Goldlink 28 by Goldsmiths, University of London

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Goldlink 28 Spring 2007 Keeping you in touch with Goldsmiths

How I became free Hisham Matar tells us why In the Country of Men had to be written

The Bard in the Balkans Bringing religions together with Romeo and Juliet

Zoo Art The global flavour of new Goldsmiths art

Ed Harper (MA Fine Art 1996-98) ‘Mortlock Drive,’ Oil on Canvas, 2006

Goldlink 28 Keeping you in touch with Goldsmiths

Edited by Will Finch Development Ofﬁce Goldsmiths, University of London New Cross, London, SE14 6NW w.ﬁnch@gold.ac.uk 020 7919 7069

Printed by dsi colourworks www.t-c-w.co.uk

Goldlink is also available as a PDF ﬁle at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/alumni/goldlink

Contributions to Goldlink are welcome by email or post. We reserve the right to edit articles in the interests of brevity or clarity. The opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the writers concerned and not necessarily of Goldsmiths. Goldlink is printed on Era Silk, the only coated graphical paper made from UK waste. Era Silk is collected from within a 100 mile locality, thereby reducing its carbon footprint, and is produced under the Eco-Management Audit Scheme (EMAS) certiﬁcation.

INSIDE: Goldlink 28

4–7 NEWS Latest news from Goldsmiths 8 SPEAKING FROM THE HEART Lisa Byrne, Editor of OK! Magazine 9

Long time, no see Photos and stories from the 1954-59 reunion. MORE>> PAGE 9 10–12 COVER STORY

In the Country of Men In an exclusive interview, Will Finch speaks to Hisham Matar and discovers why his Booker Prize shortlisted novel has a life of its own. MORE>> PAGE 10

A postcard from the Congo

Line Brylle tells us about life with unexploded mines in Africa. MORE>> PAGE 13 14–15

New Kids on the Block Julia Alvarez explains why art graduates from Goldsmiths are looking at things from a different direction. MORE>> PAGE 14 16–17

Mostar changed my life Drama, religion and Bosnia-Herzegovina with Emilie Brothers. MORE>> PAGE 16 REGULARS 18 Obituaries 19 Alumni services

Rosie Dewhurst, Director of Development

NEWS

More success for Goldsmiths design students

Welcome to all-new Goldlink!

Students from Goldsmiths won two out of five categories at the 2006 Free Range Art & Design Degree Shows. The BA Design students, Nadine Jarvis and James Cuddy won the Design and Graphics categories respectively. Set up to showcase the work of budding designers and artists to the public and potential employers, Free Range provides a platform for thousands of students from the UK’s top art and design colleges over an eight week period. The Free Range panel highlight the best talent at Free Range each year. This year’s panelists included, amongst others, Editor of Icon magazine, Marcus Fairs, and fashion illustrator and artist, Julie Verhoeven. Nadine won her category for her project ‘Bird Feeders – for the reincarnation of loved ones.’ You can see more at www.nadinejarvis.co.uk. James’ design, ‘Message. Render. Display,’ can be seen at www.jamescuddy.co.uk ‘I have always been fascinated with the life and death of objects...’ ‘Bird Feeders’ (top) and ‘Rest in Pieces’ (bottom) by Nadine Jarvis

We hope that you all enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing festive break. Those of you who have received Goldlink in the past will notice the huge facelift which the magazine has undergone, in line with the College’s rebranding – we hope you agree that its new look better reflects both the College and its readership. We would love to hear what you think – please direct all correspondence to the address on page 2. Even though the summer, now a dim and distant memory, is traditionally a quiet time at the College, it provides the Development team with a prime opportunity to catch up on the jobs that inevitably get put to one side during the year and to plan upcoming projects and new programmes of work. One of the jobs we undertook was a database audit to check on the accuracy of our data. This is a routine exercise carried out periodically by all Development Offices, to show where further work is required and give staff an indication as to how well they are doing in maintaining contact with alumni. The results were both pleasing and interesting. The office enjoys active contact with over 11.8% of the 25,717 alumni for whom it holds records, and we estimate that we have 23,146 accurate addresses. As a result of this, we enjoy a much higher level of contact with our alumni that we used to, with over 78 email, telephone and mail enquiries received each week, from here in the UK and from around the world. Information like this helps us to engage further with our alumni, as we put in place an exciting programme of events and networking opportunities. Fundraising activity continues apace. So far we have attracted in excess of £552,000 and for this current academic year, 2006-2007, we have already received pledges in excess of £100,000. These donations are given to support a variety of projects, but currently the bulk of gifts remain dedicated to student awards. These include scholarships, bursaries and prizes. The Development Office is also working with the College to devise a five-year fundraising strategy based around delivering attractive and realistic Capital Building Projects. May I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very happy New Year. We look forward to hearing from you!

