Festival Of Ideas: Ben Rawlence and Gulwali Passarlay
Please note: This event took place in March 2016
Refugees and the End of Empathy?
The migration and refugee crisis is expected to intensify over the coming months. How do we get to the facts of the crisis and the impact that taking in refugees has on local places, communities and economies?
Gulwali Passarlay, originally from Afghanistan, survived a terrifying journey on a tiny boat in the Mediterranean; braved the brutality of those who should care for children; and spent a desolate month in the camp at Calais. Alone in Britain, he was fostered, worked hard at school, won a place at a top university and was chosen to carry the Olympic torch in 2012. He has written about his life in The Lightless Sky: An Afghan Refugee Boy's Journey of Escape to A New Life in Britain.
In City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp Ben Rawlence tells the true stories of individuals that call the Dadaab refugee camp – where he spent four years – home. Dadaab is a humanitarian crisis: to the Kenyan government, it is a 'nursery for terrorists'; to the western media, it is a dangerous no-go area; but to its half a million residents, it is their last resort.
Both writers bring to life the plight of the thousands of men, women and children who risk their lives to leave behind the troubles of their homelands.
Speaker biographies:
Gulwali Passarlay was sent away from Afghanistan as a young boy, fleeing the conflict that had claimed his father's life. After an extraordinarily tortuous journey across eight countries, Gulwali arrived in the UK a year later and has devoted his new life to education. Now twenty-one years old, he is set to graduate from the University of Manchester with a degree in Politics. He is a member of many prestigious political, aid and youth groups, each a stepping stone to his ultimate goal: to run for the Presidency of Afghanistan. In 2012 he was invited to carry the Olympic Torch. Follow him on Twitter @GulwaliP.
Ben Rawlence is a former researcher for Human Rights Watch in the horn of Africa. He is the author of Radio Congo, and has written for a wide range of publications including the Guardian, the London Review of Books and Prospect. Follow him on Twitter @BenRawlence.