Kurdish Iranian refugee detained on Manus wins literary prize

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Kurdish Iranian refugee living in detention on Manus Island has won Australia’s richest literary prize. 

Behrouz Boochani won the Victorian Prize for Literature for his memoir No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison. 

The prize is part of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards that honours Australian writing in seven categories. Those winners then go on to compete for the Victorian Prize for Literature, worth $100,000. Boochani had won in the non-fiction category, which comes with a $25,000 prize. 

He was, however, unable to attend the ceremony as he is detained on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea under Australia’s controversial refugee policy that prevents asylum seekers from arriving in the country by boat. 

A journalist, Boochani fled Iran in 2013 and made his way to Australia’s Christmas Island from where he was transferred to Manus Island. 

He has drawn global attention to the plight of hundreds detained in the island centre that was ruled illegal in 2016. Many remain on Manus, however, caught up in legal complications. 

He wrote No Friend But the Mountains via text message. 

Speaking with the Guardian Australia after learning he had won in the non-fiction category, Boochani said he didn’t know how to react. 

“I certainly did not write this book just to win an award… My main aim has always been for the people in Australia and around the world to understand deeply how this system has tortured innocent people on Manus and Nauru in a systematic way for almost six years. I hope this award will bring more attention to our situation, and create change, and end this barbaric policy,” he said. 

Through social media, Boochani continues to document the hardships he and his fellow captives on the island endure.