A former detainee at the Christmas Island detention centre, Hani Abdile, will share her story in Blackheath on July 15.
Ms Abdile will talk about her experience with Angelica Neville, one of the co-ordinators of a new book chronicling the lives of people in detention.
They Cannot Take the Sky features first-hand accounts from detainees inside immigration detention on Manus Island and Nauru, or from within the Australian community after their release. The narrators reveal not only their extraordinary journeys and their daily struggles, but also their meditations on love, death, hope and injustice. Their candid testimonies are at times shocking and hilarious, surprising and devastating.
The book was put together by an organisation called Behind the Wire whose sole purpose is to give these people a voice with the aim of bringing a new perspective on mandatory detention and the reality of the people who have lived it.
“It is a book whose human, frank, illuminating voices the government does not want to hear from,” said author Tom Keneally.
The Gleebooks-organised event will be held at the Blackheath Community Hall on Saturday, July 15 at 2.30pm. Cost is $10 per person with a percentage of proceeds donated to Behind the Wire. Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group will have a representative at the event. Bookings are essential. Call Gleebooks Blackheath on 4787 6340 or email victoria@gleebooks.com.au.