Thinking today about the freedom that
most of us in the UK have to write (and to read); and about the many people all
over the world who don’t enjoy that freedom.
For example, the Syrian author
Samar Yazbek was prevented from appearing at the Ways with Words literary
festival in Devon last week.
According a story in the Bookseller she was held
at the Gare du Nord in Paris, despite assurances from the British Embassy that
she would be able to make the journey.
Samar Yazbek is a refugee, whose
book A Woman In The Crossfire (Haus Publishing) is a diary of the first
100 days of the violent struggle in Syria. She finally managed to make her way
to Britain over the weekend. But her publisher Barbara Schwepcke said the
process was “a bureaucratic nightmare”.
“We had been planning the visit
for a while, and had worked hard with groups like PEN who are experts with
helping writers travel. They had assurances from the Home Office and the
embassy in Paris that she would be able to come here with her current status
and visa. However, when she got up to Gare du Nord, they said ‘no’.”
Schwepcke added that although she
understood security concerns were prevalent, there had to be space for artists
to travel freely. She said: “Perhaps with the Olympics there is extra concern,
but someone like Ms Yazbek has a very important story to tell. She has seen
things in Syria first-hand and escaped to talk about them, and support the
brave people who are still there on the streets fighting for their human
rights.”
Heather Norman Somerlind, acting
director at English PEN, said: “We have run a campaign to improve the rights of
visiting artists. Things have got a lot better but there are still cases which
surprise us. We will always need to do more to ensure that writers with
legitimate reasons to travel can do so.”
This episode brings to mind a conversation held at the Dinefwr Literature
Festival at the start of July with writer Gilian Slovo, who is president of
English PEN. The discussion, with Dr Tom Cheesman, of Swansea University, was
based around the possibility of starting such a group in Wales.
Dr Cheesman, with Eric Ngalle Charles and Sylvie Hoffmann, established the non-profit
Hafan Books in 2003, to publish
literary texts by refugees in Wales, alongside work by other writers. He is
also involved with the Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support
Group.
English PEN is the founding
centre of PEN International, the worldwide fellowship of writers promoting free expression and the
literature across frontiers. There are 140 PEN centres in more than 100
countries, providing an active and supportive community for writers and readers
around the world.
Through campaigns and programmes,
English PEN promotes the freedom to write and the freedom to read.
Internationally, the organisation campaigns on behalf of persecuted writers,
editors and publishers. In the UK there are campaigns to reform laws that
curb free expression, and for greater access to literature.
More links:
http://www.englishpen.org/
http://www.englishpen.org/
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