Back in 2017, the Youtube video of a song — ‘Mey’ — performed by Farhad Bandesh and Mostafa Azimitabar,  (Kurdish asylum seekers held in detention on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea), caught my eye.

The following year, I managed to get in touch with Farhad who shared a little of his experience of detention on Manus Island.

Both men have since been released into Australian society, but not without continuing issues, as a a couple of recent news articles demonstrate:

Australia’s use of hotels as detention centres was unlawful, refugee’s lawyer argues in appeal (The Guardian, 26th Feb 2024)

After a decade in detention I call Australia home. Labor’s deportation bill is horrific (The Guardian, 25th June 2024)