Wander
By Bairbre Flood
Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Cover art painting by Shukran Shirzad.
Produced by Bairbre Flood.
WanderApr 01, 2021
RIP Saleem Al-Naffar
Since October 7th, Israel has killed at least thirteen Palestinian poets and writers in Gaza. One of the most renowned is Saleem Al-Naffar. Throughout his life and career he advocated for peaceful resistance and documented the Palestinian struggle to survive.
Hamas’ actions on October 7th and their refusal to hand over the hostages were despicable actions by a corrupt terrorist organisation. But Hamas’ actions were not carried out by the thousands of men, women and children who’ve been killed since October. Hamas is not these thirteen poets and writers. Hamas is not Saleem Al-Naffar.
Al-Naffar was born in a refugee camp in Gaza, his family having been displaced from Jaffa, and as a child he moved with his family to Jordan and then Syria. He studied Arabic literature at Tishreen University in Syria and in 1994, returned to Gaza, where he published poetry collections, novels, and his autobiography.
His poem Life reads, “Knives might eat / what remains of my ribs, / machines might smash / what remains of stones, / but life is coming, / for that is its way, / creating life even for us.”
On Dec. 7 2023, Al-Naffar and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Gaza City.
This is an extract of his poem, ‘O Lovers’:
'Many corners of our home
are wound with our history.
Time did not exclude us.
Their crazy evil machine
did not smash our hopes.
The perfume of right sleeps in arteries
buried inside us.
Even if our footpaths lengthened
and our tragedies went further than insane,
right will come, slowly.'
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The poet, Heyba Kamal Abu Nada, who wrote the novel Oxygen is Not for the Dead, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza on October 20th.
The poet, novelist, and community activist Omar Abu Shaweesh was killed on October 7th during the shelling of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.
On October 16, writer Abdullah Al-Aqad was killed, alongside his wife and children, when an Israeli shell struck his house in Khan Younis.
Writer and journalist Mustafa Hassan Mahmoud Al-Sawwaf was killed, alongside several members of his family, when an Israeli shell struck his home on November 18th.
And it just goes on and on. Many of these poets and writers killed along with their families.
The poet and writer Nour al-Din Hajjaj was the author of the play The Gray Ones and the novel Wings That Do Not Fly. This was his final message to the outside world:
‘This is why I am writing now; it might be my last message that makes it out to the free world, flying with the doves of peace to tell them that we love life, or at least what life we have managed to live; in Gaza all paths before us are blocked, and instead we’re just one tweet or breaking news story away from death.
Anyway, I’ll begin.
My name is Nour al-Din Hajjaj, I am a Palestinian writer, I am twenty-seven years old and I have many dreams.
I am not a number and I do not consent to my death being passing news. Say, too, that I love life, happiness, freedom, children’s laughter, the sea, coffee, writing, Fairouz, everything that is joyful—though these things will all disappear in the space of a moment.
One of my dreams is for my books and my writings to travel the world, for my pen to have wings so that no unstamped passport or visa rejection can hold it back.
Another dream of mine is to have a small family, to have a little son who looks like me and to tell him a bedtime story as I rock him in my arms.’
Nour al-Din Hajjaj was killed by an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza on December 2nd 2023.
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If you want to support a Palestinian poet who managed to escape with his family - Mosab Abu Toha’s poetry book ‘Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear’.
And writer Mahmoud Jouda needs support for The Right To Narrate Our Stories.
Caleb, Wealth, Angel, Gregory, Daphne, Edwin, Diamond, Nicosha and Promise
My guests this week: Caleb, Wealth, Angel, Gregory, Daphne, Edwin, Diamond, Nicosha and Promise - some of the inspiring young people Raphael Olympio works as a youth mentor with the Cork Migrant Centre (who featured last episode).
I recorded this a couple of months ago so the Anti-Racism Summit we talk about was going to be on at the end of May, and it’s interesting to hear how they were all preparing for this, and why it’s so important to have an event like this.
