Smugglers
Author Visits Hay
Author and filmmaker, Robin de Crespigny was in Hay recently to discuss her prize-winning and controversial book, The People Smuggler.
Dunera Museum President, David Houston, said that the story has both similarities and differences with the story of the Dunera Boys, told at the Hay Dunera Museum. One review of the book describes it as an engrossing account of a figure seen by some as saviour and by others as criminal.
The story follows Iraqi Ali Al Jenabi, who was imprisoned in Baghdad’s notorious Al Graeb prison under “Saddam Hussein. Ali smuggled family members out of Iraq and eventually to Australia, after the murder of his father and brother in Iraq. He then smuggled up to 500 other refugees to Australia. The book focuses on one man and his family situation where torture and murder were occurring on a daily basis. It poses the question for the reader as to what they would do if faced with the same situation. The question for nations dealing with the refugee situation is: Do we help, hinder or ignore the problem and how far can and should we go to help? Like the Refugee and Asylum Seeker debate itself, the book is controversial. A recent ABC TV debate on Q and A, about asylum seekers policies, had most of the protagonists concluding that there is no easy fix, no black and white answers to the situation. Author de Crespigny spent three years researching the book from Iraq to Indonesia and Australia and with Ali Al Jenabi himself. The often first person book makes absorbing reading and is one of three finalists in this year’s Walkley Awards. A small group of woman spent an interesting couple of hours with Robin discussing the book and the politics of people smuggling. It is interesting to hear the other side of the ‘illegal boat people’ story.
11
Catalogue in store now
Red Centre 4 Burner Ozzy Hooded BBQ
ANTONAKAS HARDWARE
135 Lachlan St, Hay Ph/Fax: 02 6993 1625 A/H: 02 6993 3417 Kitchenware - Paint - Electrical Timber - Plumbing - Sporting Goods