Understanding the mentality, background and reason for asylum seekers coming to Australia is vital to humanise their stories. The New York Times magazine has an incredible feature in its magazine this week, written by Luke Mogelson (background to the story here) and photographed by Joel Van Houdt, that stunningly captures the challenges, heartache and uncertainty…
Showing all posts tagged Pakistan
David Hicks deserves justice, an apology and compensation
My weekly Guardian column is published today: It’s hard to think of an Australian individual since 9/11 who has experienced more humiliation and abandonment by the federal government than… David Hicks. Julian Assange, who declared he felt abandoned by the Australian government, perhaps… comes close. As they both found out, an Australian passport is no guarantee of…
Launching Profits of Doom at Curtin University in Perth
I launched my book Profits of Doom at Curtin University in Perth on 29 November to a packed house (more details and photos here… and audio is here). The focus was on Australia’s privatised immigration detention system. Dr Caroline Fleay from The Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRE) introduced me with a generous speech that I…
Hussain's Journey from Pakistan to Australia
Australia’s official attitude towards asylum seekers is based on cruelty and punishment. We too rarely hear from refugees themselves, the privatised system deliberately obscures their stories and faces. The Global Mail has produced a stunning piece of multi-media, video journalism that details the reasons Hazara man like Hussein must leave Pakistan, due to threats on…
The Wounds of Waziristan documentary
A new film on US drones by the… Pakistani-American journalist Madiha Tahir:
Amnesty asks US: how do you justify killing a grandmother by drone?
The role of US drones post 9/11 is shrouded in secrecy. It’s beyond time to challenge the legality, morality and effectiveness of the practice. My good friend Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher for Amnesty, has just written a report on drones and it’s been causing waves globally (see him on CNN). He is interviewed by Democracy…
Aid Watch event on Profits of Doom and politics of development
With the release of my recent book, Profits of Doom, I’ve been doing many public events discussing the issues. This was a great one, organised by the wonderful NGO Aid Watch on 19 August: A major concern with the Australian aid program is that it favours commercial interests in aid delivery. The commercialisation of aid…
Australian Book Review tackles Profits of Doom
The following review… of my book Profits of Doom is written by Virginia Lloyd: One of the literary legacies of the financial crisis is a type of travel writing focused on the local social, economic, and environmental effects of unfettered global capitalism. There are two types of such books. Michael Lewis is perhaps the best known…
Jeremy Scahill gives background to Somalia's Al-Shabab
The horrific attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi continues to generate headlines around the world. But what’s the background to the attacks, who are Somalia’s Al-Shabab terror group and what’s been the position of US and Kenyan intervention in the region? Jeremy Scahill, author of the recent book Dirty Wars, tells Democracy Now!…
Stanton Library in North Sydney about Profits of Doom
I’m currently on a seemingly never-ending book tour for Profits of Doom and this week I spoke at a packed event at Stanton Library in North Sydney (the audio is here for 24 September). It was a great opportunity to engage with people, many of whom were over 60, on issues that too rarely receive…