Many thanks again to the Arts Council who funded this particular workshop - and to Raphael and Fionnuala O’Connell of the Cork Migrant Centre.
Shout out also to the Haven Cafe, on Bachelors Quay in Cork who provided the space for the young people.
Created with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland.
Raphael Olympio
Raphael Olympio, aka Olympio, is an immensely talented rapper and spoken word artist from Cork who was born in Togo, West Africa. He grew up in a Direct Provision Centre and feels inspired to motivate others who come from different parts of Africa and other countries across the world - and is a youth mentor with the Cork Migrant Centre.
Olympio has performed at UBUNTU: Local is Global (a CIPHER Hip Hop Interpellation) featured on RTE's Change Makers, and he’s been part of numerous collaborations and performances at Indiependence, Electric Picnic, Other Voices, and more.
He's released several spoken word/hip hop music videos - and the latest one called EPG (Exploitation, Power Greed) is absolutely brilliant, go and check it out.
He wrote a beautiful piece especially for this episode and we talk about social and racial anxiety, the richness of Africa, his creative process, and how his work as a mentor inspires and motivates him.
The creative work he does with the young people in the Cork Migrant Centre is something we look at more in the next episode - when I meet the young people at his workshop.
Thanks so much to Raphael Olympio for all the great - and valuable - work he’s doing - and thanks to the Arts Council for their support.
Majed Mujed
This week I’m talking to Iraqi poet, Majed Mujed, who’s lived in Ireland since 2015. One of the founders of the Iraqi House of Poetry, he worked as a journalist and publisher in the Iraqi cultural press for twenty years. He’s published five collections of poetry in Arabic and his first book to be published in Ireland, ‘The Book of Trivialities’ is out now, published by Skein Press.
In 2021, he was one of the inaugural recipients of Skein Presses ‘Play It Forward’ Fellowships from the Arts Council, and we also talk about that in the programme, and how it helped him.
‘The Book of Trivialities’ is originally written in Arabic, and translated into English by the award-winning translator Kareem James Abu-Zeid.
The poet Jessica Traynor has described it as ‘a gem of a book; intimate, tender, thought-provoking and intricately crafted.’
Huge thanks to Majed Mujed for talking to me - and to Zainab Salman for interpreting our conversation for us. Thanks so much for listening, and to the Arts Council of Ireland for their support.
Tanya // Write To Life
Tanya is another member of ‘Write to Life’ – the creative writing and performance group of Freedom from Torture (established in 1997, the longest-running refugee-writing group in Britain, and the only one specifically for survivors of torture.) She explains what writing means to her, how it helps the healing process – and she reads some of her work: her piece ‘Surviving Covid – and then the brook dried up’. And earlier in the programme, her poem called ‘Treasure’.
The Write to Life creative writing group have some great projects up on the site including: alphabet of poverty, An A-Z of Poverty a really powerful description of the asylum process – and a series called ‘Lost And Found’ – a combination of speech, song and recorded sound performed by a cast from Iran, Cuba, Uganda and Burundi.
And again you can find all these at Freedom From Torture.
A huge thanks to Tanya for being part of this episode, and to the Arts Council of Ireland for their continuing support.
Nalougo // Write To Life
Nalougo is a member of a creative writing and performance group with Freedom From Torture. ‘Write To Life’ is the longest-running refugee-writing group in the UK, and the only one specifically for survivors of torture.
They’ve collaborated with many galleries and museums, have produced zines, and have created several projects including one called the alphabet of poverty which explores the many failures of the asylum system in the UK.
As you’ll hear Nalougo explain, ‘Write To Life’ offers a valuable space for people to process their experiences, and he feels strongly that it could benefit so many more people.
A huge thanks to Nalougo for talking to me, and for reading his poems, ‘Belonging’ and ‘Time’.
Find out more about the Freedom From Torture creative writing group ‘Write to Life’.
Nandi Jola
Poet and playwright, Nandi Jola, lived in South Africa under the apartheid regime until she was 21, when she moved to Northern Ireland.
