Foreword

The conversation between Kurdish writer, filmmaker and refugee Behrouz Boochani and Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow, was chaired by Dr Neil Vallelly. The event took place in front of an enthusiastic full house. It followed on from a memorable occasion in partnership with Dunedin Public Libraries in 2019, coordinated by the Library’s Kay Mercer. The audience in Mornington Methodist Church was treated to in-depth discussion and personal insights from Behrouz Boochani and Professor Phipps about the power of literature and the arts to heal and transform.

Behrouz Boochani recently arrived in New Zealand from Manus Island, where he had been held since August 2013. During his years in detention he had become an advocate for the refugees, and last year his memoir No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison won the Victorian Prize for Literature and the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Non-fiction. The book was written on Behrouz Boochani’s phone and sent one message at a time to his translator, Omid Tofighian.

Dunedin poets Emma Neale and Rhian Gallagher, both former University of Otago Burns Fellows, read at the event and gifted books of their poetry to Behrouz Boochani. These poets and many members of the audience had been present at the earlier City of Literature/Dunedin Public Libraries event, also chaired by Dr Neil Vallelly. Not surprisingly there was a palpable sense of joy in the room that Behrouz Boochani was present in person this time rather than via Skype from Manus Island.

OAR FM recorded the event and a podcast will be made available on the Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature website for those who were unable to attend or want to listen again to this extraordinary conversation.