Detention Remembered Visual History Project

Mission Statement
“To record the testimonies of immigration detention from Australian residents for future generations of Australians”

What is Detention Remembered?
After three years providing free legal representation to the detained asylum seekers of Australia, Spare Lawyers for Refugees is co-ordinating the documentation of this chapter in our nation’s history.

The Detention Remembered visual history project will be conducted throughout 2006. The purpose of the project is to record the testimonies of those who were directly involved with the detention centers across Australia; the former detainees; and the detention centre staff, counselors, legal personnel and regular detention centre visitors who assisted and supported them. A team of trained volunteers will film interviews with willing members of the refugee communities about their experiences of life in the detention facilities.

Detention Remembered is based on the model initiated by Steven Spielberg. In ten years, Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation has recorded the testimonies of over 52,000 Holocaust survivors across the world. The testimonies have been comprehensively catalogued and are now available as a public resource. Detention Remembered shares Shoah’s vision in informing future generations of decision makers about the consequences of racism, intolerance and fear.

Detention Remembered will be a first-hand, unedited record of the mandatory detention policy. All detention centres will be represented. Their interview’s primary focus will not be on the stories of persecution or flight, but on the detention experience itself.

Julian Burnside QC founded Spare Lawyers for Refugees in response to the Tampa crisis in 2001. Over the past three years, SLFR has helped many asylum seekers seek justice in the Australian legal system. The experience and expertise accumulated by the organisation will be used to create a thorough record of this chapter in Australian history.

The video collection, when complete, will be transcribed in full and in English. A complete set of the records will be donated to public institutions across Australia so that future generations can see the realities of such a policy.