She’s a Rachel Baptiste 2022 Programme recipient at Smock Alley Theatre. A creative writing facilitator for Ulster University ‘Books Beyond Boundaries’, and a commissioned poet for Poetry Jukebox and Impermanence Way Archive Project 2022. Her play “The Journey”, opened the International Literature Festival in Dublin in 2020, and she represented Northern Ireland at the Transpoesie Poetry Festival in 2021.
We talk about Direct Provision, South Africa, and the threat of deportation that hangs over so many people. Her debut poetry collection - Home is Neither Here Nor There - is published by Doire Press and is a beautiful, personal account of growing up under apartheid in South Africa, and her struggle as an immigrant in Belfast.
And she reads two poems from this collection - ‘I’m Not A Racist, But’ and ‘Ink’ and her specially commissioned piece for WANDER.
Thanks again to the Arts Council of Ireland for funding this new commission - and for their support for this podcast series.
FeliSpeaks
Felicia Olusanya aka FELISPEAKS, is a Nigerian-Irish poet, performer and playwright from Co. Longford who’s currently featured on the Leaving Cert English Curriculum with their poem ‘For Our Mothers'. They’re a member of WeAreGriot, a poetry collective consisting of herself, Dagogo Hart & Samuel Yakura (who we talked to in the last episode) and a board member of Poetry Ireland.
They also opened for Kate Tempest at Vicar St, and have performed at festivals such as Mother Tongues, Women and Children First, in Belgium, Wexford Literary Festival, Cuirt, and the National Concert Hall’s Notes from a Quiet Land in 2021.
We've a great conversation about racism, George Nkencho, feminism, and their creative process - and their latest video, ‘Tough Meat’ which was just released a few months ago.
You can find them @felispeaks on the socials // felispeaks.com
Samuel Yakura
Samuel Yakura is a Nigerian born writer, poet and performing artist living in Ireland. He's a multiple-time Slam Champion both in Nigeria and in Ireland, winning Slam competitions like ALS, OxFam, and Talkatives. He's a member with the WeareGriot Poetry Collective who run regular poetry/rap and hip hop events in Dublin.
He’s also done commissioned works for the likes of Summer in the city, Poetry Ireland, Dublin Fringe, Adrian Brinkerhoff Foundation, IMMA, Gaisce Awards, amongst others. And his play, ‘The Perfect Immigrant’ premiered at the New Theatre, at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2022.
We talked about his poetry videos on Tiktok, the slam poetry scene in Abuja before he left, his play, 'The Perfect Immigrant', spoken word and Joshua Bennet, and more about his creative process.
Find more of his work on his site - samuelyakura.com and on his Tiktok @samuelyakura
Sandrine Ndahiro
Sandrine Ndahiro is a writer and activist who moved to Ireland in 2006 from Rwanda. She’s the co-founder of Unsliencing Black Voices and co-editor of Unapologetic - an interdisciplinary, cultural literary magazine that celebrates marginalised voices who tackle social issues here in Ireland. The first issue of Unapologetic featured literature, artwork and articles on the theme of ‘Change Makers’, and the second issue on the theme of ‘Inbetween’.
With a Masters in African Literature from Limerick University, her work has appeared at the Dingle Literary Festival and at the Frederick Douglass Festival. She’s also a regular contributor to the online publication, Rogue Collective, and is currently starting to put together the third issue of Unapologetic.
She reads a piece specially commissioned for this podcast, inspired by a photograph of when she was a child growing up in a refugee camp - and we’ve a great conversation about her background, her influences, and how she sees the future of Ireland developing.
Shehab
Shehab is a poet from Yemen who spent time in Napier Barracks, Folkeston in the UK. It’s one of two military sites the UK government send asylum seekers. Residents describe it as worse than a prison. Where nobody knows how long they’ll be kept there.
There’s been several court cases to try and close the place down, citing poor sanitation, lack of access to adequate medical care and legal advice, and severe overcrowding.
The mental health strain on the people forced to stay there is particularly inhumane as many of these people are already dealing with the fallout from war, torture and displacement.
