The Undesirables

Mark Isaacs

Apr 2014 · Hardie Grant Books

About this ebook

'How long will we be here?' one man asked.Nobody could answer him. Nobody knew. The intention was clear: this was the No Advantage policy. Take them to a distant island, lock them away, punish them, forget about them. Criminals were given a sentence to serve; these men were not even given that. Lost hope ebbed out of the men in uncontrollable sobs and tears. Queue jumper, boat person, illegals. Asylum seekers are contentious front-page news but obtaining information about Australia’s regional processing centres is increasingly difficult. We learn only what the government wants us to know. Mark Isaacs worked for the Salvation Army inside the Nauru Detention Centre soon after it re-opened in 2012. He provided humanitarian aid to the men interned in the camp. What he saw there moved him to speak out. The Undesirables chronicles his time on Nauru detailing daily life and the stories of the men held there; the self-harm, suicide attempts, and riots; the rare moments of joy; the moments of deep despair.

Mark's eyewitness account humanises a political debate usually ruled by misleading rhetoric.

About the author Mark Isaacs became impassioned by the asylum seeker debate after a visit to Villawood Detention Centre while writing for Oxfam. Months later, in October 2012, Mark was employed by the Salvation Army to work at the regional processing centre in Nauru. While there, Mark established the Recreations program and Oceans program for asylum seekers. He eventually resigned from the Salvation Army in June 2013 and spoke out publicly against the government's No Advantage policy.

Ratings and reviews

Great read. Gives a great insight into the reality of the asylum seeker issue, not just what the government and media feed us. The writer doesn't preach, though. By learning about what drives people to seek asylum, and what they have been through, you can make your own mind up whether they are being treated fairly by the Australian government (definitely not in my opinion!) I strongly recommend reading if you want a first hand account of a very important current affair.

This is a must read if you care about human beings. Regardless of your current point of view on Australia's asylum seeker policy, you'll learn something here.

About the author

Mark Isaacs is a writer, author, researcher and community worker. He tells stories of conflict and displacement, using his writing, his photography and his community work to connect people with issues all over the world, and to encourage and facilitate action. His first book, The Undesirables: Inside Nauru (2014), is an account of his work with asylum seekers in Nauru, one of Australia's notorious offshore detention centres. His second book, Nauru Burning (2016), follows up The Undesirables with an investigative report on human rights abuses on Nauru. In 2016, Mark conducted an investigation into deportations to Afghanistan with the Edmund Rice Centre. The published report, titled 'Responsibility to Protect', paved the way for Mark's later writings in Afghanistan. Mark appeared in Eva Orner’s 2016 documentary Chasing Asylum and has written for Foreign Policy, World Policy Journal, Huffington Post, New Internationalist, Mamamia, New Matilda and VICE.