Controlling the Narrative - Ussy101

It’s been nearly three weeks since the closure of Manus Island and over four hundred men refuse to leave, claiming that the new facilities will be inadequate protection from local populations and authorities. Their conditions are characterised by an absence of clean water, electricity and medical supplies, culminating in poor mental and physical health. Despite the United Nations condemning the situation as a serious ‘humanitarian emergency’, only two independent reporters from Australia have been to Manus Island to cover the story. This raises the question of how the narrative around Manus is being crafted and what implications this particular narrative has.

The Australian government has been highly effective in not only stifling access to information in the detention centres but also dictating the narrative. Media access to Manus Island has been strictly regulated, even after the camp’s closure, as evidenced by many independent reporters refused entry including photojournalist Matthew Abbott, who write a damning piece on the conditions of the camp last year. To further control the narrative, the Border Force Act 2015 prohibits and criminalises doctors, health professionals and general staff members of the island from publicly discussing the camp.

However, that does mean that all reporters are prohibited from entering into the camps. Rather, the government has selectively permitted entry to the Australian newspaper and Sky, both which are owned by Rupert Murdoch and have a tendency to support restrictive immigration and refugee policies. The resulting narrative is a focus on the more physical aspects of the camps, as opposed to the mental and emotional conditions of the detainees, and shock sensationalism and continual demonisation of refugees.

The implications of this limited yet dominant narrative is sustained support for the government policy of ‘stopping the boats’ and criminalisation of ‘boat people’.

Alternatively, this narrative is being challenged by refugees themselves who utilise smuggled smartphones to share stories and footage with journalists on secure networks on apps such as Telegram. In fact Amir Taghinia, a former Manus detainee, created ‘Manus Alert,’ a public channel on the platform for information to be shared, which has become a critical source for independent journalists. In contrast to government sources, these sources emphasise incidents of physical and psychological abuse, murder, torture and the lack of food, water and medicine. Additionally, there are also the personal stories of refugees, which invariably, like all sources, are carefully selected by journalists to suit their agendas.  

Pulling water from an improvised well

There’s a sentiment of hopelessness:

'In this place there are people from every religion - Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists. But most of us now are atheists. We know there is no fucking God in this place' - Benham Satah. 

But also solidarity:

'Everybody does what they can, what they have the ability to do. And that way we help each other, because it’s only us’ – Abdul Aziz Muhamat  

Ultimately, their narratives, similar to the government who exploit a censured voice to mobilise political support, also has an underlining agenda – to gain refugee status and have their fundamental rights protected. Both narratives have varied implications and the danger lies in having a pervasive, unbalanced and unchallenged narrative that legitimises abuse and torture.

References:

Australia suppresses coverage of refugees on national security grounds | Reporters without borders. (2016, January 20). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://rsf.org/en/news/australia-suppresses-coverage-refugees-national-security-grounds

Doherty, B. (2017, November 15). Decay, despair, defiance: inside the Manus Island refugee camp | Ben Doherty. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/16/decay-despair-defiance-inside-the-manus-island-refugee-camp

The Australian. (2017, November 15). Sex and Drugs at Manus Island Village? from: www.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnational-affairs%2Fimmigration%2Fsex-and-drugs-at-manus-island-village%2Fnews-story%2F6ab3987bd443a1b230904d1000d13327&usg=AOvVaw15BbPhVfho5USSm_26IspG 

Herald Sun. (2017, November 15) Manus Island Asylum Seekers Trading Cigarettes For Booze Marijuanahttp://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/manus-island-asylum-seekers-trading-taxpayerfunded-cigarettes-for-booze-marijuana/news-story/9090562b280102d18baa10cb0fe8b4b3