‘Refugee’ on Manus Island wins more than $100k and top Australian literary award, despite not being Australian

Caldron Pool

A ‘refugee’ on Manus Island has won a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award despite not being an Australian citizen or a permanent resident.

Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist, took out the non-fiction section, scoring $25,000, before going on to win the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature, which is said to be the most valued literary award in the country.

Conditions for entry stipulate that authors must be Australian citizens or permanent residents, however organisers decided to make an exception for Boochani.

Boochani, who has been on the island since 2013, claims to be a “political hostage” of the “fascist” Australian government who has, apparently subjected thousands of innocent people, including children, to “torture.”

Oh, and by “torture,” he doesn’t mean water-boarding, starvation or bamboo under the fingernails. Boochani means boredom.

“Torture means six years of having nothing to do but staring at a wall, thinking about your destiny, listening to a killing silence and watching how slowly life disappears in front of your eyes. Torture means being condemned to an indefinite wait. The reality of Manus and Nauru,” Boochani tweeted.

Boochani also threatened not to let Australia get away with their “crimes,” warning Australians that they’ll be “stalked like a nightmare” until they confess to their crimes.

“We don’t know how long it will take us to get freedom, but be sure that we won’t let Australia get away with its crimes on Manus and Nauru,” Boochani said. “We’ll stalk you like a nightmare, and wont’ leave until you admit to your violation of human rights. @ScottMorrisonMP”