Displaced People

Australia's Pacific Solution

NOW AVAILABLE: Nauru Burning: An uprising and its aftermath

It is with great pleasure (and relief) that my book, Nauru Burning: An uprising and…

Mark IsaacsOctober 21, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Ali’s Story Part 4: Boat Journeys, Arrests and Death

Ali is a Hazara man from Afghanistan trying to seek asylum in Australia. Part 4…

Mark IsaacsOctober 17, 2016

Displaced People of Asia Series Projects

A Guide to Travelling Iran: Ethnic Discrimination in Ahvaz and Kermanshaw

There are numerous ethnic groups in Iran who claim discrimination and persecution at the hands…

Mark IsaacsSeptember 29, 2016

Displaced People of Asia Series

Stories from the Rohingya Camps in Bangladesh

In 2015, I visited the Rohingya refugee camps in the southern region of Bangladesh. My…

Mark IsaacsSeptember 5, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

New Internationalist: It’s time to close Australia’s abusive detention regime (2016)

When faced with overwhelming evidence of systemic abuse, the Australian government shifted responsibility and blamed…

Mark IsaacsAugust 22, 2016

The Octopus

Guest Post: The Unofficial Refugee Camp in Calais by Ali Reid

Ali Reid has been an advocate for refugees in Australia for the past 5 years,…

Mark IsaacsJune 26, 2016

Displaced People of Asia Series

Ta’ang Students Youth Union: Internally Displaced People in Shan state

Many Ta'ang people have been displaced due to the violence in Shan state. I snuck…

Mark IsaacsMay 27, 2016

Displaced People of Asia Series

Ta’ang Students and Youth Union: The Drug War in Shan State

Another source of conflict in the Shan state is opium cultivation. The local Ta'ang people…

Mark IsaacsMay 26, 2016

Afghanistan

Returning: The Afghanistan Podcast Trailer

In March 2016, I went to Afghanistan with the Edmund Rice Centre. This 60-second audio…

Mark IsaacsMay 9, 2016

Published Articles

Foreign Policy: The Intolerable Cruelty of Australia’s Refugee Deterrence Strategy (2016)

On April 26, the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea declared Australia’s detention of asylum…

Mark IsaacsMay 3, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

Right Now: The Breaking of a Man (2016)

A fictional short story about the gradual erosion of a man's spirit in the Australian…

Mark IsaacsMarch 30, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Guest Post: At the Knife’s Edge by Robin de Crespigny

Robin de Crespigny, author of the People Smuggler, writes an essay come creative non-fiction piece…

Mark IsaacsMarch 18, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution

Guest Post: Establishing Deterrence by Greg Lake

Greg Lake writes about his work for the Department of Immigration, managing Immigration Detention Centres…

Mark IsaacsMarch 11, 2016

The Octopus

Guest Post: Welcome to the Jungle by Ali Reid

Ali Reid is a refugee rights activist who volunteered to assist asylum seekers in a…

Mark IsaacsMarch 3, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Guest Post: A Refugee Community Group in Indonesia

A guest post from a group of people currently waiting for resettlement in Indonesia who…

Mark IsaacsFebruary 20, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution

In Conversation with the Australian Labor Party

On Sunday 14 February, I will be discussing the treatment of people seeking asylum in…

Mark IsaacsFebruary 13, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution

Let Them Stay: Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach community joined the 'Let Them Stay' campaign to protest the Government's plan to…

Mark IsaacsFebruary 11, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution

Sydney Get Up Protest: Let Them Stay

Thousands of Australians across the country protested against the Government's proposed plan to return 267…

Mark IsaacsFebruary 10, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

New Matilda: The Truth-Silencers Demand the Truth (2016)

It's a strange world when the Australian Department of Immigration simultaneously suppresses the truth and…

Mark IsaacsFebruary 10, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution

Former Nauru Detainee Speaks Out

In the current political climate of secrecy that envelops Australia's treatment of people seeking asylum…

