Communication (Journalism) Honours Thesis at Deakin University, Australia Faculty of Arts and Education June

Conclusion 
Dissident journalists in Iran suffer acutely and, eventually, some escape to a democratic country 
hoping to continue their work without fear in that country. However, Australia’s mandatory 
detention policies and treatment within the camps quash 
these refugees’ expectations. (While 
I am concentrating on Iranian dissidents, this is the case for all refugees). I have written about 
myself, Shokoofeh Azar, a former Iranian journalist who was kept in a refugee detention camp 
between 2010 and 2011. The other person looked at in this study, Behrouz Boochani, is also a 
journalist. He has been kept on Manus Island from 2013 until the writing of this study in 2019.

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Wasted Lives 28 
While there are many academic studies about the harsh situation of journalists in Iran (e.g. 
Nima Mina 2007, Magdalena Wojcieszak 2013, Hossein Shahidi 2007, Mette Mortensen 2011) 
and the harsh situation of refugees in Australia’s camps (Pedersen & Hartley 2015; Maley, 
2016; Fleay, Cokley, Dodd, Briskman & Schwartz 2016), there is little knowledge about how 
Iranian dissident journalists who experienced violence in Iran, and fled to Australia hoping to 
find a new life, coped in the refugee camps. Moreover, there is little knowledge as to how these 
journalists overcame obstacles and continue to work even in the harshest circumstances of 
Australia's refugee camps. My study examines the experiences of two Iranian refugee 
journalists in Australia (Behrouz Boochani and myself) to try to fill this gap.

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Wasted Lives 29 
References 
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يدازآ
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تاعوبطم
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رد
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ناريا
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نسحدمحم
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روپيلع
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Wasted Lives 30 
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