Jo Chandler on Manus

For those with an interest in the impacts of Australia’s offshore processing facility on the people of Manus Island in PNG, or in Manus or PNG more generally, Jo Chandler’s beautifully written recent feature article in The Monthly is a must read.

Taking us through a history of life on the island, from Margaret Mead’s early observations to new anthropological work being undertaken today, and looking at how the asylum seeker detention and resettlement plans sit within this complexity, the story paints a picture of a community that Jo describes as “gracious, good-humoured, proud, industrious” yet also “bewildered, anxious, shifting, unfathomable”.