The Wait podcast, stories of Refugees

“The Wait stands out as one of the most ambitious, impressive and singular Australian podcasts in recent memory.” — Eric George, The Australian

For years the news in Australia was full of stories about offshore detention on Manus Island and Nauru. But the boats have stopped. The news has gone quiet. First, Australians convinced themselves there was a big problem, and now they think it’s faded away.

But Mozhgan isn’t fading away. She and her family fled Iran, only to find themselves stranded in Jakarta. They’ve been living for seven years without the right to work, study, marry, travel, or even hold a bank account. Many thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia are enduring the same ordeal.

In The Wait, Mozhgan and journalist Nicole Curby investigate how Australia has created a new border, inside Indonesia, and ask who’s responsible for its consequences. In a disused army barracks, a forgotten church garden, and the hills above Jakarta, Mozhgan and Nicole meet the people who are stuck there. As they go, they’re trying to find out: what does it mean to be caught forever on the run, trapped in a permanent in-between? Can the future hold any hope?