‘Machine of violence’: Behrouz Boochani on Australia’s immigration system

When Behrouz Boochani first wrote about life on Manus Island for The Saturday Paper in 2016, he described it as an island of the damned. Writing through WhatsApp, he documented the horrors of everyday life as a subject of Australia’s policies towards asylum seekers. Behrouz is now free, after being granted refugee status in New Zealand. Despite being told he would never step foot in Australia, last month he visited Parliament House to launch a campaign for a royal commission into Australia’s system of immigration detention. It’s a system he says has dehumanised refugees and led to violence, death and corruption scandals – rubber-stamped by both major parties and shrouded in secrecy. Today, Kurdish-Iranian born writer and human rights advocate Behrouz Boochani joins us in the studio. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Kurdish-Iranian writer and human rights advocate, Behrouz Boochani