Shehab reads two of his poems, the first a love poem, and the second, a letter poem he wrote while living in the Folkston camp.
Huge thanks to Shehab for sharing his poetry with us. If you want to find out more about the situation in the camps in the UK, go to closethecamps.uk - they’ve a link on there to a petition you can sign as well from Freedom From Torture.
Iya Kiva
Iya Kiva is a fantastic Ukrainian poet, translator and journalist.
She’s been translated into several languages, and is the author of two poetry collections - ‘Further From Heaven’ and ‘The First Page of Winter’. She’s won numerous awards for her work including at the International Poetry Festival "Emigrant Lyre", the LitAccent-2019 award, and many more.
Iya had to leave Donetsk in 2014, when Russian-backed separatists began what many call ‘a Russian invasion by stealth’, and she became a refugee within Ukraine, being forced to move to Kyiv.
We’ve a great conversation about the difficulties of trying to write - and live - during wartime; the importance of poetry especially during war; the job of being a poet - ‘like a cleaner, it’s a dirty, but necessary job’; and much more.
In the midst of the current brutal Russian invasion, Iya continues to advocate for Ukrainian culture, and the hope for a genuine engagement with Ukrainian writing.
This first poem she reads is called 'Ilya (from ‘People of Dunbas’)' - and ‘[untitled] if you close your eyes’ - you can find them here. Other poems in the podcast include ‘How Long Have You Been A Daughter?’ and ‘The Year of Ukraine’.
Also check out this excellent essay by Katherine E. Young - ‘Women Writing War Redux: Ukraine’s Iya Kiva’ and this one edited by Zarina Zabrisky - Genres For War: Writers in Ukraine on Literature.
Her poems have appeared in English translation in Asymptote, Literary Hub, Los Angeles Review of Books, Words Without Borders, and others. Some poems not in the podcast, but translated into English by Amelia Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk are here. And ‘February. Get the ink and weep - Contemporary Poetry From Ukraine’
You can also follow her on twitter - Iya Kiva @sumriko.
Slava Ukraine.
Njamba Koffi
Njamba Koffi is a talented poet, musician and writer originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When Njamba was 11, he and his family, like millions of others, had to flee the DRC. They stayed briefly in Tanzania, then in Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi until finally settling in Eswatini, where Njamba helped set up a youth group in the camp.
His book, ‘Refugee, The Journey Much Desired’ is based on this part of his life and he’s currently working on another part of his autobiography and a book of poetry from his new home in Canada.
He tells us more about these projects in the interview, reads his beautifully crafted poetry (‘Encounter’, ‘Two Waves’, ‘A Flight’, ‘On Life and Death’) and gives his thoughtful analysis on writing, migration and activism - including advice for writers and how the literature industry can be more inclusive of black, refugee and other structurally marginalised voices.
His book Refuge-e: The Journey Much Desired is available online. One of the organisations Njamba is an advisor to - Amala - works with refugee communities to provide education in camps. And another group he works with UBC Africa Awareness Initiative Here’s also a great interview he did with Elie Bahhadi of Jumpstart Refugee Talent.
This is the last episode for now, but we’ll have a special bonus episode in a few weeks. Thank you so much for listening and for all the lovely feedback and messages.
Thanks to everyone who’s shared the episodes, and helped spread the word. And who’s supported the poets we’ve featured - please continue to do so - share these episodes, and follow all the poets we’ve met over the past while. Again, thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland who fund this podcast - and to all my guests this season.
Mayyu Ali
Mayyu Ali’s poetry book, ‘Exodus - Between Genocide and Me’ describes his experiences and his journey escaping to the relative safety of Coxs Bazaar refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Around 700,000 Rohingya people fled in 2017, joining about 300,000 Rohingya men, women and children who had arrived after fleeing earlier waves of violence. Mayyu is one of the people who escaped in 2017.
We talk about the importance of poetry in Myanmar’s culture, some of the earliest influences on his writing, and the difficulties of writing about ongoing trauma.
