Stories of hope in refugee book

Former refugee Jelena Djekanovic has told her story of escape and decade-long displacement in a new book on migrants who have made a bid for a better life on Tasmanian shores.

Author Madeleine Rojahn, right, with graphic designer/photographer Joshua Quigley and former refugee Jelena Djekanovic. Madeleine is working on a book about refugees in Tasmania. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

WHEN Jelena Djekanovic was heavily pregnant with her third child, her hometown in war-ravaged Croatia was bombed.

Her story of escape and decade-long displacement is being told in a book recounting the lives of migrants who have made a bid for a better life on Tasmanian shores.

The Future Book: The Bloody Unknown is a passion project for friends Madeleine Rojahn and Joshua Quigley.

So far the pair has met more than a dozen former refugees living in Tasmanian communities and are slowly publishing their tales online, a story at a time.

“We use personal stories as a way of getting to know people,” said Ms Rojahn, a UTAS journalism graduate.

“Our work is very collaborative and to us our participants aren’t just subjects in our book. I would say it’s a partnership and they have ownership as much as we do.”

Author Madeleine Rojahn, right, with graphic designer/photographer Joshua Quigley and former refugee Jelena Djekanovic. Madeleine is working on a book about refugees in Tasmania. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Of all the stories, Ms Djekanovic’s tale of fleeing conflict has resonated the most with the pair.

In 1991, to escape the war unfolding in Croatia, the mother of two took shelter in neighbouring Bosnia with her young children, crossing a border while holding a suitcase in front of her son to shield him from bullets.

“Her story is incredible,” Ms Rojahn said.

“I’m inspired by her resilience and her love for her family. She was able to protect her young and although there were many times there was a very strong chance of death, she ended up here in Tasmania. She’s just incredibly lucky.”

Other migrant experiences collected for the book include a Pakistani Hazara granted a scholarship at UTAS, a songwriter from Kenya who pens heartbreaking lyrics about his brother who went missing from North Hobart, and two Ugandan friends who left civil war to immigrate to the state.

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The book takes its name from one of the pair’s favourite songs The Land of the Bloody Unknown by Australian indie band The Middle East. But it’s also a cheeky play on Aussie slang.

“Because they often gave up everything for the chance of a new life here,” said Mr Quigley, the book’s designer.

“What’s so special about this project is that each of the participants are interesting in their own way. They all really stand out on their own.

“I think it’s really important to learn from other people’s experiences, especially people in the community who may not have a voice to share.”

The pair hope to crowdfund the book, with a release date mid-year.

“We’ve spent the past a year and a half being absorbed in these incredible stories and now we just can’t wait to share them with others,” Mr Quigley said.

All proceeds for the project will be donated to A Fairer World, a Tasmanian social justice and human rights organisation.

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