Refugee's book written on WhatsApp wins Australia's richest literary prize

WHATSAPP. The Iranian asylum seeker Behrouz Boochani, imprisoned in Manus Island, wins the most valuable literary prize of Australia. Photo of facebook.com/BehrouzBoochaniJournalist

SYDNEY, Australia – An Iranian asylum seeker detained in Papua New Guinea under Australian Asylum Laws has won Australia 's Most Valuable Literary Award for a book that has been awarded. he would have written to the help of the WhatsApp online messenger service.

Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish detainee since 2013 on Manus Island, PNG, received the Victorian Prize for Literature on Thursday, Jan. 31, said a statement posted on an Australian government website for the state of Victoria.

The journalist and filmmaker received the $ 100,000 Australian award for his book "No Friend, But Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison".

He will receive an additional $ 25,000 after also winning the non-fiction category.

"The award (from Boochani) was accepted by the book's translator, Omid Tofighian, who worked with Boochani for 5 years to bring the stories to life," the state's website said.

The media reported that Boochani had written the work on his phone and sent it to Tofighian bit by bit in text messages.

It was because he did not feel safe in the guarded camp that was closed last year as a result of a local court decision and where asylum seekers were transferred to other parts of the country. 'island.

For years, Canberra has sent asylum seekers attempting to enter the country by boat bound for Manus Island or Nauru, in the Pacific, for these to be considered as refugees prevented from resettling in Australia.

The purpose of this harsh policy is to deter people from embarking on dangerous sea voyages, but the UN and other human rights groups have criticized the detention conditions in the camps and their long periods of detention.

Boochani 's book has defeated 27 other preselected works published last year in Australia to win the final prize. – Rappler.com