He describes his poetry as ‘replete with the suffering and despair of the Rohingya people in displacement, exile and refugee camps across the world.’ But he also states: ‘It is important that genocide survivors such as myself are not seen as merely victims, dependent only on others to take up our cause on our behalf.’ 'I am a survivor', he says, in one of his poems - ‘not a victim. I am a hero, not a virus.’
His poems are deeply unsettling because they’re all based on real events that have happened not just in history, but only a few years ago - and continue to happen.
He reads several of his poems, including ‘Crimes of Humanity’, which is based on an account from a survivor of the Chut Pyin Massacre. (In 2017 the Burmese military completely destroyed the village of Chut Pyin and murdered 358 people.)
Mayyu Ali is very vocal about the fact that another part of the genocide of the Rohinga people involves destroying their language and culture and he’s fought against this by setting up a school in the refugee camp - and a writers group with young people there. The Art Garden Rohingya is the first Rohingya community-led online art website to promote Rohingya art and culture and support Rohingya writers and artists.
He also told me about a teacher who’d been a huge influence on him - Saya Ali Ahmed who’d also been forced to flee to Bangladesh where he continued to teach hundreds of students over the years, in the camp.
He’s also just released with Emilie Lopes, in French, ‘Erasure: A Poet At the Heart of the Rohingya Genocide’ (published by the French publisher, Grasset) // @mayyuali
And check out this video The Art Garden Rohingya made with their poems.
Aryan Ashory
Aryan Ashory is a hugely talented and inspiring young Afghan poet, filmmaker and human rights activist. She writes in four languages and her poetry was recently featured on PBS America.
She reads several of her poems, including ‘Hey Talib a Stain of Shame in Our History', ‘Don’t Kick Us Like a Ball’ and ‘Like a Black Ceiling Dark and Silent’ which explore, among other things, the way women are treated in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control.
She shares her observations about how it's difficult for people who are not in the situation to understand what it's like to be a refugee and she explains why it’s important for her to speak out about the many injustices refugees face.
Keep an eye out for when she publishes her first collection and follow her on instagram & twitter @aryanashory for more about her art and activism.
Dawood Saleh
Dawood Saleh is the author of ‘Walking Alone’, an account of the Yazidi genocide. He’s a humanitarian activist, a genocide survivor and the host of The Dawood Show on Youtube which focuses on Yazidi stories.
‘Walking Alone’ is a powerful account, based on many interviews Dawood did with survivors of the genocide. And of course, his own personal experience. And he reads several of the poems from this book in this episode.
We talk about how the Yazidi’s have been discriminated against - and killed for their beliefs - for centuries, and with the rise of ISIS, thousands were murdered and thousands more kidnapped and raped. 3,000 people are still missing.
The genocide of the Yazidi people led to half a million refugees who are still living in camps, or who’ve tried to make the hazardous journey to safety in Europe and other parts of the world. But as Dawood points out in the programme, these numbers do not convey the real stories and suffering each person experiences. And each person experiences this as an individual, as a family, as an entire group.
The poems he reads are based on events that happened not only within our lifetime, but just a few years ago.
The magnitude of what’s happened is almost unbearable to think about. But as Dawood says during our talk, this isn’t helpful for the survivors who need to be heard. He tells me about this - and how it doesn’t help survivors when people refuse to listen to their story.
We also discuss his efforts to raise awareness through his writing - and how the West should take responsibility for its citizens who participated in the genocide and who are now back in their own countries trying to evade justice.
Dawood also shares insights into the difficulties of writing about and with trauma. and how hard it was to begin the writing process about events, cruelty and suffering that almost can’t be put into words.
Watch The Dawood Show on Youtube - please go and support him, listen, share - whatever you can do. Some of his newspaper articles are up here.
Follow Yazidi organisations - the Free Yezidi Foundation (@Free_Yezidi) and Nadia Murad -who Dawood mentioned - author of ‘The Last Girl’ and founder of the @nadiainitiative and of course Dawood Saleh himself: @Dawoodshow
Amir Darwish
Welcome back to Wander! And the second season with poets from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen and Ukraine. A Rohingya poet, a Yazidi writer, and this episode’s guest, a Syrian British poet of Kurdish origin.
