Behind the Wire is an oral history project documenting the stories of men, women and children who have been detained by the Australian government after seeking asylum in Australia. It brings a new perspective on mandatory detention by sharing the reality of the people who have lived it.
Through in depth interviews with current and ex-detainees, we capture narrators’ histories, experiences of seeking protection in Australia and the detailed reality of mandatory detention. Working with narrators, these interviews are then edited into first person narratives that take the form of literary short stories.
Through these stories, we hope to reveal a nuanced picture of seeking asylum and life in mandatory detention – showing a reality that goes beyond queue jumpers on the one hand and passive victims on the other to reveal resilient, suffering human beings. We also seek to place the voices, faces and perspectives of asylum seekers, which are rarely represented in public debates on refugee issues, at the centre of the discussion.
The stories collected through Behind the Wire are published online and in print.
For media inquiries, or if you are interested in republishing any of the Behind the Wire stories, get in touch at contact@behindthewire.org.au.