Seeking asylum: Our stories by Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

This beautiful hardback book is a rich collection of the personal stories of refugees and asylum seekers. As Liliana Maria Sanchez Cornejo says in her introductory essay, when people are exposed to only one story about refugees, it makes them into a stereotype that’s easy to not care about. Through this book we can get to know a whole variety of people from different countries and with different stories; we get to know them as individuals that engage our interest and our empathy. They are ordinary people who have escaped extraordinary circumstances, embarking on a risky journey towards freedom. And for many the journey hasn’t ended. People on Temporary Protection Visas are denied the right to work or study, without access to Medicare or support. This is one of the areas where the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre provides a life-saving haven.

At the end of the book, Kon Karapanagiotidis provides a history of the ASRC, from its humble beginnings in 2001 as a TAFE student project, to its present day status as an organisation offering a foodbank, legal advice, psychosocial support, English classes, health clinic, employment program, along with friendship and hope. All this, without any government funding.

Julian Burnside QC also contributes a chronology of the political changes that saw Australia introduce laws of punishment and deterrence rather than the safety and protection that is the right of a refugee under the Refugee Convention, a convention that Australia itself helped draft.  Burnside asserts that we can treat people seeking asylum with compassion, humanity and fairness, and have secure borders.

The information is presented in a clear easy-to-read style, but by far the most powerful impact of this book comes from the incredible, often heart-rending stories from people who have had to overcome enormous challenges to try find safety and create new lives for themselves. They share their stories in a spirit of generosity and friendship. Many have now found a home here, but for some the journey is still not over, and there is an ongoing struggle to feel safe, and for their families to feel safe. Their courage is amazing, as is their determination to help others and give back to their new country despite the hardships and racism they might encounter.

The photographs are stunning – faces of people from many different places and different experiences, but all people who want you to know them for who they really are. This book deserves to be in every library, in every home, and would make a Christmas present to treasure. As a pro bono publication by Black Inc Publishers, all proceeds are dedicated to funding refugee-led initiatives.

Themes: Refugees, Asylum seekers, Freedom, Personal stories, Human rights.

Helen Eddy