‘No Friend But the Mountains’ A Much Needed Humanisation of Asylum
Though published 6 and a half years ago, ‘No Friend but the Mountains’ by Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani is still an influential piece of migration literature today. The autobiographical account of Boochani’s time (7 years) as a detainee, or rather as he rightly terms it ‘a prisoner’, on Manus Island is a much needed humanisation of those navigating asylum and migration processes in the West. Having been recommended Boochani’s book by a lecturer, and realising that the author is Kurdish (a culture important to me because of my partner), I decided to pick up a copy and get started.
To be completely transparent, ‘No Friend but the Mountains’ is not an easy read: it is often dark and disturbing - but it is realistic, and it is a much needed piece of literature. Boochani sheds light on his experiences as an asylum seeker, a highly stigmatised category of migrant, who sought refuge in Australia though was detained on one of Papa New Guinea’s islands as part of the country’s 2001 ‘Pacific Solution’ policy. Under international law, this action taken by Australia has since been deemed unlawful yet, at the time, criticism was often shut down by arguments focused on the supposed ‘illegality’ of asylum movements. Crossing borders without documentation is illegal, however as many often do not understand - crossing borders for fear of persecution (without documentation) is not an illegal act and states have the responsibility to protect these migrants. Boochani’s book addresses this, he demonstrates how movements of this nature are taken out of necessity and choices to endanger one’s life by crossing oceans are not made or taken lightly.
In blending prose with poetry, Boochani impressively creates a space in which his reader is able to briefly project themself beyond the page and grasp the harsh reality of living as an asylum seeker. Boochani’s artistic craft is universal, his words translated from Farsi into English carry such depth of emotion and hit the reader hard. Through highlighting his life as a prisoner who had not committed (or even been convicted) of a crime, Boochani demonstrates how himself and his fellow refugees on Manus Island are dehumanised and degraded. Throughout the book, Boochani often anonymises his fellow inmates by giving them quirky charactonyms - ‘The Gentle Giant’, ‘The Cow’. The insightful reader does not miss the impact of these nicknames; in Australia’s detention centres, prisoners are referred to by numbers instead of their names - Boochani’s re-humanisation of his fellow detainees acts as a resistance to this degradation. It is a simple technique but it is a powerful resistance and reclaimation of identity.
‘No Friend but the Mountains’ was not an easy read. However, it is a book I would not hesitate to recommend. My advice is to take it a page or a chapter at a time. This is a book that will force you to either revise or refresh your outlook on life - for most, I think it will lead you to evaluate how much kindness and grace you grant to others.
