Review – The Bitter Shore by Jacquie Everitt

The Mandatory Detention of an Iranian Refugee Family in Australia

Jan 17, 2009

Journalist and human rights lawyer Jacquie Everitt presents the story of an Iranian refugee family and their experiences with Australia's mandatory detention policy.

The Bitter Shore (Pan Macmillan, 2008) is an emotional and confronting book about the Badraie family and their experiences as asylum seekers in Australia. Everitt encourages readers to consider the consequences of the policies and actions of the Australian Government as it seeks to protect national borders.

After reading the subtitle “An Iranian family’s escape to Australia and the hell they found at the border of paradise”, it should come as no surprise to readers that The Bitter Shore supports the viewpoint of the refugee family rather than the actions of the Australian Department of Immigration.

Divided into three sections, this account details the lives of Mohammad Saeed, Zahra and Shayan Badraie in the years leading up their flight from Iran and their arrival in Australia where they were confined in detention centres at Woomera and Villawood. Baby Shabham was born while the family was detained at Woomera.

The first section focuses predominantly on Zahra and offers her personal story growing up in a family and culture that she loved and respected. Her decision to leave Iran, pregnant with her daughter Shabnam, was a difficult and reluctant one made necessary when both her own and Saeed’s lives were threatened.

The second section details the experiences of the Badraie family after their arrival in Australia. This included years of mandatory detention in the Woomera and Villawood detention centres, exposure to the atmosphere of barely suppressed violence and despair of the long term detainees and an inability to gain accurate advice or legal council to enable them to adequately present their need for asylum.

The final section focuses on the illness of Shayan Badraie and the difficulties his family experienced gaining adequate care for their son in the detention environment. The impact of detention and the acts of violence and self-harm that Shayan witnessed during his years as a detainee caused deep psychological wounds that translated to physical illness. Shayan was detained from 2000 – 2002 (aged 5 – 7 years) and then spent some time as a foster child while his family remained in detention at Villawood.

The Badraie family featured in Australian headlines after the 2001/2002 “children overboard”, Tampa and Woomera riots immigration controversies sparked greater public awareness of immigration issues. The impact of the detention environment on the mental and physical health of Shayan Badraie led to landmark settlement of $400,000 in 2006 in a court case against the Australian Immigration Department. The family now hold permanent Australian residency visas.

An Emotional Plea for the Cause of Refugees in Australia

The Bitter Shore is a well researched, yet personal account of the experiences of the Badraie family. Everitt includes numerous references to official documents and medical reports, some of which are included as appendices.

Occasional conjectures by Everitt about the meaning and authorship of hand-written comments and assumptions about the underlying motivations of Government officials, particularly the then Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock, are minor disappointments in an otherwise factual and well-represented account of the Badraie’s experiences.

The Bitter Shore is a timely reminder that refugees and asylum seekers are not simply vague theories or concepts, but human beings. As Everitt comments, the policies of the Australian Government are, by definition, created on behalf of Australian citizens and The Bitter Shore is an opportunity for Australians to assess and consider the impact and consequences of these actions taken in their name and for their “protection”.

Thinking About the Impact of Mandatory Detention

Sure to be both lauded and condemned for the issues it holds up for public scrutiny, The Bitter Shore should be read by anyone who wants to offer an informed opinion about Australia’s official policies regarding immigration, refugees and mandatory detention.

Read Mahtab’s Story by Libby Gleeson for a teen fiction account of refugee experiences.

The copyright of the article Review – The Bitter Shore by Jacquie Everitt in Australian Literature is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Review – The Bitter Shore by Jacquie Everitt in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.