Amir Darwish has published two collections of poetry - ‘Don’t Forget The Couscous’ and ‘Dear Refugee’, and the first part of his autobiography, ‘From Aleppo Without Love’.
We’ve a great conversation about love and solidarity, the poets Rumi, Saleem Barakat and Adunis, the challenges of writing about trauma and injustice - and what he calls his efforts to humanise attitudes towards refugees. He also talks about his approach to writing and why he keeps the spirit of Aleppo alive in his poetry.
It’s interesting that Amir came to Britain on the underside of a lorry in 2003 - and his writing about the refugee experience is grounded in a personal awareness, understanding and empathy.
And he’s a beautiful writer - you’ll hear this in the poems he reads. Including: ‘Where I Come From’, ‘We Want To Live’, ‘If I Ever See Love’ and ‘I Feel I Should Speak of The City’.
His book, ‘Dear Refugee’ is published by Smokestack Books and if you’re in Ireland you can order from Kenny’s Bookshop, or direct from the publisher.
This, and his other poetry book - ‘Don’t Forget the Couscous’ are beautiful collections which really delve into his experiences, and explore the many different aspects of love, exile and seeking refuge.
The magazine we talk about at the start of the interview - ‘The Other Side of Hope’ (which Amir is the books editor of) is a UK-based literary magazine edited by refugees and immigrants. They also put out regular calls for submissions so follow them @OtherSideofHope And you can follow Amir at @darwish_amir
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This series is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland and produced by Bairbre Flood.
From Zataari & Istanbul
Two Syrian artists with very different stories, both creating poetry in exile in Jordan and Istanbul.
This episode is a special one with two parts. The first part comes from Zataari refugee camp in Jordan, with a poet called Nour al Hariri. Nour writes poetry and rap about human rights issues that are close to her heart - especially around women’s rights to education, the issue of child labour and of course, she writes about life in Zataari camp, where people have been living for up to nearly ten years now, with little chance of either returning or moving on to start their lives again. Noor reads two of her poems in Arabic (thanks to Ali for translating), including ‘We Walked To Build Our Dreams’, and then she talks us through why it’s so important for artists to document their own lived experience of forced migration.
The second part of the programme is with a poet, illustrator, and playwright originally from Syria, but now living in Turkey. He shares with us what it’s like a gay man seeking refuge - and it’s really great to get to talk to him, and hear his perspective. All refugees face discrimination, and systems of hostility - and are criminalised just for being refugees. But LGBT refugees have to put up with a little extra discrimination. And a particular lack of visibility.
We talk about what it’s like at the moment in Turkey as a refugee, about the LGBT scene there, whether it’s getting any easier for people to come out in the Middle East - and Omar reads two of his poems. One of which is in memory of his ex-boyfriend who was killed by ISIS, and who Omar credits with inspiring him to become an artist.
I wish I could share his details with you, but he prefers to stay under the radar just for now, until his situation stabilises a bit more. But if you’re interested in supporting or finding out more about LGBT refugees in Turkey, there’s a great project called the De-Otherize Dialogue Project: de-otherize.org
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Also a big thanks to Mohammad Khalf for helping set up the interview with Nour - Mohammad is a photographer himself (@Mohammad.Khalf) and there’s quite a few artists - writers, photographers and film makers in Zaatari camp - one really beautiful short film by @younisalharaki just up on here on Instagram
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If you can help amplify the voices of any of the poets featured in this series do get in contact with them - or drop me an email. And of course please do share this podcast with your friends or your social media networks. It really does mean a lot, and helps get the word out.
Thank you for all your support so far.
And especially thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland for funding this podcast.
Saharawi Poetry
Poetry from the camps of Western Sahara, with my guest Sam Berkson, who together with Saharawi artist and translator Mohamed Suleiman collected translations of these poems in ‘Settled Wanderers’ (published by Influx Press).
