It was December 19th – just a week before Christmas 2018 – when I travelled to Port Moresby to fight alongside Ezatuallah Kakar – Manus Island detainee and professional boxer. The idea was to support him personally and to help raise awareness as Ezatullah fought “for all Manus and Nauru”
We had a lot of local media coverage in Papua New Guinea:
- “Pakistani Kakar Pursuing his Athletic Dream in PNG” (PNG Post Courier, December 11th, 2018)
- “Anglican Priest to Face Off With Baro” (PNG Post Courier, December 20th, 2018)
- “Clergyman, Baro face off” (The National, December 21st, 2018)
The Guardian also took up the story, and this helped spread it around the world
- “Pakistani refugee detained on Manus to fight for PNG boxing title” (The Guardian, Australian edition, December 22nd, 2018)
There was also an excellent post-fight wrap-up feature in Pakistan’s Express Tribune.
- “Pakistani refugee boxer fought for detained asylum seekers on Manus Island” (The Express Tribune, Pakistan, December 22nd, 2018)
Even so, the most encouraging coverage, from my perspective, came when AAP picked up the story and it appeared in numerous Australian publications, including SBS online.
