Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time

It’s easy to let one voice get lost in the crowd when that voice is being drowned out by the dominant voices in control. For asylum seekers, their painful and horrific experiences are whitewashed; society paints them as the ‘other’, a menace, or worse. Often fleeing their home country from imminent danger, asylum seekers gamble their lives to see another day. Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time is the latest documentary that gives a voice to the inmates on Manus Island who are facing indefinite detention.

Screening exclusively at ACMI this weekend, Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time was shot in secret with a mobile phone at Manus detention centre in Papua New Guinea, capturing first-hand accounts on what life is like. Co-directed and filmed by Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani – who has called Manus Island home for three years – and Iranian-born, Netherlands-based filmaker, Arash Kamali Sarvestani, the documentary reveals the brutality, hostility, and inhumane treatment asylum seekers face. 

The shocking 2016 documentary delves into the personal stories of several individuals at the camp. Kaveh’s story, like many others, is a sorrowful tale. We see him split his phone calls between his wife and the baby he hasn’t met, and his parents, who are upset and confused by the predicament he describes. Kaveh pleads with them to believe him, sarcastically remarking he’s ‘sunbaking by the seashore’, when they question the harsh treatment he is suffering. 

Other scenes reveal the frequent physical, mental and emotional abuse imposed by the guards. In one story, a man reveals his neck was slit from an unknown assailant, his t-shirt covered in his own blood, while another speaks about how ‘they [the guards] get stuck into everyone and everything’. Chauka, the prison within the prison, is the site of belittlement, harassment, and torture. 

The name Chauka refers to a native bird on Manus Island, which is a proud symbol to Manusians. It is ironic how conflicting the word is. For Manusians, Chauka is a bird that represents their identity, time and freedom while for those within the camp, the word represents a place where namelessness, indefinite detainment, and an uncertain future prevail.