New Guardian Australia podcast series gives voice to refugees stuck in limbo

Guardian Australia, in partnership with the University of NSW, has today released the first two episodes of Temporary, a new narrative podcast series that tells the stories of refugees stuck in legal limbo in Australia.

Select episodes of the eight-part series, which is hosted by writer and former asylum seeker Sisonke Msimang, and co-produced by UNSW Centre for Ideas and the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, will be syndicated in Guardian Australia’s award-winning Full Story podcast.

The series focuses on the asylum seekers languishing in Australia’s so-called ‘legacy caseload’. This group of almost 30,000 people, most of whom arrived by boat between 2012 and 2014, continue to face exceptional restrictions on their lives.

Temporary lays bare a system designed to deter people from fleeing danger and seeking protection in Australia. It gives a voice to those people at the heart of an unforgiving system, exploring what it means to leave home without saying goodbye, only to be stuck in a new country with little support, constantly in fear of being forced to return to face persecution.

It tells the stories of Yehye, who fled a war only to land in perpetual temporary protection, forced to prove his refugee status over and over again; of Arman, stuck in the “meat-grinder” of appeals, even though his home is not considered safe; of Kumar, who was prepared for the interview that would decide his fate – but who didn’t expect it to last nine hours.

Host Sisonke Msimang, whose family was granted asylum in Canada, and who now lives in Australia, said:

“The stories of refugees and people seeking a better life, just like my family, really matter to me – and the stories in ‘Temporary’ reveal the inhumanity of a system that goes to extraordinary lengths to thwart the ambitions of regular people fleeing harm.”

Miles Martignoni, Guardian Australia’s Head of Audio, says:

“This is an important project that gives voice to people who have been silenced for too long. It shines a light on an unforgiving system through the sort of longform interviews and in-depth storytelling for which the audio medium is so well-suited. Guardian Australia exists to tell stories like this.”

You can listen to Temporary on the Guardian or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or any other podcasting app. You can learn more, and see photography and artwork, via the Kaldor Centre’s series hub

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For more information please contact:

paddy.wood@theguardian.com

About Guardian Australia

Launched in May 2013, Guardian Australia is a free premium digital news site in Australia, with a total reach of 7.4m people (Nielsen DCR, August 2020). Guardian Australia is a trusted source of quality Australian news, with a particular focus on politics, the environment and social inequality. Guardian Australia offers national news coverage and has four bureaus, located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. Guardian Australia is also part of the Guardian’s 24-hour global news operation, helping to cover breaking international stories in all parts of the world.