No Friend But the Mountains

These days I read this book, a book that reminds me of the pain of life at the same time the hope of life, learning from the real events of people and hearing and touching the good and bad experiences of human beings, how human beings in time Survival becomes inferior to the animal and makes me think, as if I have lived a corner of this book.

The association of long nights of starvation, or rather the transplantation of hungry stomachs, was disturbed by the complexities of the chefs' behavior in delivering meals and milk and juice, and even the smartest prisoners were unable to comprehend it. It was almost impossible to find a prisoner who had not tried to understand the complexity of the queuing system and the food they provided. The minds of all of us were involved. It occurred to the intelligent prisoner to conclude that he had been able to discover some kind of order and logic in this system; Say, for example, "Well, on Sundays they give a whole glass of milk, then they cut it in half every day of the week, and on Saturdays they give a quarter of a glass. "Next week, instead of Sundays, on Mondays and Tuesdays, they give a full glass, on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, they give half a glass, and on Sundays, a quarter." Or even a complex combination of juices; But suddenly this clever prisoner, who seemed to have discovered a great truth and even shared it with his friends, was surprised one morning. In the dining room, he was confronted with a breakfast he had never eaten in his free life: a few juices, milk, pistachios, mushrooms, butter, jam, honey, baked beans, and a few other things; And of course peanut butter. The prisoner, frustrated with the discovery of sedation, had no choice but to look for his answers in the eyes of the cooks or officers. Maybe the chefs were different, maybe there were officers who were more compassionate.

Those who worked there changed rotation: the officers and cooks worked for two weeks and left the island to be replaced by a group of newcomers. This was the labor law in prison, and no one could work more than two weeks, except when the system was in crisis and they were hired for a few more days. In this way, we thought that many of the rules inside the prison would change with the relocation of groups. We thought that the first group chef would fill the glasses or give more juice and even better food quality, or that the first group officers would be easier to enforce the rules. This idea was not formed for no reason, there was a real difference; For example, when the first group was compassionate, the second group showed strictness. But the problem was elsewhere: just as our imagination was stabilizing, suddenly the second group became incredibly kind and the first group violent. In general, the complex system of mind was supposed to be heavily involved; Understanding the ever-changing micro-discipline of the law pushes the prisoner to the brink of insanity. Everyone knew that this system had a thinking brain, but unfortunately it was not possible to grab someone by the collar and hit him hard against the wall and say, for example, "Bastard, what is the philosophy of these laws? Why and for what reason did you create this law? "Who are you anyway?" All those who were ostensibly part of the system, the prison officers and staff, had no answer other than, "I'm sorry, I're just carrying out the order." They only came for two weeks, stubbornly enforced the rules, and left the island. The system was summed up in creating a need first, then linking it to micro-discipline and, of course, variable laws.

Introducing the book No Friend But the Mountains

A refuge that turns into a tormenting hell. No Friend Except for the Mountain is a painful account of Behrouz Buchani's five-year exile to a remote island called Manus in New Guinea. This work was able to bring the voice of the suffering prisoners who were persecuted by the agents and the natives of the region to the ears of the world and bring many honors to Buchani.

About the book No Friend But the Mountains:

This book does not tell an ordinary story, but it is an important and serious event. No Friend But the Mountains (Writing from Manus Prison) is the story of people who leave their homeland and home in the hope of a better life, endure hardship and hardship, but in the end suffer nothing but torment. . Behrouz Boochani is one of thousands and possibly millions of immigrants who make such a fateful decision to travel to Australia. But the policies of this land turn his life into a real hell.

The Australian government deports the Iranian journalist and many others for illegally migrating to a remote island called Manus. Asylum seekers on the island are tormented not only physically and providing basic necessities, but also mentally and physically harassed, as you can read in this book, harassment that hurts every human heart.

Buchani was on the island for 5 years and sent all his observations and memories to his friend Omid Tawfiqian through WhatsApp software, and Tawfiqian published a book by translating them into English in 2018. The book made no noise except for the mountain, Behrouz Buchani was named after him, and he was released from prison in the sixth year of his exile. On the other hand, this important and influential book was able to draw attention to the plight of Manus Island asylum seekers and cause the Australian Government's immigration policies to be severely criticized.

Book Honors No Friend But the Mountains:

Winner of the 125 125,000 Victoria Prize in Fiction and Non-Fiction in 2019
Winner of the New South Wales Literary Award worth $ 10,000 in 2019
Winner of the Australian National Biography Award worth $ 25,000 in 2019
In this novel, Buchani creates a beautiful and frightening story for us by intertwining his experiences of life. With this book, Buchani has brought a great deal of prestige to Australian literature. (ISNA)
I cried in a few minutes. Buchani has written a devastating and visceral account of modern shifts and his slanders. It is tangible and has its roots in the human body - it has to turn the page and it is impossible to stop it. It must be learned in schools as a powerful and disturbing account of the most astonishing collective failure of our time. (Dina Nairi)
This is a miracle [no friend except the mountain]. Buchani wrote the book in WhatsApp messages on Manus Island, Australia's notorious immigrant detention center. The harsh conditions of its writing should not be detracted from the powerful analysis of the book. This is not just a "voice" testimony to the abuse of the refugee experience, but a major account of how our refugee regimes are organized against the human condition. (Lyndsey Stonebridge)
It has created a powerful report on how government violence works against people seeking freedom. (Library Journal)
Remarkable ... It is an imaginative and provocative combination of narration, poetry, report, theory and meditation that creates a remarkable collection. This book describes the humiliating events that a government inflicts on refugees. Buchani presents a personal image of a sensitive human being who is confined to a place and has suffered meaningless and endless suffering. (Booklist)

Who is this book suitable for?

If you are interested in the biography and memoirs of Iranian immigrants and you are looking for a different book to change your view of the world, this book is the best option for you.

Get to know Behrouz Buchani better:

He was born in Ilam in 1983 and is best known as an Iranian writer, filmmaker and journalist. Buchani continued his postgraduate studies in political geography and geopolitics. The journalist was forced to leave Iran due to problems in the press. He fled Iran to avoid imprisonment, but was imprisoned on the island of Manus. Of course, this imprisonment ended after the publication of his book and he is now a permanent resident of New Zealand.