In Conversation with Vannessa Hearman
A dramatic story of a perilous journey to Australia
When
to
Where
Boundless Books, Leederville
Join us for an evening following a perilous ocean journey, geopolitics, and human rights discussion with award-winning historian and author Associate Professor Vannessa Hearman in conversation with Professor Farida Fozdar, sociologist and Professor of Anthropology and Sociology as well as Dean of Global Futures at Curtin University.
Vannessa's research focuses on the history of Indonesia and Timor-Leste and Australia's relationship with both countries. The Good Sea is her second sole-authored book and explores the journey and impacts of the Tasi Diak, the only refugee boat to reach Australia throughout the 24-year Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
Join us for light refreshments in store to listen to these two powerhouse academics as they discuss the fascinating story of the Tasi Diak, and the history, politics and sociology surrounding Australia's worsening treatment of asylum seekers.
Tickets are $5 or free when pre-purchasing a copy of The Good Sea.
About The Good Sea
In May 1995, after five days and six nights on the Timor Sea, eighteen East Timorese asylum seekers, including a six-month-old baby, sailed into Darwin in a small wooden fishing boat. The Tasi Diak was the only boat to reach Australia throughout the 24-year Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
Drawing on archives, government records, media reports and interviews with the asylum seekers, The Good Sea tells the dramatic story of their perilous journey to Australia. It traces the lives of young activists in the East Timor underground. It examines the powerful impact of the boat's arrival on Australia's relationship with Indonesia in the last years of the Suharto regime - and how it energised the campaign for East Timor's independence.
When the lights of Darwin came into view for the Tasi Diak refugees, it marked the beginning of an almighty struggle to challenge powerful interests on a distant shore. Critically, this boat arrival would herald the start of Australia's worsening treatment of asylum seekers, raising questions about a humane refugee regime and respect for human rights.