Inaugural Lectures 2007

‘When trapped behind screens and monitors, digital imagery seems disembodied and immaterial’ ‘Message. Render. Display’ by James Cuddy

27 Feb Professor Stephen Nugent (Anthropology). 13 March Professor Carrie Paechter (Educational Studies). 1 May Professor Robert Gordon (Drama). 15 May Professor Chris Berry (Media and Communications). 29 May Professor Sara Ahmed (Media and Communications) All lectures are at 5.30pm in the Ian Gulland Lecture Theatre at Goldsmiths. For more details email m.grew@gold.ac.uk. For details of other forthcoming events at Goldsmiths please go to www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/events

IN BRIEF»

UK’s coolest university

‘cultish hotbed of student activity’

Question – what does Goldsmiths have in common with Fudge ‘hair shaper?’ Answer – they have both been named in the list of the UK’s 100 coolest brands for 2006 by the CoolBrands Council. Goldsmiths received the accolade for the fourth time at the exclusive CoolLive launch event held at The Gymnasium in King’s Cross. Other brands nominated included first direct, Pringles, BlackBerry and Nokia. The Independent newspaper agreed. Their Education section of 17 August described Goldsmiths as a ‘cultish hotbed of student activity’ in an insider’s guide to Britain’s hip university hotspots.

Goldsmiths awarded million pound grant A team from Goldsmiths, led by Media and Communications professor James Curran, has been awarded a £1.25 million Research Programme Grant from the Leverhulme Trust, an organisation which makes awards for the support of education and research. The Warden, Professor Geoffrey Crossick, speaking to guests at the Student Awards Ceremony

Student Awards Ceremony On 14 November, over 100 parents, friends and VIPs, including former student and current Mayor of Lewisham Steve Bullock, gathered together in the Council Chamber, Deptford Town Hall Building, to celebrate the achievements of 68 students at the annual Goldsmiths Student Awards Ceremony. Now in its tenth year, the Warden, Professor Geoffrey Crossick, explained how the Student Awards aim “to encourage excellence and signal success” as he handed out prizes for achievement and scholarships.

James explained the approach used by the team in order to win the bid: “We pulled together a coalition of researchers from different parts of the College, thus providing a wide range of expertise. This enabled us to offer something that was adventurous and different.” The programme will run from 2007 to 2011 and will focus on whether new communications technology will connect people and ideas in ways which will improve society, or if it will be controlled in ways which will limit and obstruct better communication. The programme will be subdivided into five projects – news production, cultural reception, data systems, design and social identity. Each project will last for two and a half years. James went on to say “Winning this major grant will consolidate Goldsmiths’ position as a leading centre of new media and screen research. It will enable and encourage people to work across departmental boundaries, to spark new ideas, and to develop new spin-off projects. The results will be of value to industrial users of research, media designers, software writers and policy makers.”

The success story of current BA English student Marissa Montgomery’s lingerie label ‘Pussy Glamore’ continues, with an impressive celebrity following including Leah Wood, Peaches Geldof, and Elizabeth Jagger… 110 people visit the Ben Pimlott Building on 16 September as part of the annual Open House event which gives everyone the opportunity to visit over 600 London buildings – many of them normally closed to the public – completely free of charge… BA Textiles student Natasha Tregent is awarded the £1,000 Elke Lacey Award for Textiles for ‘Untitled 2006’ produced using an Irish embroidery machine… Current PhD student Emma Darwin releases The Mathematics of Love, a romance-cum-ghost story about how the lives of a 1970s teenager and a veteran of Waterloo are linked through place, ancestry and letters… A test to recruit new members to Mensa takes place at Goldsmiths in August… In September, London Lite reveals that New Cross is an area favoured by ‘trendy art types’… Goldsmiths is ranked 45 out of 119 in the Sunday Times University League Table… Professor Windy Dryden explains in the Daily Express how ‘our current cult of celebrity is filled with unhealthy envy’… Research from Goldsmiths prompts a new campaign from the Basic Skills Agency called ‘Learning with Grandparents’… In September, the Financial Times calls Goldsmiths ‘the most notorious art school in Britain’…

Evil Aliens

NEWS

£50,000 prizes Hisham Matar (MA Design Futures 1995-96) was shortlisted for the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2006 for his debut novel, In the Country of Men.

