Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 08 May
12:45 PM - 1:15 PM
Former asylum seeker processing centre volunteer Mark Isaacs sidesteps the media spin to expose the harsh realities of life on Nauru, in this first-hand account of oppression, haphazard organisation and human disaster.
Mark Isaacs was 24 when, as a Salvation Army volunteer, he was abruptly despatched to Nauru in October 2012. The Pacific Solution had just been reintroduced and people were needed to staff the asylum seeker processing centre. Alongside a collection of unqualified misfits, Isaacs was horrified to witness the oppressive conditions asylum seekers faced. Two years later, his book The Undesirables recounts his first-hand experiences of the pitiful accommodations, shoddy organisation and vindictive surveillance on the island, as well as how he and his fellow volunteers dealt with anger, confusion and suicide attempts among the internees.
In this prescient Lunchbox/Soapbox event, Mark Isaacs speaks to the heart of this divisive issue by giving an insight into what really goes on inside Australia’s asylum seeker detention centres, unfiltered by media bias.
Lunchbox/Soapbox
We love exploring ideas at the Wheeler Centre, and encouraging others to do the same. That’s why every Thursday lunchtime we hand the microphone over to the great thinkers, dreamers and orators of our time.
With a dazzling range of passionate speakers and unusual topics, our soapbox provides a platform for the eclectic, topical and enlightening stories you won’t hear elsewhere. This is the most memorable lunch break you’ll have all week.
If you’re in need of sustenance of body as well as mind, the MOAT lunch cart will be serving delicious $10 lunchboxes in the performance space from 12.20pm.
Featuring
Mark Isaacs
Mark Isaacs is a writer, a researcher, a photographer and a community worker.
Mark is president of PEN Sydney, an affiliate of PEN International, a worldwide association of writers which defends freedom of expression and campaigns on behalf of writers who have been silenced by persecution or imprisonment. He is currently studying for a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Technology, Sydney. His research will focus on human migration in the Asia-Pacific region.
His first book, The Undesirables: Inside Nauru (Hardie Grant, 2014), is a whistle-blowing account of his work with asylum seekers in Nauru, one of Australia’s notorious offshore prisons. His second book, Nauru Burning (2016), follows up The Undesirables with an investigative report into human rights abuses in Nauru.
Mark’s third book, The Kabul Peace House (Hardie Grant, 2019) is about a community of student peace activists in Afghanistan. The book was published in Australia and the United Kingdom. The affiliated photography collection, Imagining Peace: A Portrait of Modern Afghanistan, was exhibited in Newcastle Libraries in New South Wales, Australia.