For release: Monday Sep 16th 6:30pm – 8:00pm at Readings Hawthorn.
Join us at the launch event for We Refugees in Melbourne, Australia, at Readings Hawthorn.
We are delighted and honored to announce that the event will be hosted by Julian Burnside, who is well known for his work as a barrister in Australia, as well as a human rights and refugee advocate, and author. His legal practice is principally in commercial litigation, trade practices, and administrative law. He is also known for his strong opposition to the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, and has provided legal counsel in a wide variety of high-profile cases. In 2009, Burnside was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) “for service as a human rights advocate, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers, to the arts as a patron and fund-raiser, and to the law.”
Cover image © by Alex Johnson, ‘Rescue in the Mediterranean’ from the ten image set, ‘My Voyage from Nigeria to Italy.’ Used with the kind permission of Make Art Not Walls.
The Regal House Initiative, together with Pact Press, is proud to bring you an anthology of writing by and about refugees, asylum seekers, and other forced migrants. We Refugees is intended to amplify the voices of displaced people and bring their experiences to the awareness of readers. The lead editor for this anthology is Dr. Emma Larking.
Our aim is to provide insights into the lives of the displaced, insights that are often ignored in contemporary media accounts of the global refugee crisis. Rather than present a vision of crisis, we would like to present a vision of hope and energy, to celebrate the resilience of people who have been forced to leave their homes and seek new ones. We sought contributions that may discomfort or challenge readers, presenting the experience of displacement in a manner at odds with more typical representations.
Proceeds from the publication of We Refugees
Editorial work will be provided free of charge by the Pact Press editorial team, lead by Dr. Emma Larking, and all net proceeds from the sale of the anthology will go to support the work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC).
Based in Melbourne, Australia, the ASRC describes itself as:
…both a place and a movement. We are an independent not for profit organisation, whose programs support and empower people seeking asylum to maximise their own physical, mental and social wellbeing. As a movement, we mobilise and unite communities to create lasting social and policy change for people seeking asylum in Australia. We are proud to be owned and run by our community of volunteers and supporters.
Please visit the ASRC website for more information about its campaigns, work, vision and values.
Interview with Artist Virginia Ryan, Contributor to our forthcoming Pact Press Anthology, We Refugees.