Although losing out to eventual winner The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, Hermione Lee, Chair of Judges, praised Hisham’s book for ‘a distinctive original voice, an audacious imagination that takes readers to undiscovered countries of the mind, a strong power of storytelling and a historical truthfulness.’ After the ceremony, held at the London Guildhall on 10 October, Hisham revealed to Goldlink that ‘in some ways I was relieved not to win… I have heard that the winner of the Booker doesn’t write for two years, and I want to get on with writing my second book.’ You can read more of Hisham’s exclusive interview with Goldlink starting on page 10. Another Goldsmiths graduate who made the shortlist for a major award in 2006 was Janice Kerbel (MA Fine Art 1995-96), who reached the final stages of the Sobey Art Award. Given biennially to a young Canadian artist, it is one of the world’s major art prizes, with a first prize of £50,000. Janice has had solo exhibitions in many countries all over the world, and was recently named as ‘One to Watch’ by Artforum magazine. She is currently completing a work for Locus+ in Newcastle, and is writing a radio play commissioned by Artangel in London.

University of London External Programme The University of London External Programme began its distance learning programme in 1858 and today it has over 34,000 external students studying in 180 countries. It offers over 100 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including subject areas such as economics, management, humanities and law. You can study wherever, whenever and however you like as you choose the rate and pace of study. Up to eight years is allowed for most undergraduate qualifications and five for most postgraduate qualifications. Examinations can be taken in any one of 660 examination centres worldwide. For further information please visit www.londonexternal.ac.uk

You may have recently seen her on the cover of Front magazine, but former Big Breakfast presenter Emily Booth (BA Communication Studies 1995-98) also made her big screen debut in 2006 in the Jake West-directed British horror comedy Evil Aliens. Described by Total Film as ‘fast, furious and peppered with genre in-jokes,’ and as an ‘hilarious censor baiter packed with more gore than a bomb in a butcher’s shop,’ Evil Aliens won the Raindance award at the British Independent Film Awards. Emily also recently appeared as a guest speaker on ‘100 Greatest Scary Moments’ for Channel 4.

Shakespeare A concert for beats segregation Stanley Glasser More than a decade after the end of the bloody inter-ethnic conflict in the former Yugoslavia, students from ten segregated schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina performed a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in August. Emilie Brothers (MA Directing 2002-03) was an important part of the international production team, working with the cast as a workshop director and drama coach. For Emilie’s own story of her summer in BosniaHerzegovina, see page 10.

On 4 November the Music Department celebrated the 80th birthday of Professor Stanley Glasser, with a concert and reception in the Great Hall. As Head of Department from 1969 to 1991, Stanley was responsible for developing the Music Department from small beginnings to the large and diverse department we know today. His enthusiasm for composition, performance, and ethnomusicology had an enormous inf luence on the development of music education in this country. The concert celebrated Stanley’s many achievements as a composer with an exuberant performance of ‘Praises’ by the Goldsmiths Chamber Choir, accompanied by Ian Bartlett and Roger Wibberley, and the dramatic ‘From Out of My BL Mini’ by Alice McVeigh and Andrew Ball. After the concert, Stanley was honoured with affectionate speeches and lively anecdotes by John Baily and former colleague, Malcolm Barry. Stanley responded with a characteristic mixture of wisdom, nostalgia and irreverent wit. The event was attended by a large audience of colleagues, friends and former students.

Emily Booth (www.bouff.tv)

‘fast, furious and peppered with genre in-jokes’

Pretend You Have Big Buildings

IN BRIEF»

At a ceremony held at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre in September, Ben Musgrave (MA Writing for Performance 2004-05) picked up £15,000 for winning the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition.

Ian Duncan Smith (MA Creative and Life Writing 2001-02) releases the second edition of his hugely successful novel Tony Blair: The Wilderness Years...

Pretend You Have Big Buildings, a play written during Ben’s time at Goldsmiths, focuses on growing up and loss. It tells of the life of Leon, a Romford boy confused with his identity and stuck amongst a family that doesn’t understand him. The play will be produced on the main stage at the Royal Exchange during the Manchester International Festival later this year. After leaving Goldsmiths, Ben spent a year working in the literary department at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where he helped to develop the work of other writers. He is now concentrating on his own writing full-time. “Winning the competition has been extraordinary for me; I’m very excited about my professional debut at The Royal Exchange,” Ben said. Following on from the success of Fin Kennedy (MA Writing for Performance 2001-02) in the John Whiting Award earlier this year (reported in Goldlink 27), Goldsmiths alumni took home the country’s two major playwriting awards for 2006.

