Published in Overland Issue 215 Winter 2014 · Uncategorized Borderlines Jenni Nixon 1. forty-three West Papuan men women and children five weeks in wild seas in a traditional double outrigger canoe drifting four days without food or water washed ashore on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula relocated to Christmas Island − if sent back we will die one of many who served prison time for raising outlawed flag pro-independence activists for decades are hunted in the jungle a slow genocide: raped imprisoned tortured shot bodies thrown in the river houses burnt land occupied boys from the remote highlands − sent alone to the sea while at the northwest point on Christmas Island construction cranes swoop across a new detention centre another prison for those who flee persecution 2. out-of-control bushfires burn red across the skyline cricket bats thwack tennis balls to racquet’s pock in scorching summer heat frolic in a pool dive in the ocean who cares about refugees? climate change is absolute crap − says Tony Abbott evacuees from drowned islands homes swallowed by the sea are economic migrants we deliver straight to PNG the Australian navy tows asylum boats back cuts them loose in Indonesian waters saves refugees from drowning who surrender then to suicidal despair seeking asylum is a human right − our colonial plan: dump ’em overseas fails to meet international standards the UN found conditions on Manus Island harsh hot humid damp and cramped 3. next we must stop the birds crossing sovereign borders send them packing process them in cages offshore as the European pigeon said to an Indian mynah: go back where you came from! Jenni Nixon Jenni Nixon is a Sydney author, poet and performer. More by Jenni Nixon › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 30 August 2024 · the arts The statements we make Kate Larsen As artists, cultural workers and arts organisations, ours is the business of statement-making. I was reminded of this recently by the work of Portuguese artist Tiago Casanova, whose installation Every wall is a Statement is currently part of the A liberdade e só a Liberdade exhibition (‘Freedom and only freedom’) at The Art and Culture […] 28 August 202428 August 2024 · literary culture What I learnt from reading Chinese youth agony literature Stephanie Qiu Youth agony literature swept across high schools in China from the mid-2000s to early 2010s. While boys played Dota, girls read romance. When my best friend got caught reading a popular book called Devil’s Kiss at recess, the head teacher confiscated it and called her parents in.