My name is Farhad Bandesh. I am a human being first. Then, I am an artist, a musician and a wine-maker. Lastly, I am a refugee.
I am one of the people who could end up in jail, if the deportation bill became law.
I came to Australia by sea in 2013 seeking safety. I am Kurdish and, while I was raised in Iran, I have no country. Iran does not recognise me as a citizen; I am labelled as stateless. War and persecution against the Kurdish people continue.
I was imprisoned for six years on Manus Island with hundreds of others. We only wanted freedom and safety but instead Australian governments pursued brutal policies against people seeking asylum, inflicting incredible cruelty on all of us, using us a political pawns.
I was on Manus during the siege that killed Reza Barati and injured hundreds, including myself. I could not believe the violence that I witnessed in that Australian-run prison camp. I knew Reza, he called me uncle. He told me that he liked my smile. I think of him still and the life he could have had.
I was imprisoned for two more years in Australia, after I was transferred for medical treatment which I never received. I was detained in the Mantra Hotel, Preston. Along with others in those places, I never stopped peacefully protesting. We were told not to make trouble, and threatened by saying we could be sent back to Manus – that our situation was better in those hotels. But we knew the difference between captivity and freedom. All we ever wanted was freedom.
To stop me from protesting they forcibly removed me from the Mantra Hotel prison and I was taken to the immigration prison in Broadmeadows.
Eventually, in 2020, on my birthday, I was released on a bridging visa E. I renew that visa every six months. It is a visa that ensures I have no basic rights or future. I can only plan a few months at a time.
For the past three years, I have tried to rebuild my life from scratch. I’ve made a small home with my partner, Jenell, and our dog, Ciya – named after the mountains in Kurdistan. I work with Bandesh Wine & Spirits, I perform at gigs – sometimes I play the guitar, sometimes I sing Kurdish traditional songs. Mostly, I try to forget what was taken from me over nearly a decade in detention, and I try to build a future for myself, bit by bit.
When it was the election, I admit I placed hope in the Labor government. I should have known better – soon after the election, I received a letter from the Department of Immigration, telling me to leave the country. I was told afterwards it was just an error. But it was a sign of things to come.
Last month I heard about the deportation bill. If it passes, the minister would be able to give me a direction to leave Australia and, if I refused, I would be put in jail for a minimum of one and up to five years. It would not matter what I had been through on Manus, at the Mantra or in Broadmeadows. It would not matter that my partner is Australian. It would not matter that this is my home.
This bill is horrific and will harm many people, like me, who call this country home and have built families – who have already been through so much.
I have lost my family and home once. I, and others like me, should not have to suffer through that again.
• Farhad Bandesh is an artist, musician and wine-maker
