Sophie is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Government & International Relations at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. She is currently living in Bangkok under the New Colombo Plan Scholarship—an Australian Government initiative which supports undergraduate students to live, study and intern in the Indo-Pacific region.
Sophie joined the RSO as an intern under the Transnational Crime and Technology team in August 2024, supporting the planning and completion of the team’s events, research, and other activities. Her fields of interests include international human and child rights law, modern slavery, trafficking in persons, and international politics. She hopes to work as an international lawyer to advocate for the rights of people who are silenced and oppressed.
Recommended Book: No Friend But the Mountains, Behrouz Boochani
Kurdish-Iranian journalist and refugee, Behrouz Boochani, wrote this poignant book on a mobile phone while being held in detention on Manus Island, smuggling the story out of his detention via WhatsApp. It tells the story of Boochani’s asylum journey—from persecution in Iran, to years of detention on Manus Island.
This life-changing book reminds us that when we talk about refugees, asylum seekers, and challenges faced by countries in regulating migration and people smuggling, we are talking about people. Humans. In the face of these challenges, it is easy to get caught up in politics, logistics and practicalities. This book strips all of that away and exposes the raw emotions and experiences of detainees. The vivid poetry and prose makes the reader experience these emotions as if it were their own—a stark reminder of our common humanity in an age of heightened division.