{"product_id":"9780522881677","title":"The Good Sea","description":"Author: Vannessa Hearman\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780522881677\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Melbourne University Publishing\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 12 May 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 256\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFirst, I thought the boat was going to split in two and sink. Some of us could not swim. We were all going to die if the boat sank. But I thought, 'Oh well, we have made it this far; if we die, we will be considered heroes, there will be flowers in the sea.'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn May 1995, after five days and six nights on the Timor Sea, eighteen East Timorese asylum seekers, including a six-month-old baby, sailed into Darwin in a small wooden fishing boat. The \u003ci\u003eTasi Diak\u003c\/i\u003e was the only boat to reach Australia throughout the 24-year Indonesian occupation of East Timor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on archives, government records, media reports and interviews with the asylum seekers, \u003ci\u003eThe Good Sea\u003c\/i\u003e tells the dramatic story of their perilous journey to Australia. It traces the lives of young activists in the East Timor underground. It examines the powerful impact of the boat's arrival on Australia's relationship with Indonesia in the last years of the Suharto regime - and how it energised the campaign for East Timor's independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the lights of Darwin came into view for the \u003ci\u003eTasi Diak\u003c\/i\u003e refugees, it marked the beginning of an almighty struggle to challenge powerful interests on a distant shore. Critically, this boat arrival would herald the start of Australia's worsening treatment of asylum seekers, raising questions about a humane refugee regime and respect for human rights.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46798815920286,"sku":"HPC-9780522881677","price":36.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9780522881677.jpg?v=1778119957","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9780522881677","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}