Author not seeking NZ asylum – for now
An Iranian-Kurdish journalist who wrote an award-winning book on a smartphone while detained by Australia says a permanent move to New Zealand may be a ‘‘possibility’’ in the future.
Behrouz Boochani, who became the voice of those incarcerated on the infamous Manus Island, was presented with a greenstone by Nga¯ i Tahu representatives when he arrived in Christchurch yesterday morning.
Travelling to New Zealand was the first time he had been able to leave Papua New Guinea since being detained by the Australian Government six years ago.
After landing on a flight from Auckland, Boochani said he was savouring life as a ‘‘free man’’ and, though he was not seeking asylum in New Zealand for now, he would ‘‘look at the possibility’’ further down the track.
‘‘For years, I have been going through his long process . . . with someone like Trump, it was so hard. So now, I have been accepted [to live in] America, finally. I want to be free for a while so I don’t want to be part of any [application] process.’’
Boochani was recently accepted for resettlement in the United States. He planned to extend his New Zealand visa for another month to attend more speaking
‘‘[When I arrived in New Zealand] I was emotional because for the first time I had this opportunity to think, wow, I survived.’’
events, and will be a special guest at literary festival Word Christchurch on November 29.
An investigative journalist in his homeland of Iran, Boochani was persecuted for his reporting and his support for Kurdish independence, and fled for Australia in 2013. The boat he was on was one of two found by authorities after being lost at sea for a week. Boochani was arrested and taken to the Manus Island Processing Centre.
He slammed Australia’s ‘‘barbaric policies’’ and said it was time the New Zealand government take ‘‘real action and do something’’ to help the remaining imprisoned refugees.
Australia’s ‘‘turn back the boats’’ policy means asylum seekers are barred from entering the country.
Since 2013, New Zealand has offered to accept 150 refugees each year from Australia’s offshore processing centres. The Manus Island centre was closed in late 2017, but about 250 of the 1500 detainees remain in Papua New Guinea.
Boochani is able to travel to New Zealand because of help from UN refugee agency UNHCR, which organised his departure and helped him get a visa, sponsored by Amnesty International.
‘‘[When I arrived in New Zealand] I was emotional because for the first time I had this opportunity to think, wow, I survived. For years I was struggling . . . at any time I could die.
‘‘People were killed by that system . . . I am happy that I survived.’’
Boochani wrote his acclaimed book No Friend but the Mountains, which details life on the island, while detained. It has won several international awards, including the Victorian Prize for Literature, which is Australia’s richest literary prize. From detention, he filmed – using a hidden mobile phone – a documentary of life inside the Manus centre.
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel, who greeted Boochani at the airport yesterday, said she was ‘‘honoured and privileged’’ to welcome him to the city.
‘‘This is the first place your voice will be heard.’’
Green MP and human rights spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman, who travelled with Boochani to Christchurch, said claiming asylum was a fundamental right.
When pressed on whether Boochani’s arrival would increase tensions between the Australian and New Zealand governments, she said there would be no reason given he was simply ‘‘accessing his rights’’.
‘‘I remember going down the escalator at Auckland Airport with my parents and that absolute anxiety and then being welcomed. Just to think that he’s had to go through six years of torture just to access that same right.
‘‘As a Kiwi, it’s with so much pride that we get to stand here as a counterpoint to the politics and hate.’’