Dignity in a Teacup: True Stories of Courage and Sacrifice from Christmas Island

by Christine Cummins

Chronicles the five years Christine Cummins spent working as a torture and trauma counsellor with asylum seekers detained on Christmas Island. It provides a firsthand account of Australian immigration detention, during a period of dramatic change and controversy. With exclusive access to the stories shared by hundreds of asylum seekers, Christine describes the reasons people were forced to flee their homelands. These true stories are compelling and reveal the lives of ordinary people seeking a safe new life. It’s an inspiring, intimate memoir about resilience and the tenacity of love. This book fills the gap in our understanding of people pursuing protection in a conflict-ridden world.

Genres: Nonfiction

225 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2019

About the author

Christine Cummins spent five years on Christmas Island as a Torture & Trauma counsellor working with asylum seekers detained in the immigration detention centre. She witnessed the arrival of thousands of men, women and children by boat and has provided counselling and support to hundreds. Christine is a Psychiatric Nurse Consultant with a Masters in Mental Health, she has a background in social justice and human rights having worked with aid agencies in Sri Lanka and Iran and in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia with indigenous communities. A vocal advocate Christine is passionate about the need to maintain human dignity and access to basic human rights for all, Christine has spoken publicly to meet the intense interest people have in learning of the truth within Australian immigration detention and the reality of the refugee journey.

Reviews

[Melke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Australian should read this book!

[Valerie Le]

I am re reading "DIGNITY IN A TEA CUP". It has , amazed and horrified me , that as a citizen of AUSTRALIA, I had no idea of the machinations perpetrated by this government, of the treatment, mediated to these innocent people, who come on amazing , and often terrifying journeys seeking safety and a better life for themselves and their families. To find WHAT !!!!!
Lengthy detainment, in appalling conditions. Threats of family splitting with children taken from parents, & family members sent to other camps on Nauru, & Manus island, even in some cases returned to the country they fled from, because of inhumane and uncaring assessments often carried out by untrained & uncaring bureaucrats, certainly well paid, but usually with a background in criminal situations in prisons perhaps, who continue to treat these people as criminals, which they are not. What is more , they are part of an unbelievable diatribe, saying these poor devils, with no food, or medicine , at the very end of their tether, are likely to OVERTAKE Australian borders What Rubbish, and we are meant to believe it ' Turn Back The Boats,". they should be ashamed.

[Suzesmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

164📖🇦🇺CHRISTMAS ISLAND 🇦🇺This memoir is both a collection of the many stories of assylum-seekers who sought refuge in Australia from the late ‘90s to the mid-00s at the immigration detention centre at Christmas Island and a study of the geopolitical tensions of the various countries and ethnic minorities who got caught up in the various conflicts. The author is a torture and trauma (T&T) counsellor, contracted by the Australian government for 5 years. Story after story is desperately heartbreaking, yet at the end is beautiful connection and reminder that it really is a small world after all. As someone who worked in government security during this period, we were wired to trust no-one, treat everyone as potential criminals and terrorists. Cummins on the other hand treated everyone with dignity and empathy. Not withstanding those who misused and abused Australia’s immigration policy for evil, I thank God for people like Christine Cummins🙏🏼

[Shereen Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a citizen of AUSTRALIA, I had no idea of the treatment to refugees by our government, they go through hell and back in their own country and to end up here with almost the same treatment, overcrowding, abuse, and much more.
Threats of family splitting with children taken from parents, & family members sent to other camps in Nauru, & Manus Island, even in some cases returned to the country they fled from, because of inhumane and uncaring assessments often carried out by untrained & uncaring bureaucrats, certainly well paid by our government. The top brass needs to take a good look at what they did at the time of refugees and see through the eyes of the refugees no pat on the back from out government.

[Minnie Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout this book, and her recounts of the stories she's heard first-hand, Cummins is full of compassion for these people who have faced such tragedy and cruelty in their lives.
Every Australian needs to read this book. It showcases such strength and vulnerability in a place that is disturbingly quietened by our government.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!! Everyone needs to read this. The truth about this government needs to be heard !!!