Prohibited Zone

Alastair Sarre

Wakefield Press (2011)

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the world went into a frenzy of anti-terrorist propaganda. People were labelled “terrorists” with little or no proof, or even concrete evidence. Australia did not escape the paranoia. Then as now Australia was experiencing a flood of “boat people” fleeing the violence of countries like Afghanistan.. At the time in which Sarre sets this novel the Taliban is still in charge of Afghanistan and is imposing its version of Islam on the people. Those young men who were conscripted by the Taliban, especially those trained in Osama bin Laden’s camps, were automatically classed as terrorists. In Australia a nervous government is putting all illegal immigrants into Detention Camps until their bona fides can be ascertained. Some have been in the camps for years. Does this all sound familiar? It should. It is still going on today.

One of the worst camps is Woomera, the old weapons testing area in the South Australian desert. Conditions are crude and inmates are committing suicide and self-mutilation out of a sense of hopelessness. On the nastier side there are rumours of rape and beatings.

Steve West is a mining engineer at the Roxby Downs uranium mine. He had a brief spell of fame as a footballer until injury forced him from the game and now he is reasonably content with his new life. He knows a lot of people at the local pub, some of whom he classes as friends. He also is having an affair with a lady in Adelaide who is separated from her abusive husband.

On his way down south one evening for a dirty weekend with her he learns of a breakout of inmates from the Detention Camp. Inadvertently he becomes involved when he gives a lift to Kara, an anti-camp activist, and Saira, a Moslem girl who has been brutalised at the camp by one of the guards. The police, the security people and a group of bounty-hunting guards are looking for the women. Saira’s boyfriend Amir has also escaped and the security people are particularly anxious to recapture him. He has trained in Osama bin Laden’s camps and has met bin Laden, so therefore by definition he must be a terrorist. If he is on the loose he must also be planning terrorist action so the government is in a panic to get him back into detention.

By helping the women Westie has now placed himself in the spotlight. He has also placed himself in danger from the less-ethical security people.

Sarre has given the novel a very Australian flavour with the swearing and goodnatured drunkenness of many typical Australians in bush areas. He highlights the divided opinions of Australians on the whole refugee question – some are tolerant, most have opinions formed by the media and the government. As the story develops we get explanations of many of the areas where opinions conflict, such as the ongoing fighting between the sects of Islam that is responsible for much of the refugee problem in the first place.

Sarre has an excellent eye for the desert country and, I suspect, more than a passing affection for it. He is writing of the area where he lived as a child and his familiarity with it shows through. 'Dusk was falling soft on a land as hard as old bones and I had the road and the world and the whole damned universe to myself'. With characters named Chook, Baz and Spud he also shows a familiarity with the people. They are all described in appropriately Australian terminology that immediately lets us picture that character. “The first (cop) was about forty and had a medium build, short blond hair and a suit that looked like it had walked up from Adelaide”, or “as long as I can get the leg over the Missus about once a week I’m happy”.

The story evolves in a straightforward linear manner that makes it very easy to follow. We are therefore free to study the characters rather than try to integrate the flashbacks, so popular with writers and filmmakers, into the narrative.

This is Alastair Sarre’s first novel. I hope it won’t be his last.

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