No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison

Boochani's account of his time at what he calls Manus Prison (a refugee detention center on Manus Island that is within Papua New Guinea territory, but the detention center was/is under Australian control) is at times lyrical but always harrowing. It is also necessary reading for it highlights conditions and treatment of men like Boochani whose only crime seems to have been wanting to escape terrible oppression and persecution in their own country.It is a story revealing that still in the 21st century, inhumanity toward those who are "other" is alive and well and thriving. It is a difficult text to get through on several levels: the depiction of both physical and psychological violence and torture on the inmates by those in power; the strategies (often cruel, manipulative, and violent) prisoners felt compelled to engage in against both their incarcerators and each other; and the style of writing that was a mixture of fact, poetic or lyrical passages, metaphor, almost magical or fantastical descriptions, and several passages of what can only be termed fragmented stream of consciousness. BUT it is worth the struggle.I appreciate very much the note and essay at the end of the book by translator Omid Tofighian, for it helps to put many aspects of the book's elements into proper context. The epilogue/back matter also explains some events that help to understand Boochani's more metaphoric and mythic relating of those events. What I found especially fascinating was Tofighian's explanation of the translation choices, decisions, and process, as this especially made Boochani's own stylistic decisions in Farsi (the language he chose to write in) make literary sense. It should not be lost on readers that there is much irony present in the way this book was written: a Kurdish man steeped in his own language and cultural storytelling tradition writing an account of his captivity in Farsi (the language of his people's oppressors - Iran) that is then translated into English, the language of his oppressors on Manus Island (Australians).That he was able to get this story out through smuggled phones and as texts and emails to sympathizers and friends while incarcerated is a feat of epic proportions - and Tofighian's note and essay highlight Boochani's use of Kurdish and Farsi/Persian epic tropes in telling the story.I am relieved to know that Boochani FINALLY was granted refugee status in New Zealand in July 2020, and that he is now able to continue his writing, academic, and other creative pursuits without the threat of torture and violence, just for being who he is.Ultimately, this is a story of resilience and hope, in the midst of truly horrific conditions and treatment. It is NECESSARY reading for anyone wanting to understand the truth of global refugee issues, but especially for those who believe that "western democracies are better than that."

Manus Island will go down in history as a savage indictment of Australia and two decades of Australian politicians of both major parties who sought cheap political gain by kowtowing to a racist underbelly of Australian popular sentiment. Five years ago in a cynical attempt to claw back political capital in a run up to a close election, Labor leader Kevin Rudd decreed that all male boat arrivals to Australia would be sent to Manus Island and would never set foot on Australian soil. Subsequent Liberal National Party governments have maintained this policy. Behrouz Boochani, author of this book, unluckily for Australian government and opposition has emerged as a resourceful, authoritative, determined and capable recorder of events on Manus Island, sharing with the world in newspaper articles and documentaries transmitted under difficult circumstances by mobile phone his version of the situation for refugees there. But this extraordinary book is his latest and most literary attempt to transmit to the world, and especially Australia, the enormity of the inhumanity and institutionalised cruelty which Manus Island represents. My words are inadequate to adequately review this book. I can only say that I believe it to be a piece of classic literature which will live on long after Australia's present government is a tiny footnote in history. Anyone who cares about human rights must read it, but don't expect an easy ride. The author is brutally honest, the language gets crude, there is more information about the toilet facilities on the island and the uses to which they are put than you might ever want to know, but read on! There is beauty here too. The author' s island prison is a paradise as well and gives him recall of his totally different mountainous homeland of Kurdistan. This book is amazing, forged out of suffering, sadness and humiliation. It' s essential reading. Don't pass it by.

I got this for a class but was actually kinda cool

Eloquently written.Heart wrenching true first hand account of the ordeal of the refugees tortured in the hands of the Australian government.Absolute kudos to the translators for a superb job to accurately and concisely translate the very complex (use of metaphors, analogies and poetry) writing style of Mr Boochani.

Está muy mal formateado, Que pena, tenía muchas ganas de leerlo, pero molesta mucho.

The best book I have ever read, as soon as I finished, when I understood what a remarkable effort it had been, I started to read all over again, so I could feel and live his pain and struggle

A very heart wrenching and a difficult read. I often had to stop and ponder upon what was written.It is the story of displacement of people from their home, their country to an unknown place into an unforeseen future in search of a place providing security of life. How difficult it must be to leave everything behind and not be welcomed to a new country, being forced into a situation where you are treated inhumanly, without any feelings just like a non entity. It is a timely book about the fate, trials and tribulations that refugees are going through all over the world due to the chaos and destruction being faced by their own countries, where human life is losing its value and is becoming cheap. What a sad state we have all come to in the world where we humans have become selfish and created boundaries not just between countries but also within the country and in our minds, the humanity seems to be a vanishing virtue.

The writer is very good at taking us along. His story is hearbreaking and leaves me sad. Why can we not solve this issue - people fleeing, from one place - because they want to survive, and the people they flee to... lock them up, in another place.The book touches the heart. One cannot unsee - or unimagine - the terrible desperation. The sadness. The hopelessness. The heat. The smells.In all this sadness there is still room for poetry.I wish more people would read this book and take it into their hearts.This is not some distant horror from the last century. This is happening NOW