Writing

‘Australians have kept their attention focused on Nauru and Papua New Guinea, but the impact of Australia’s border policies in Indonesia is thoroughly overlooked.’

Martince Baleona was living in the forest with her two infant children, eating nothing but leaves and plants, when she was intercepted by a group of armed men.

They demanded to know her religion. She froze. The answer could cost her her life.

“In that moment, my only hope was for my children,” Martince, now 48, says. “I thought, if I say that I am Christian, maybe I’ll be murdered. And if I say I’m Muslim, maybe I’ll be murdered. “So we kept quiet.”

“Outside the immigration detention centre in Kalideres, West Jakarta, 400 or so asylum seekers are living on the street, tightly wedged between a dirt footpath and the heavy passing traffic. Families mark out the space they now call home, crowded on thin rubber mats. Tropical sun beats down through listless days. Meals are infrequent, the exhaust fumes are thick.”

“There is nowhere to go and no possibility of return, and more and more doors are closing. The present is purgatory.”

“Mozhgan Moarefizadeh is 26 years old, ambitious, driven, and in love. She’s ready to start a career, get married, and have kids. She’s ready to live, basically. But none of that is available to her.”

Confession and catharsis: Crafting a life story and charting a history of emotions

Circa: The Journal of the Professional Historians Association, 2014