Have you got news for us? You don’t have to have been nominated for a £50,000 prize in order to be mentioned in these pages. Whatever you have been getting up to since leaving Goldsmiths, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Will Finch with your stories at w.finch@gold.ac.uk

Alumni awarded honorary doctorate Professor Philip Gammage (Teaching Cert 1956-58) has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Oulu University in Finland. Having worked in over twenty countries for UNESCO since 1972, Philip was given the award in recognition of his work with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Finnish Early Childhood. Philip, who has a PhD in Psychology, has over the years been Senior Lecturer at Bristol University, and Head of the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. He has served on various committees such as the Royal College of Physicians and the Cancer Research Council, and he is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham, and Adviser and Professorial Research Fellow to the Australian Minister of Education.

Did you graduate in 2003? If you graduated in 2003, you may recall completing a Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) survey soon after you finished your studies. The information you provided will not only have been used by Goldsmiths, but also to compile university league tables and other statistics. There is now another opportunity for you to let us know what you have been doing since you graduated in 2003. YouGov/IFF Research, on behalf of HESA, are conducting a further survey and they may send you a questionnaire. It will ask you to detail your current activities, and you will also have the opportunity to list all the activities you have been involved in since you graduated. Any information you provide will help Goldsmiths to review and promote its courses, and to give current students an insight into early career progression, as well as providing input to government policy development. If you are contacted by YouGov/IFF Research, please take time to complete the survey and return it – your participation is valuable. You will be able to see the results of this survey on the web next summer.

The Ladies’ Loos: from Plumbing to Plucking, a Practical Guide for Girls, edited by Natasha Morabito (BA Public Policy 1995-98) is published by Friday Books... ‘Still Lives,’ an exhibition by Mary-Ruth Walsh (MA Fine Art 2003-04) goes on display at the Sligo Art Gallery, looking at the many commercial buildings which are silent by night while residential structures are similarly silent by day... Alessia De Ninno (MA Screen Documentary 2004-05) wins the RTS Postgraduate Factual Student Film Award for Judy and Donatello... Jayne Potter (BA Design 2003-06) wins the New Designers Metropolitan Works Award 2006 for her project, ‘Eat Me Drink Me,’ which investigates how the future of biotechnology will affect everyday objects... The Orange County Museum of Art’s latest biennial survey of emerging talent includes Pearl Hsuing (PG Dip Fine Art 200203) for her splashy paintings and sculptures that seem to have burst out of California pop and skateboard culture... ‘Lock,’ a film by Catherine Yass (MA Fine Art 1988-90) shot at the Three Gorges Dam in China’s Yangtze River, is projected on two facing walls on opposite sides of Galerie Lelong in New York... The Netherlands Institute of Architecture exhibits ‘Elsewhere/Elders,’ a new piece by Javier Marchan (BA Fine Art and Contemporary Critical Theory 1994-97) looking at the tension between two and three dimensionality... Alessandro Raho (BA Fine Art 1991-94) is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dame Judi Dench for the National Portrait Gallery...

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART LISA BYRNE (BA History 1988-91) OK! MAGAZINE EDITOR “Three of my best friends are people I met at Goldsmiths” • Britain is totally obsessed by celebrity. It’s prozac for the masses. • I can’t think of anywhere I’d love as much as OK!. There’s never a dull moment. I love creating the covers and coming up with ideas, and then seeing it through from a concept to a feature. • I live in Highgate Village and it’s gorgeous. It’s one of the most historic parts of London and the people are very friendly. • My worst job after my degree was as a tour guide on the buses in York. I spent most of the time hanging off the side of the bus talking to friends and arranging where to meet them in York that night. By the end of the season I was the world’s worst tour guide. • I loved my time at Goldsmiths. Although a large part of my time was spent socialising in the highly glamorous and hallowed halls of the Students’ Union, I did enjoy the lectures. Coming from York, I’ve always loved history. • My first reporting job was on the Thirsk, Bedale and Northallerton Times in North Yorkshire. I had to attend lots of country shows to speak to farmers about their pigs and cows. I often did the interviews standing knee-deep in muck. • I would love to get the Whitney Houston story. OK! readers will always be obsessed by the Beckhams, so an ‘at home’ at Beckingham Palace would be brilliant too. • I’m very pleased with the way OK! has changed over the years under my editorship. It doesn’t run to a set formula anymore. Our interviews are much more hardcore and we do a lot of fun photoshoots which is why sales figures are so huge. • My degree has been extremely useful – just like studying history, journalism is all about investigating stories. • Most people who buy OK! are women, but their husbands and boyfriends also love having a peek. We have a huge gay following. • My local pub is fabulous – it’s called the Duke’s Head. John Murphy, the landlord, has been a friend for years. • It can be draining, having to watch reality TV.

