From ignorance to understanding
Refuge
By Libby Gleeson
Puffin Books, 1998. $11.95
Review by Kieran Bowtell
Award-winning children's novelist Libby Gleeson did not set out to write her most recent book about East Timor or Timorese refugees. Refuge was inspired by an article Gleeson read in the Sydney Morning Herald that profiled Sister Kath O'Connor, a convener of Christians in Solidarity with East Timor and an organiser of the sanctuary movement, which offers asylum for East Timorese in Australia.
It was fitting that Sister Kath launched the book at Gleebooks on March 19.
In her introductory remarks, Sister Kath described East Timor as a "prison island" where rape, torture and imprisonment by the Indonesian military are part of everyday life. Successive Australian governments have not only denied refugee status to Timorese refugees, but have also denied their Timorese identity, arguing that they are Portuguese.
The sanctuary movement has pledged to hide Timorese refugees should the Australian government decide to deport them to Portugal. Some 12,000 Australians have pledged their support to the movement.
Gleeson set out to write about confrontation in an Australian family between teenagers and their liberal parents. On reading the profile of Sister Kath, she decided the debate would occur as a family decides to join the sanctuary movement.
In her research on the subject, Green Left Weekly became an important resource, and she acknowledges excerpts from GLW in her opening pages.
Refuge is the story of a teenage boy whose outlook on life takes a dramatic turn as he comes to grips with Rosa, the hidden East Timorese "guest", and with other family friends who share a similar history. Told with a realism rivalled only by autobiographical account, it touches lightly on contemporary political issues and deals with the controversial reality of refugees.
Set in Sydney's inner west, the story revolves around the life of Andrew, a fossil-obsessed teenager, and his family. Inadvertently, Andrew gets caught up in his sister's plans to hide a Timorese refugee in their house — even after their parents have refused to allow it.
Confronted by the debate between his sister and parents, Andrew finds himself getting drawn into the fray as he reads newspaper articles and leaflets on the situation in East Timor and experiences first-hand the troubles of their "guest".
Used to keeping his head down and absenting himself from the conflicts between his older sister and parents, he finds himself getting involved and willing to take a stand.
Most of Gleeson's characters are affected by the issue of refugees — Andrew's girlfriend is the daughter of a Cambodian refugee family, and a close family friend, Tyr, tells his own history of detention and torture in Athens. Tyr explains that while many refugees find a measure of security and peace, they pay a big price in leaving behind their past and their people. For many, he says, it is almost impossible.
A failing in the novel is the lack of information and character detail about Rosa. However, glimpses of her are successful in establishing her as a person, not simply the "faceless" refugees portrayed in the establishment media. The real focus is on Andrew and his radical transformation from ignorance and apathy to compassionate understanding.
Had Timor gained its independence, Gleeson speculated at the launch, her book would have been relegated to the shelves of historical fiction. Sadly, there is no sign of either the Indonesian or Australian government changing its policy.
Refugee will remain relevant for some time to come.