It’s the first collection in English of poets such as Beyibouh Al Haj, Mahmoud Khadri, Badi and Al Khadra, and gives us a unique insight into the political situation for the Saharawi people; their rich culture, history of oppression, and continuing resistance.
Sam Berkson also wrote a series of poems while in the refugee camps over the border in Algeria - where half the population of the formerly nomadic people live in exile. He initially went to the Western Sahara with Olive Branch Arts - an organisation in London working for years with various Saharawi arts and community initiatives. We’re really lucky to have original recordings of two of the poets (Badi and Al Khadra) who Berkson recorded - and who recite in the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic.
‘Settled Wanderers’ contains biographies of the poets Berkson met - like Hossein Mo’ulud who told him that ‘poetry is a means to carry on the struggle’. And Nadgem Said Oala who was born in Aossard camp and is writing a Saharawi Illiad with each section 40 lines long - one line for each year of the struggle.
He also met Hadjutu Aliat who’s written about women activists, and who had to leave the Occupied Zone where she was born, and move to Aossard camp because of poems she’d written about political prisoners interned in Morocco.
And of course, one the best known Saharawi poets, Al Khadra, who reads her poem, ‘The Army’, and the late Badi who reads ‘Tishwash’ (roughly translated as the pleasure of remembering the past). We also hear the translated poems of Mahmoud Khadri, Bashir Ali, and other Saharawi poetry which, as Berkson notes, ‘sometimes have more in common with the poetics of Chuck D than with Seamus Heaney.’
Huge thanks to Sam Berkson and Mohamed Suleiman who have brought us this book - the only translation into English of this poetry.
And much thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland for supporting ‘Wander’.
Produced by Bairbre Flood - contact: bairbrejflood@gmail.com or @bairbreflood
Cover artwork painting by Shukran Shirzad
Tresor Mpauni
From Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi, with poet, musician and community activist Tresor Mpauni. We talk about his early influences growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - including African folk tales and music - how he joined a boyband, discovered French rap music, and started writing his own music and poetry.
He tells me about why he had to leave the DRC, even though he had a promising career there - about arriving in Dzaleka camp - and the poetry club in Lilongwe.
Tresor set up the first arts festival inside a refugee camp - Tumaini Festival - which has grown to become the largest festival in Malawi. A particularly remarkable feat considering the restrictions placed on refugees in Malawi.
It was such a pleasure to chat to him, and to hear his poetry - if you want to check him out, he's on twitter @menesla (Menes La Plume) & @tumainifestival
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Produced by Bairbre Flood, and funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Parwana Amiri
Originally from Afghanistan, Parwana Amiri has written extensively about her time in Moria Refugee Camp, and now about life in Ritsona camp in Greece, where she lives with her family.
She teaches at Wave of Hope for the Future - a school founded by refugees - is a coordinator of Youth Refugee Movement and has published a collection called ‘Letters To The World From Moria’.
She publishes new poems every week in collaboration with the Brush and Bow Collective and is currently working on her new book - ‘Letters To The World From Ritsona’.
We talked about her creative process, becoming a refugee, and why it’s important for everyone to write their own stories. We also discussed how writing can help trauma, collective expression, personal growth, and social and political change. And how living first in Moria Refugee Camp, and now in Ritsona influences her writing.
She's an amazing young woman, with a unique voice - and her poetry is a raw and passionate exploration of the injustice within our migration system, and an inspiration to writers and activists everywhere who seek change.
She reads her poems, 'In The Camps', 'You Can Stay Silent', 'We Were In Distress', 'Every Night Before Sleep', 'We Are Burning' and 'I Swear I Will Never Stay Silent'.
Read more of her work here and on Infomobile.
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This is the first episode in a series bringing you the work of poets living in refugee camps throughout the world - from Greece to Malawi, and the Western Sahara to Jordan.
Huge thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland who funded this podcast.
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Produced by Bairbre Flood - contact me on bairbrejflood@gmail.com or @bairbreflood
Painting by Shukran Shirzad