Lisa Byrne with Kym Marsh

“Maybe that’s why I don’t hunt for formulaic novels. I love the idea of the journey, of how you discover themes, and different ways of telling”

“Choices are actually about limiting yourself. The reason why they become so difficult to make in a work of art is that we wrongly associate limitation with something that isn’t necessarily profound. The Greeks had the idea that limits are not things that keep you in, they are boundaries from which we set off. At the beginning I was overwhelmed with the restrictions of a first person narrator, but I found that as I limited myself I became more free.” Hisham seems to revel in the chance to talk about literature and the process of writing. He says he normally feels uncomfortable in interviews. “It’s interesting how I suddenly have this position of authority. I am always asked for my opinion on the Middle East. But just because I have written a book doesn’t mean that I know anything. It’s become part of our culture – we ask people that we know, we don’t ask people that know.” I point out that perhaps he does know more about writing than most people. “That’s true,” he says. “Writing In the Country of Men taught me most of what I know about writing. I have that experience to look back on. For example, the first chapter was one

of the last chapters I wrote. I think structure is a fascinating subject. The same book has so many different faces, and until you find the right face… “I like to compare the structure of a novel to the movements of music, where different composers use the same movements in different ways. So although there is some logic to how novels progress, they resist any kind of clear prescription. That’s what I find exciting about it. So many writers break all the rules.” I ask him which books inspired him when writing In the Country of Men. “Books written out of fire give me a great deal of pleasure. You get the sense that the world for these writers could not have continued if the book hadn’t been written. When you come across a book like that it is a privilege. The books that really inspire me are the ones written out of necessity.” When I ask him for some specific examples, he mentions Turgenev, Shakespeare and the Sufi mystic, Ibn Arabi, before stopping. “I find reading very difficult,” he says. “Why would you read when you can live? The three things that help writing the most are living, writing and reading. In that order. A lot of people like books that come out of

COMPETITION» How would you like to win a signed copy of Hisham’s Booker Prize shortlisted debut novel, In the Company of Men? We have three copies to give away, kindly provided by Borders Oxford Street. One of the winners will also receive a copy of the winning book, The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. All you have to do to win one of these fantastic prizes is to answer the following question In which country was Hisham Matar born? Please send your answer to w.finch@gold.ac.uk or by post to the address on page 2. All entries must be received by 28 February 2007, and correct answers will be drawn at random on 1 March 2007. Competitions in Goldlink are only open to those members of the Goldsmiths Society who are not employed by Goldsmiths, University of London.

LECTURE» The Dean Lecture is an annual event organised by Goldsmiths’ Development Office in memory of Arthur Dean, Warden of the College between 1927 and 1950. It was first given in 1963, and previous speakers have included Ted Hughes, Melvyn Bragg and Shere Hite. The 2006 Dean Lecture was given by Hisham Matar on 26 October 2006 in the Ian Gulland Lecture Theatre. Over 70 people attended the free event, and heard Hisham speak of ‘how he came to write.’ A recording of the event can be seen at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/alumni/

HOW HISHAM CAME TO WRITE» Chris Murray (PACE Writing Fiction (Advanced) 2006-07) tells us about Hisham’s Dean Lecture I thought Hisham was witty and informative, and it was great to meet him. He certainly gave us a good insight into the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to produce a publishable novel. The book took five years out of his life, bankrupting him and driving him to seek solitude in Paris. He persevered, even after rejection and advice to throw it out and start on something new. We heard how he knew there was something ‘broken’ about the book (‘like a stone-mason tapping a piece of marble and hearing a discordant tone caused by a hidden fault in the rock’) and it took four total re-writes before it felt right.

