Award-winning journalist and activist, Behrouz Boochani is set to speak in Newcastle this December.
The event, a collaboration between the Newcastle Writers Festival and the University of Newcastle, will see the Kurdish-Iranian human rights advocate speak about his most recent book Freedom, Only Freedom.
Boochani spent six years in offshore immigration detention, where he bore witness to the dire conditions faced by asylum seekers, conditions that grossly violated international refugee law.
During his detention, he used text messages to document the atrocities around him, which eventually became the award-winning book No Friend but the Mountains.
This second book combines his prison writings with essays contributed by experts in the fields of refugee rights, politics, literature, and history and sheds light on the complexities of Australian refugee policies and the human stories behind them.
The event in Newcastle will see Behrouz share a thought-provoking discussion with Sydney writer Fiona Kelly McGregor, giving locals the chance to gain a deeper understanding of the issues he has documented.
Behrouz Boochani will speak at the Conservatorium of Music on 3 December 2024. Tickets for this event are available for $30 and can be booked through the Newcastle Writers Festival website.
