Journalists, writers, actors and cartoonists call for their refugee colleagues to be resettled in Australia
Dozens of journalists, actors, cartoonists and writers have written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urging him to resettle three of their colleagues from Manus Island to Australia.
In a letter co-ordinated by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance and backed by a range of international freedom of expression organisations, they are calling for journalist Behrouz Boochani, actor Mehdi Savari, and cartoonist ‘Eaten Fish’, to be resettled in Australia after each has spent more than three years in the Manus Island regional processing centre.
All three men are originally from Iran and ventured to Australia to seek asylum. They were intercepted and then transferred to Manus Island in 2013.
MEAA is taking action on behalf of the three men as professional colleagues.
Boochani, a Kurdish journalist and editor who has been assessed as a refugee, has continued to work as a regular contributor to publications in Australia and overseas, often reporting on the situation and conditions on Manus Island.
Savari, an Ahwazi Arab performer, has also been found to be a refugee. He is a little person, and has met with severe discrimination over his life, which has been exacerbated by the conditions and his treatment on Manus Island over the last three years.
Eaten Fish is a cartoonist and artist who prefers to be known by his nom-de-plume whose refugee status is yet to be determined. Since he was detained at Manus Island, he has been diagnosed with mental illnesses which have been compounded by his incarceration.
MEAA chief executive officer Paul Murphy said the long delays and ongoing uncertainty of any other resettlement deals had left the three men in limbo and they should be brought to Australia to continue their careers.
“We regard these three men, who each fled Iran separately and have sought asylum in Australia, as professional colleagues who can make a meaningful contribution if resettled in Australia.
“They each sought refuge from Iran so they could freely express themselves without fear of persecution or harm, but instead their freedom has been further suppressed in detention.
“All three have courageously continued to practice their vocations on Manus Island despite their incarceration.
“But as journalists, writers, performers and artists, we cannot stand by and allow our fellow professionals to be treated in this way.”
Murphy said MEAA has been a long-term campaigner against the strict media blackouts, secrecy and harsh anti-whistleblower legislation that governs not only the detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru, but asylum seeker policy in general.
“We find these deliberate attempts to suppress reporting about the treatment of asylum seekers and the conditions of the centres to be an affront to press freedom,” he said.
The letter to the Prime Minister has also been signed by the international federations for journalists and actors, the writers’ human rights group PEN International, and other members of the global network of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange.
The public can add their name at meaa.org/campaigns/bring-them-here/.
Alan Fletcher, actor
Abbe Holmes, performer
Adele Ferguson, investigative reporter, The Age
Adil Soz – International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech
Afghanistan Journalists Center
Alex Miller, writer
Alex Skovron, writer
Alexandra Wake, Journalism Educator, RMIT.
Alexis Wright, writer
Amanda Bishop, actor
Amanda Meade, media correspondent, Guardian Australia
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain
Andrea Goldsmith, author
Andrew Dyson, cartoonist, The Age
Andrew Weldon, cartoonist
Angela Savage, author
Anita Heiss, author and poet
Anna Goldsworthy, writer and pianist
Arnold Zable, author
Bali Padda, actor
Ben Schneiders, investigative reporter, The Age
Bill Garner, writer and actor
Bunty Avieson, journalist and author
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Caroline Graham, writer
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Cathy Peters, radio producer
Cathy Wilcox, cartoonist, Sydney Morning Herald
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility Freedom Forum
Charlotte Wood, writer
Chloe Dallimore, actor/President, MEAA Equity
Chris Graham, publisher and editor, New Matilda
Chris Nash, Professor Journalism, Monash University
Chris Wormersley, author
Chrissie Page, actor
Christine McKenzie, writer
Christopher Downes, cartoonist
Christos Tsiolkas, writer and broadcaster
David Pope, cartoonist
David Squires, cartoonist
Debra Adelaide, writer
Delia Falconer, author
Dennis Atkins, national affairs editor, The Courier Mail
Di Martin, journalist and writer.