reading. I prefer books that come out of living.” We agree that reading and writing have a complicated relationship. “When I ﬁrst began writing In the Country of Men I thought I should read all the novels there are about children. I read Huckleberry Finn, but then I thought I’m not going to read any more. I’m not here to do a survey, I want this to come from my gut. I’ll risk it. So I did.” Although he says that talking about the construction of a book is ‘vulgar,’ he can’t resist when I ask him for his typical day. “I actually start writing by rereading what I have already written from the beginning. It loosens you up, and it’s good for the text. Hemingway said that. He is a very good teacher. He has a lot of interesting things to say about the day to day business of writing. But you’ve got to be careful. The reason why we set rules like that isn’t because they work. It’s because writing is so abstract that you need to convince yourself it is quite simple. “Writing isn’t as precious as we think it is. Of course, there is something that is mysterious about writing, but tasks and rituals are important. William Faulkner was asked once whether he wrote every morning or when he was inspired. He replied that he wrote when he was inspired, but he made sure that inspiration came at ten o’clock every morning. And I rather like that. That’s what you need to do. Sit and do it. Even if you’ve got nothing to write. “Most of our problems actually come from us getting in the way. I don’t think our achievements are due to us doing anything. They are mostly due to us getting out of the way. When you see someone doing a fantastic long jump it is so beautiful. It seems perfectly natural. We should all ultimately be able to do that. But we get in the way by doing so many things that stop us, like getting fat or not practising. And I think writing is the same.” Although happy out of the limelight, for both personal and artistic reasons, Hisham seems genuinely excited when I say he will be on the cover of Goldlink. “A lot of the questions to writers seem to me to be upside-down, they seem to be about the person. But writing is nothing to do with the person. The idea is to vanish, to make yourself invisible. The work is not indebted to you. That is not the way it is conﬁgured. You are serving this work – if it gets up on its feet it’s a

good day’s work. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” I suggest that he sees writing in an almost mystical light. “That’s true. That’s why I find Sufi writing interesting, because it is all about dissolving yourself into the world.” When I ask further about religion, Hisham returns to language. “I don’t know what religion is. The trouble with this subject is words. Words have become slippery. I know I want my book to sing for itself. Maybe that’s more of an aesthetic belief, but I find things that do that tend to be more beautiful. I know I don’t succeed most of the time, but it what I am aiming for.” I suggest that he is an aesthete and he agrees, although conceding that it is not a popular thing to be these days. He also describes himself as ‘unashamedly highbrow’ – it is, he says, ‘a way of limiting yourself.’ What of role models? It is interesting that the first name Hisham mentions is not a writer at all. “I really admire Mark Rothko, for his diligence, his daily doing of what he does. He puts on a tie and goes to his studio, and works from 9 to 5. And you can see how that changes his work. It’s a journey for him. Maybe that’s why I don’t hunt for formulaic novels. I love the idea of the journey, of how you discover themes, and different ways of telling.” After sharing some time with Hisham Matar, I have an overpowering feeling that this wonderful book he has created has a life all of its own. In the Country of Men, as with all the art he admires, is very much autonomous, independent from its creator. In the Country of Men is a book that took five years out of his life, that bankrupted him and his wife, that was completely rewritten four times. It is a book that had to be written. Fortunately, it also happens to be a book that has to be read. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar is out now (Viking, £12.99).

Julia Alvarez (BA History of Art 1998-2001) tells Goldlink how recent Goldsmiths alumni are leaving their mark on the art world. A decade after the Young British Artists first made their considerable impact on the international art world, confirming London, and particularly Goldsmiths, as the concentrated hub for this activity and commotion, one could be forgiven for asking if this act could be followed. Could the very place which came to define the ‘Brit Art’ era build upon their own success? As a Visual Cultures undergraduate, I was aware during my time at Goldsmiths of a forecast, albeit philosophically towards notions of globalism, as a diversion from notions of postmodernism. Now in 2007 we are seeing a brave new world, more open in terms of Europe and the EU, but also hostile when we look at elements of culture within the UK reacting to Western mentality. A ‘British’ artist’s stimulus is no longer concerned with the outworkings of Thatcherism, but rather making sense of this increasingly globalised society. Goldsmiths is now an international mixture of artists moving away from what it means to be ‘British,’ towards what it means to be globalized – the good, the bad and the ugly. This year at the Zoo Art Fair, BEARSPACE exhibited what we considered to be a diverse crosssection of some of the most promising emerging artists practising in the UK

