Behrouz Boochani, former Manus Island detainee, granted asylum in New Zealand
An award- winning Kurdish- Iranian journalist who was detained for six years in an offshore Australian immigration center has been formally granted refugee status in New Zealand.
Behrouz Boochani was sent to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG) after arriving in Australian waters in 2013, under a government policy of detaining asylum seekers who arrived by boat.
While in detention, Boochani used his cellphone to write the book “No Friend But The Mountains,” which last year won the Victorian Prize for Literature -- the country’s most lucrative literary award.
Boochani was informed Thursday that he had been granted refugee status in New Zealand. The date is significant -- it marks his 37th birthday and seven years since he was placed on a naval ship while attempting to reach Australia.
“Now after exactly seven years, this story for me has finished. But of course my story is only a part of this whole story,” he said from Christchurch.
“It was a huge thing for me, because that made me feel stronger now and feel stable, feel that now I can be part of this society,” he said. “I have a place. So that was a great feeling.”
However, Boochani said it was difficult to completely enjoy his acceptance in New Zealand.
“On the other side, I always think about those people who are living in detention in Australia, in Port Moresby, in Nauru, which is really sad and makes me angry,” he said, referring to the PNG capital and the small Pacific island of Nauru, where other detainees were sent.
Boochani was detained on Manus Island after fleeing persecution in Iran in 2013.
The same year, the Australia government had announced that no asylum seekers who arrived by boat would be ever be settled in the country. They have had the option of settling in Nauru or on PNG, or returning to their home countries. Some have been accepted for resettlement in the US, under a deal struck with former US President Barack Obama.
Canberra says its tough border protection policies are necessary to avoid deaths at sea at the hands of people smugglers -- but human rights groups have criticized the poor living conditions and high incidence of mental health problems among detainees.
While on Manus Island, Boochani became an outspoken critic of Australia’s refugee policies, calling himself and his fellow detainees victims of “state- sanctioned hostage-taking.” (CNN)