The Arab World is a vast, diverse entity of 22 Arab-speaking countries and states, partly conglomerated in the Middle East and partly diffused into a northern band in Africa. One thing that majority of the nations of the Arab World unfortunately do have in common is a traumatic history, sprinkled liberally with violence and political turmoil and seasoned with poverty. Consequently it’s not a surprise that many of the most prolific Arab authors end up living in exile. Mahmoud Darwish, Hanan Al-Shaykh, and Ghazi Gheblawi are just a few of the Arab authors who have had no choice but to write outside their native lands.
Exiled Writers Ink (www.exiledwriters.co.uk) is a registered charity in the UK. The organization aims to facilitate the wider dissemination of work by writers in exile and to ensure they have a platform. The group’s goal is to develop dialog through literature. At the website, readers can view mini biographies of exiled writers and sample their work. Clicking through the writers’ names, it seems that about half the names indicate Arab or Muslim origin.
Exiled Writers Ink is a source of psychological support and practical assistance. As Samir el Youssef, the recipient of the 2005 Tucholsky Award commented, “It’s important for writers who challenge received wisdom and conformity to receive certain acknowledgment and recognition so they wouldn’t feel lonely and isolated.” According to the group, while most refugees who arrive in the UK suffer from feelings of marginalization, for writers, who have made communication their stock-in-trade, the experience is doubly isolating. Many of them enter the country unable to communicate in English, and few have the contacts or resources for publishing their work.
From June 16-22, Exiled Writers Ink will be supporting Refugee Week (www.refugeeweek.org.uk), a UK-wide program of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contributions of refugees. This is the tenth annual Refugee Week and its organizers believe that now there is even more need for opportunities to encourage better understanding between communities. The calendar of events at the website is not only a diary of the hundreds of events taking place during Refugee Week, but it also provides links to the organizations working to better the lives of refugees in the UK. It hardly seems necessary to point out that a disproportionate number of these poor souls have been displaced from their homes in the Arab and Muslim World.