today. Many of these were Goldsmiths alumni from South Africa, Japan, the USA, Slovenia, South America and of course the UK. If one were to look at a thematic trend running through this work, it would be the outworking of hybrid cultures or fake realities, such as in the work of photographer, Mandy Lee Jandrell, or media artist, Flávia Müller Medeiros. Also clear was a utopian narrative running through the works of Jasmina Cibic and sculptor Neil Zakiewicz. In Christopher Paquet’s paintings clear references were also made to Native American rituals overlaid with ideas of ‘fetishization’ and the contemporary. Rather than the direct cultural references that one might see in the work of Lebanese artist Mona Hatoum, these artists appear less concerned about interpreting culture in new surroundings, and more concerned about what is released when these cultures are kneaded together. In this place art can perhaps intervene in a way in which no other medium can. As a result Goldsmiths continues to produce some of the most exciting artists in a small pocket of London renowned for its cultural mix and diversity. This is also why Goldsmiths students and alumni will continue to make an impact on the international art world, as the global potential in their practice and outlook is recognised. Julia Alvarez is Exhibitions Coordinator of BEARSPACE in Deptford, and works closely with many former Goldsmiths students. For more information on BEARSPACE go to www.thebear.tv/bearspace

GOLDSMITHS ARTISTS – THE NEW WAVE

Clockwise from left: Jasmina Cibic ‘The Green House Effect 51° 28’ 27,58 N, 0° 01’ 2006, Mandy Lee Jandrell ‘Moose, Mall of America, Camp America’ 2006, Neil Zakiewicz ‘Bar Stool’(wood, foam, leather, varnish) 2006, Flávia Müller Medeiros ‘Inaugurate’ (DVD) 2006, Christopher Paquet ‘Night Visions’ (oil on canvas) 2006

Flávia Müller Medeiros MA Fine Art 2002-03, Visual Cultures Research student 2003-04 Flávia was born in Brazil. Since leaving Goldsmiths she has been shown as part of the Zoo Art Fair and Becks Futures 2006. In her most popular and acclaimed work ‘Failed, Emerging, Young,’ Flávia created an ongoing compilation of interviews with established and emerging curators, including Lisa Le Feuvre and Gavin Wade.

Jasmina Cibic PG Dip Fine Art 2003-04 Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 1979, Jasmina graduated from the Academia did Belle Arti in Venice, Italy in 2003. She has exhibited installation and video work in various exhibitions across Italy and Slovenia and worked as a visual arts tutor at the Venice Fine Art Academy. Her work reconsiders the current state of cultural rebranding of Eastern Europe where the political past is short circuited and substituted by notions of re-invented myths and ethnic chic.

Mandy Lee Jandrell MA Fine Art 2001-03 Mandy Lee Jandrell grew up in South Africa. The results of her collaboration with users of the North East London Mental Health Trust can currently be seen in an exhibition titled “Hearing Voices/Seeing Things” at the Serpentine Gallery. Mandy scours the constructed leisure environment – wildlife parks, zoos and botanical gardens – for her subject matter, exploring the pre-packaging of our perceptions of the ‘real’ and the belief systems that sustain them.

Neil Zakiewicz MA Fine Art 2001-03 Since graduating, Neil has had a solo exhibition at BEARSPACE, entitled ‘Monumental,’ and has been reviewed in Art Monthly and Flux. His sculptural works play with the notion of the monumental and sculpture in art practice, using a variety of material, often balancing soft foam against hand carved wood. Playing with texture, weight and subject, he creates work which is poignant and playful. Neil works from his studio in Stratford, London.

Christopher Paquet PG Dip Fine Art 2000-01 Christopher was born in Marlton, New Jersey in 1975, and now divides his time between London and New York. He grew up as a punk rocker, and his earlier work referenced the culture of basement rock shows, tapping into a particular kind of social interaction. Described by Time Out NY as a ‘feisty new talent,’ Christopher has just completed Goldsmiths’ 2007 Survey at White Box in New York.

WHY I FELL IN LOVE WITH MOSTAR

Emilie Brothers (MA Directing 2002-03) tells Goldlink about a life-changing summer spent in Bosnia and Herzegovina On dark winter nights, many of us enjoy pouring over photos of our holidays in the sun. I still find it hard to believe my eyes when I look through my own holiday snaps, as I see myself last year working on a multicultural production of Romeo and Juliet with young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I find it even more startling to see myself surrounded by so many destroyed buildings and an infrastructure still coping with the effects of the Balkan War. The story began in June 2006, when I first met Professor Andrew C Garrod, from the Department of Education at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, USA and co-founder of Youth Bridge Global, an organisation that uses drama and art to bridge cultural divides and connect youth across cultures. Professor Garrod had been visiting Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the previous eight years, conducting research on the

