Write to freedom: refugee writers in Wellington

A Courage Day event - introduced by Fiona Kidman

November 15^th is the International PEN Day of the Imprisoned Writer. In New Zealand we mark this as Courage Day. This year, the NZSA Wellington branch invited three local refugee writers to tell the story of their journey to New Zealand and explain what writing means to them.

In opening the meeting, held last night at the Thistle Inn, Nelson Wattie described writing as a “free activity” which is seen as a threat by many authoritarian regimes around the world.

Fiona Kidman, introducing the three speakers, talked about the many things that refugees lose: their family, friends, neighbours, their home, their cultural roots, their country. Courage is “a resource that must be drawn on over and over when landfall is made in a strange country” and they must adapt to new faces, new schools, a new language and new society.  Remembering can be a painful act when the memories are so raw. 

Samson Sahele left Ethiopia when his work as a journalist became too unsafe, both for himself and for his family and friends. He had a difficult journey “from border to border”, travelling through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa, hoping all the time that he would eventually be “a free person somewhere in our globe.” Now, in Wellington, he works for the Wellington Refugees as Survivors Trust, where he has organised writing workshops and helped publish two books, Earthless trees and Beyond the dark journey.  Samson has recently received a grant which will enable him to publish his own first book of poems. He read two of his poems – one about the Mangere Refugee Centre - and talked about how writing could be a powerful tool to change attitudes and be “a voice for voiceless people.” 

Julia Tha came to NZ in 2007 from Burma, speaking little English, and separated from her family (her two sisters and three brothers all live in other countries.)  She told us how hard it was to tell your story to people you had never met before. “I always wanted to write but never had a chance, because of repression.” Julia read two of her poems, “One day or tomorrow” and another poem about her parents who are still in Burma. “They always pray for me,” she said, “so I’m living a better life.”

Photo left - Makuei Aken, Julia Tha, Samson Sahele

Makuei Aken lost his parents in the war in south Sudan. The war had been going on ever since he was born, so he didn’t remember a time in his life without it. When his village burnt down, he and his aunt, sister and two nephews walked for a year and a half to reach the Kenyan border. Coming to New Zealand, he said, was “one of the most exciting moments of his life.” At first he struggled with the language, culture and different schooling, but he is now doing a radio course, reading widely and enjoying being able to express himself through his writing and music. Makuei read us one of his raps entitled “I am annihilation.”

Some of the questions from the audience were to do with writing: how difficult is it to be a poet in a different language? How do the speakers find time to write in between work, study and community commitments?  Other questions followed as we tried to comprehend, and they tried to explain what they had been through. How did they cope on their long journeys with no money or ID, and little food? How did they know who to trust? What are their hopes for the future? And how do they maintain their cultural traditions here in NZ, where even the calendar can be different?

For more information, check out this link from TV on Demand: NZ stories

http://tvnz.co.nz/nz-stories/s1-e19-video-4504403

Or look at the website of the Wellington Refugees as Survivors Trust

http://www.wnras.org.nz/