Don Bridges, actor
Dr Fiona Martin, On Line media academic, University of Sydney
Dr Olivier Jutel University of the South Pacific
Dragan Zivancevic, writer and director
Drusilla Modjeska, author
Elena Carapetis, actor
Elliot Perlman, author and barrister
Emily Bitto, writer
Erik Jensen, editor, The Saturday Paper
Evelyn Juers, writer
Fiona Katauskas, cartoonist
Fiona Press, actor
Fiona Wright, Author
First Dog On The Moon, cartoonist
Francis Greenslade, actor
Frank Moorhouse, writer
Gabrielle Jackson, opinion editor, Guardian Australia
Gail Jones, author
Geoff Morrell, actor
Geordie Williamson, writer and critic
Gina McColl, investigations deputy editor, The Age
Glen Le Lievre, cartoonist
Glenn Hazeldine, actor
Globe International Center
Greg Baum, associate editor, The Age
Helen Dallimore, actor
Helen Garner, writer
Human Rights Network for Journalists – Uganda
Independent Journalism Center – Moldova
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Actors
International Federation of Journalists
International Publishers Association Media Foundation for West Africa
Ivor Indyk, publisher
Jackie Mansourian, writer
Janet Galbraith, poet and co-ordinator of Writing Through Fences
Jason Klarwein, actor
Jeff Sparrow, writer and broadcaster
Jewel Topsfield, Indonesia correspondent, Fairfax Media
Johan Lidberg, journalist and academic
John Pilger, journalist
John Shakespeare, cartoonist & illustrator, Sydney Morning Herald
Jon Kudelka, cartoonist
Jonathan Mill, performer
Joshua Robertson, Brisbane correspondent, Guardian Australia
Judith Buckrich, writer
Judith Rodriguez, poet
Judy Horacek, cartoonist
June Factor, writer
Karen Middleton, chief political correspondent, The Saturday Paper
Karen Percy, senior reporter, ABC
Kate McClymont, investigative journalist, Sydney Morning Herald
Kerith Atkinson, actor
Kerry Walker, actor
Kevin Brophy, poet and author
Kim Scott, author
Lachlan Woods, actor
Liam McIlwain, actor
Lindsay Murdoch, South-East Asia correspondent, Fairfax Media
Lorna Lesley, actor
Maher Mughrabi, foreign editor, The Age
Marcus Strom, science editor, Sydney Morning Herald
Margot Knight, actor
Maria Tumarkin, writer
Marieke Hardy, writer and broadcaster
Mark Isaacs, writer
Mary-Anne Toy, features editor, The Age
Matt O’Sullivan, transport editor, Sydney Morning Herald
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Media Watch Norwegian
Melissa Davey, Melbourne bureau chief, Guardian Australia
Melissa Lucashenko, writer
Michael Bachelard, investigations editor, The Age
Michael Heyward, publisher
Michael Janda, business reporter, ABC
Michael Slezak, environment reporter, Guardian Australia
Michala Banas, actor
Michelle de Kretser, author
Michelle Griffin, acting deputy editor, The Age
Mike Seccombe, national correspondent, The Saturday Paper
Miki Perkins, social affairs reporter, The Age
Miranda Tapsell, actor
Mireille Juchau, author
Miska Mandic, film-maker
Monica Main, actor
National Union of Somali Journalists
Neil Chenoweth, senior reporter, Australian Financial Review
Nick Feik, editor, The Monthly
Nick Miller, Europe correspondent, Fairfax Media
Nick Moir, photographer, Sydney Morning Herald
Nick O’Malley, senior writer, Sydney Morning Herald
Norwegian PEN
Oslo Davis, cartoonist
Pacific Freedom Forum
Paddy O’Reilly, writer
Patrick Frost, actor
Paul Farrell, reporter, Guardian Australia
Paul Syvret, assistant editor, The Courier Mail
Pearl Tan, actor
PEN American Center
PEN Melbourne
PEN Sydney
Penny Hueston, editor
Peter Greste, journalist
Peter Hannam, environment editor, Sydney Morning Herald
Peter Ryan, senior business correspondent, ABC
Professor David Robie, Pacific Media Centre
Raimond Gaita, writer and philosopher
Randa Abdel-Fattah, writer
Reg Lynch, cartoonist
Robert Hillman, author
Robert Manne, writer and academic
Robyn Arthur, actor
Rod Emmerson, cartoonist
Rod Mullinar, actor
Rod Quantock, writer and comedian
Roger Patching, journalism educator
Rohan Connolly, senior football writer, The Age
Rory Walker, actor
Royce Millar, investigative reporter, The Age
Sam Gaskin, performer
Sam Wallman, cartoonist
Samah Sabawi, Author and playwright.
Sarah Danckert, business reporter, The Age
Sharon Davis, freelance journalist
Simon Johanson, business journalist, The Age
Simon Letch, illustrator, Sydney Morning Herald
Steph Harmon, culture editor, Guardian Australia
Stephanie Convery, deputy culture editor, Guardian Australia
Stephanie Wood, senior writer, Sydney Morning Herald
Stephen Long, investigative reporter, ABC
Stephen Stockwell, Professor, Griffith University
Stuart Halusz, actor
Tessa Lunney, writer
Toni Jordan, writer
Tony Kevin, writer and ex-diplomat
Tracey Spicer, writer and broadcaster
Vigilance pour la Démocratie et l’État Civique
Wendy Bacon, freelance journalist and academic
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
Zev Landes, cartoonist