Mark IsaacsJanuary 22, 2016

The Indonesia Project

Ashkan: My Life in Indonesia as a Refugee

Ashkan is an Iranian man living in Jakarta, Indonesia. He describes what life is like…

Mark IsaacsJanuary 4, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

We Are Better Than This: The Humanitarian Triumph (2015)

We have been told by governments past and present that stopping the boats is a…

Mark IsaacsJanuary 4, 2016

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Ali's Story Part 3: Finding a People Smuggler

Ali arrives in Indonesia and begins his search for a people smuggler to take him…

Mark IsaacsDecember 14, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Same Skies: A Strengths- and Rights-based Approach to Supporting Displaced People

How do displaced people seeking protection and resettlement in Indonesia survive the tough, restrictive conditions?…

Mark IsaacsDecember 9, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series

No Man’s Land: Criminals, Smugglers, and Stateless People

There exists a 'No Man's Land' between Burma and Thailand where criminals, runaways and stateless…

Mark IsaacsDecember 1, 2015

Published Articles The Octopus

Huffington Post: It's Easier to Imprison Someone You're Told is Illegal (2015)

Advocating for the better treatment of people seeking asylum in Australia can often be a…

Mark IsaacsNovember 29, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Meeting Ashkan: Seeking Asylum in Jakarta

I visit Ashkan, an Iranian man living in Jakarta, Indonesia, who is trying to seek…

Mark IsaacsNovember 22, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Ali’s Story Part 1: Why I left Afghanistan

Ali is a Hazara man stranded in Indonesia hoping for resettlement to Australia. This is…

Mark IsaacsNovember 20, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series Published Articles

Huffington Post: The Boats Are The Only Option (2015)

I meet a Rohingya man in Australia after having visited his home in the Rhakine…

Mark IsaacsNovember 13, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series Projects

Thai-Burma Border: Nu Poe Refugee Camp

A trip to Nu Poe refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border turned out to be…

Mark IsaacsNovember 9, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series Projects

Thai-Burma Border: Mae La Refugee Camp

I travelled to Mae La camp, the largest refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border.

Mark IsaacsNovember 3, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

Writing to the Wire: If this is a Man (2016)

You who live in the land of plenty, safe from war, torture, and civil unrest,…

Mark IsaacsNovember 3, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series Projects

Thai-Burma Border: Mae Sot

I travel to Mae Sot to learn more about the Karen people and refugees and…

Mark IsaacsNovember 2, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution The Indonesia Project

Meeting Ali: A Trip to Bogor

I travelled to Indonesia to meet people who are waiting for resettlement to Australia. I…

Mark IsaacsOctober 26, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series Published Articles

New Matilda: Inside The Rohingya Refugee Camps (2015)

Ongoing conflict between the Rohingya Muslim population of west Burma and the Rakhine Buddhists has…

Mark IsaacsOctober 24, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

VICE: Big Picture Brutality (2015)

This is an excerpt of an article published by VICE Australia regarding the Australian government's…

Mark IsaacsOctober 22, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

No Fairness on Nauru (2014)

On Friday 19th July 2013, it was reported that over 150 asylum seekers had rioted…

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution

A New Way Forward (2015)

The speech I gave at the Refugee Action Collective rally against offshore detention, held in…

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

Deterring Boat Arrivals (2014)

A short analysis of Australia's humanitarian approach to 'saving lives at sea'.

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

The Salvation Army on Nauru (2014)

A short evaluation of the Salvation Army's role in Nauru.

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

The Indonesia Project

When we discuss immigration policy in Australia regarding asylum seekers and refugees, we talk of…

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

Nauru Riot Press Release: Salvation Army Staff Condemn Cruel and Degrading Conditions (2013)

A statement by past and present Salvation Army staff members condemning the treatment of those…

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

Australia's Pacific Solution Published Articles

Non-People Locked Nowhere: An Extract from The Undesirables (2014)

Every person has a breaking point. When you are pushed and prodded towards the brink,…

Mark IsaacsOctober 13, 2015

Displaced People of Asia Series