Manus to Meanjin A case study of refugee migration, polymorphic borders and Australian 'imperialism'

This non-traditional research article argues that the refugee and asylum-seeker protests in Brisbane's Kangaroo Point between April 2, 2020 and April 14, 2021 can be viewed against a backdrop of Australian colonialism-where successive Australian governments have used former colonies in Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea as offshore detention facilities-as a dumping ground for asylum-seeker. Within the same context this article argues that the men's removal to the Kangaroo Point Alternative Place of Detention is a continuation of this colonial policy of incarcerating 'undesirables' on occupied land, in this case on Meanjin-Jagera land identified by the colonial name of Brisbane. This extension of Australian sub-imperial and neo-colonial dominion and the imagining of its boundaries is viewed through the theoretical prism of a polymorphic border, border that shifts and morphs depending on who attempts to cross it. In a departure from orthodox research practice, this article will use visual storytelling drawn from photojournalism praxis alongside more traditional text-based research prose. In doing so, it will use photojournalistic artifacts and the visual politics that surround them, as core dialogical components in the presentation of the article as opposed to using them as mere illustrations or props.