic torture that we are under -
4:44 - 4:47and the life in Manus prison camp.
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4:47 - 4:51The language of journalism
is a kind of language -
4:51 - 4:56that is part of the power structures
that I am fighting against. -
4:57 - 5:00How can I describe six years
living in exile -
5:00 - 5:03in one of the worst prisons in the world?
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5:03 - 5:05Twelve people have died already.
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5:06 - 5:10For so many people who have heard
about people in Manus and Nauru -
5:10 - 5:14we are reduced to some simple pictures.
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5:14 - 5:17But we are human.
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5:17 - 5:18We exist.
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5:19 - 5:20And we are suffering.
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5:21 - 5:24We are human, same as you.
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5:25 - 5:28How can I describe a father's suffering
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5:28 - 5:32who is separated from his wife
and children for six years? -
5:32 - 5:39How can I describe a mother witnessing
her small kids growing up for six years -
5:39 - 5:40in a prison camp?
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5:41 - 5:45How can I describe a young man
who was full of life, -
5:45 - 5:49but has lost opportunity
to continue his education, -
5:49 - 5:55to find love, has lost his health,
his family, his hope, -
5:55 - 6:00has lost many opportunities
that you take for granted? -
6:00 - 6:05That is why I have worked for years
to tell this story, -
6:05 - 6:08through creative and literary language.
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6:08 - 6:12That is why I wrote a novel on my phone
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6:12 - 6:14and sent it, text by text,
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6:14 - 6:18through WhatsApp
to my translator in Australia. -
6:18 - 6:20Language is important.
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6:20 - 6:25You will notice I call
this place a prison, -
6:25 - 6:26Manus prison,
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6:26 - 6:28not an offshore processing center.
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6:29 - 6:35Naming this prison as a prison
shows the lies of government language. -
6:36 - 6:42It helps us to understand
the structural and systematic torture -
6:42 - 6:45of Australia's detention regime.
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6:45 - 6:48Part of creating my own language
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6:48 - 6:54is to fight against the commodification
and objectification of our pain. -
6:54 - 7:01It is a deep part of this system
that imprisons and tortures us. -
7:01 - 7:07I know that people who participate in TEDx
share their inspiring life and perspective -
7:07 - 7:10to create a way for others.
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7:10 - 7:15But, for me, as a person,
who is still struggling -
7:15 - 7:20alongside hundreds of innocent people
against this system, -
7:21 - 7:23what can I say?
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7:23 - 7:27How can I inspire people
while still I am not sure -
7:27 - 7:29if I will survive or not.
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7:30 - 7:35I am really sorry,
sorry that I make you uncomfortable, -
7:35 - 7:40but I think that I don't have a choice
other than to make you uncomfortable -
7:40 - 7:42because this is my story.
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7:42 - 7:46I'm a kind of person who was born in war,
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7:46 - 7:50I have had the life full of adventures,
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7:51 - 7:55I've experienced homelessness, poverty,
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7:55 - 7:59and sometimes the luxury
of an income and a home. -
8:00 - 8:03I have met many kinds of people,
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8:03 - 8:06I experienced amazing love,
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8:06 - 8:09and of course,
I have many stories to share. -
8:09 - 8:14But, I think I don't have this right
to talk about myself -
8:14 - 8:17while many people are suffering
in these two islands. -
8:17 - 8:23I don't know, perhaps, one day,
when I am a free man, -
8:25 - 8:29I will be invited to talk with people
about other experiences - -
8:29 - 8:35about love, life, and the meaning of life.
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8:35 - 8:41I don't know, perhaps,
if I smoke less, I will survive. -
8:42 - 8:44I smoke too much.
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8:44 - 8:47For now, I must write and talk
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8:47 - 8:53because there are still 500 people
with me in prison on Manus Island. -
8:53 - 8:55There are still hundreds on Nauru .
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8:57 - 8:58We are still in prison.
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8:59 - 9:03I have the tool of language, of writing.
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9:04 - 9:06It's not easy to write from here.
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9:07 - 9:10It costs me a lot.
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9:11 - 9:17I fight to write and hope
that people actually read my words closely -
9:18 - 9:21and engage deeply with them.
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9:22 - 9:23In the end, my wish
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9:23 - 9:27is that people in Nauru and Manus
reach their freedom soon. -
9:28 - 9:29Thank you
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9:29 - 9:32(Applause)
- Title:
- Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney
- Description:
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For the past six years Behrouz Boochani, like hundreds of others who have sought asylum in Australia, has been imprisoned on Manus Island. In this moving talk, he calls for compassion and freedom, reminding us all that "we are human just like you." As Behrouz says, "for me, writing and creating is a kind of resistance, it is a way of fighting to get my identity, humanity and dignity back in front of a system that is established to take anything that has meaning of life from us."
Behrouz Boochani is a Kurdish journalist, writer, poet and filmmaker. He has been held in Manus Island detention center since 2013. During his time in detention, he has published regularly with The Guardian, and his writing also features in The Saturday Paper, Huffington Post, New Matilda, The Financial Times and The Sydney Morning Herald, covering the plight of his fellow refugees held by the Australian government on Manus Island.
In 2018 he published his novel - "No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison," which won Australia’s most valuable literary award, the $100,000 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature. His journalism has also been awarded the Amnesty International Australia 2017 Media Award, the Diaspora Symposium Social Justice Award, the Liberty Victoria 2018 Empty Chair Award, and the Anna Politkovskaya Award for journalism. Boochani remains in detention on Manus Island.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 09:51
David DeRuwe edited English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
David DeRuwe commented on English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
eric vautier commented on English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
David DeRuwe approved English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
David DeRuwe edited English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
David DeRuwe edited English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
David DeRuwe edited English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney | ||
David DeRuwe accepted English subtitles for Writing is an act of resistance | Behrouz Boochani | TEDxSydney |
eric vautier
11/17/20 : I wonder if at 7:27 it "if I will survive or not." instead of "if I wish to survive or not."
David DeRuwe
Hello Eric,
Thank you for the suggestion at 7:27. I listened again, and think it could go either way. The CC goes with "if I wish to survive or not," however it's not usually accurate. I believe you are correct. It's a factor of his strong accent. I'll post-edit this to "if I will survive or not." Thank you,
David