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Behrouz Boochani's 'Freedom only freedom' Book

Lynne Reeder • May 24, 2023

Behrouz Boochani's new book 'Freedom only freedom' and insights from co-editor Omid Tofighian.

Read the Article from The Courier - Kurdish journalist and human rights activist Behrouz Boochani outside the abandoned Manus Island naval base where he had been locked up. Picture Getty Images 

Heritage week provides us with a timely reminder that Ballarat has a long history of being populated by people from all around the world. By 1858 there were around 60,000 people in Ballarat and surrounds including those that had come from countries such as England, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and China.

 

Kurdish journalist and human rights activist Behrouz Boochani outside the abandoned Manus Island naval base where he had been locked up. Picture Getty Images


We know that these people came to seek their fortune and the freedom those earnings provide, and I was reminded of this history while listening to a very moving conversation between Omid Tofighian, translator of a newly released book Freedom Only Freedom, and the editor of The Courier, Eugene Duffy at the Eureka Centre*.


Their inspiring conversation covered topics such as - how language and terms such as 'illegal' transform how we interpret events; how the force of fear affects our ability to engage in our common humanity; how when journalism fails, the arts can succeed in reframing how we can humanise the 'other'; and how writing can be both an act of resistance and a pathway to freedom.


Omid and Eugene reminded us, that it is our stories, that can sway us when facts and rational data fail to reach our empathic hearts. The stories in Behrouz Boochani's latest edited book Freedom Only Freedom, and his previous book, No Friend But The Mountains, tell heart wrenching stories of his experience as a refugee, where our immigration system refused to speak his name, instead calling him MEG45.


Using 'political poetics' Boochani writes: We are resisting because we want freedom in a safe environment. The core concern is freedom...only freedom. The rest of what you hear are just peripheral issues.


History has shown that humans have the potential to be extraordinarily callous and cruel and that the cultivation of compassion can provide a powerful antidote to these dispositions. Compassion provides the strength, wisdom, and courage to address suffering, to resolve conflict, and to create nurturing connections across our diversity.


In addition to concern for our own residents, it's encouraging therefore that there are many initiatives in Ballarat that also reflect our concern for people in other countries. These include members of the Ballarat East Men's Shed who have made hundreds of handmade toys which will soon be sent to children in war torn Syria; Zonta Ballarat's birthing kits that are sent to help birthing assistants in developing countries; and this weekend also saw the official launch of the Ballarat Afghan Action Group, which provides food and aid to vulnerable Afghans, oppressed by the Taliban, particularly women and children.


Eugene Duffy began this event with a reminder that Heritage Week offers us the time to reflect on the soul of our city - and it finished with a statement by a young Afghan father who said that at last he feels at home, noting simply '...when they (people in Ballarat) smile at me then I feel free'.


*This event was organised by Ballarat Afghan Action Group, in partnership with Ballarat Libraries. Dr Lynne Reeder is a member of the Compassionate Ballarat Steering Group and her mother's family came to Ballarat in the 1850's after escaping the famine that was raging in Ireland at the time.


Dr Lynne Reeder, Adjunct Research Fellow

Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia

A New Report on the Science of Compassion

By Lynne Reeder • 18 Apr, 2024
A new report on the science of compassion by Dr Lynne Reeder and her international research colleague Dr Marcela Matos on the Future Directions in Compassion Science has just been released: Some of the key points from this report include: Research in compassion science is consistently finding that the motivation of compassion fosters improved mental and physical health, and has profound effects on social relationships in families, groups, communities and between communities. Many scientific studies show that different motives organise our minds and bodies quite differently. For example, the way our attention is directed, our thoughts are focused, and our intended behaviours are enacted, differ significantly as to whether our motives are - competitive self-focused, anger or fear based - or cooperative and compassion based. There are many practical applications of compassion, including for business and commerce – e.g. studies conducted by Assoc Prof Daniel Martin have found that compassion training can improve the psychological safety and well-being of employees and therefore mitigate the negative behaviours within businesses that can disrupt valuable innovations. Prof Tania Singer, Director of the Social Neuroscience Lab, Max Planck Society, Germany highlights how compassion training works. Her world leading studies which include the use of fMRI’s in assessing differences before and after compassion training - show that it works by supporting the upregulation of our systems of care and affiliation…in compassion you accept the reality that is out there, but you activate the system which will allow you to be resilient against the potential negative effect of overwhelm and empathic distress. Read the full report here Read a 2 page summary of the report here

Target 1.5 degrees: What are the barriers?

By Compassion Ballarat • 18 Mar, 2024
with Ciara Bryne, Dr. Janet Salisbury and Dr. Lynne Reeder In early February, researchers from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service presented data indicating that throughout 2023, temperatures surpassed the critical threshold of a 1.5-degree increase above pre-industrial levels. This threshold is significant as it is the limit global leaders committed to not exceed in order to prevent the most severe impacts of climate change. With this new evidence highlighting the failure to make sufficient progress in combating climate change, it becomes imperative to explore the obstacles hindering our advancement. We must delve into the psychological, logistical, financial, economic, and political challenges that are impeding our ability to take significant strides toward safeguarding our future and the planet from the escalating climate crisis. https://www.globalcompassioncoalition.org/events/target-1-5-degrees-what-are-the-barriers/

MLK Peace Event

By Compassion Ballarat • 06 Feb, 2024
21 January 2024 - Compassionate Ballarat partnered with Let’s Talk Peace Ballarat to contribute a webinar discussion as part of the Martin Luther King David 40 Days of Peace program which is an annual event organised by the global Charter for Compassion. This event was entitled Turning ‘the dream' of Peace into Action, One Compassionate Step at a Time and featured speakers David Hartsough, Founder of World Beyond War; Tim Hollo, Executive Director of the Green Institute; and Gem Romuld, National Director, ICAN. David Hartsough has been working actively across the globe for nonviolent social change and peaceful resolution of conflicts since his personal encounter with Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and he shared his experiences on practicing nonviolence and in taking tangible and compassionate steps toward a peaceful world during. You can listen to the inspiring presentations here: 40 Days of Peace - Turning ‘The Dream’ of Peace into Action One Compassionate Step at a Time ( youtube.com )
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