moral development of the country’s teenagers and children since the war, and thought it would be a good place for Youth Bridge Global to work. I found myself as the drama and language coach in an international team, working alongside some very gifted theatre-makers, including Caz Liske, a Drama student from Moscow Theatre Arts School, and Sabrina Peric, a PhD student from Harvard University. We were cautious not to think of ourselves as “do-gooders,” but instead as theatre practitioners doing a high-quality production. Mostar, located about 200 km south-west of Sarajevo, was almost completely destroyed during the Balkan War between 1992 and 1995, and there are still many signs of division throughout the city. As a tourist, the ﬁrst thing you must see is the Stari Most (Old Bridge), which crosses the city’s historic Neretva River. The city’s Bosnian-Muslims live on the east side and Croat-Catholics live on the west. Over a decade after

the Dayton Peace Accord, segregation is still the norm for all Mostarians, as their school systems, universities and local councils operate for either Croats or Bosnians. Most people I encountered in Mostar are saddened by these divisions. Before the war, the three main ethnic groups lived together harmoniously – about 34% of the pre-war population was Croat, 35% were Muslims and the rest were Serbs. It was also the city with the largest number of inter-faith marriages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now the city is divided between Croats and Bosnians, and there are very few Serbs left to be seen. Today, although Mostar faces the challenge of rebuilding itself, teenagers in the town don’t have much to set their sights on. With half of Mostar’s residents unemployed, after-school jobs for teenagers are rare. Rarer still are extra-curricular activities at school, and young people don’t often participate in drama clubs, sports teams or youth groups.

Clockwise from above: Romeo and Juliet at Capulet’s ball, Juliet in the balcony scene, the dress rehearsal

Having taught in south London secondary schools for nearly three years, I had grown accustomed to pessimism from adults and their subsequent negativity towards their pupils. The Youth Bridge Global team were different – they were positive and inviting from the start. We began by visiting every secondary school in Mostar, on both sides of the Neretva, to publicise the show and invite anyone aged 14 to 19 to an open audition. We had no idea what to expect, and we prepared ourselves to cut a few of the minor roles. Yet we auditioned over 100 teenagers before we settled on a cast of 25 and a crew of twenty. During rehearsals we tried to not only build a great production, but also to create an extraordinary experience for the participants. We spent long hours in workshops and rehearsals, pushing our cast to perform in ways that they never believed themselves capable. We also knew that young people in Mostar were not used to hard work like this in the summer, so we supported the process with fun activities, such as ﬁ lm screenings and trips to the seaside. Most linguists would have loved to be a ﬂy on the wall of our rehearsal rooms, as even the spoken word is a political statement in Mostar. It is understood that Croats speak Croatian, Bosnians speak Bosnian and Serbs speak Serbian, and yet they still understand each other fully. For an English speaker to understand the difference between their languages, think of the difference between the English spoken in America versus the English spoken in the UK. Accents vary regionally and different words can mean the same thing. In the production, the well-known scenes of Romeo and Juliet were performed in Shakespeare’s original iambic pentameter and the remaining dialogue was presented in local languages drawn from a Serbian script and adapted to the performers’ native tongues. For example, the talented young man who played Mercutio, Amar Husejic, was a Bosnian. He performed the famous Queen Mab speech in its original English form, but spoke the majority of his lines in his mother tongue, adapting them to his Bosnian accent and phrasing. The production itself took place on four balmy evenings in August, in the ruins of the University Library, one of the many destroyed buildings in the centre of Mostar. We set up a transportable lighting rig, a few rehearsal blocks, 125 chairs, and hoped for the best. But we got better than

anything we had expected. The show received a standing-room only audience of over 200 people every night, including international diplomats who travelled in from Sarajevo. Beyond the big audiences, the standing ovations and the international attention, we can proudly claim that our show was a great success because our cast and crew enjoyed themselves. Eighteen year old Ivan Rozic, who played Lord Capulet, said it best: “This project has given those of us from different schools and Mostar communities a chance to become friends as we explore theatre. I hope it will create more interest in theatre and show how people with different backgrounds can come together.” After all this, does it sound to you like the young people of Mostar have forgotten the war? Perhaps it is fairer to say that they barely remember it. Most of them were in nappies when the Croats, Bosnians and Serbs were fighting for control of their city. So although anybody in Mostar will tell you that they cannot walk a city block without passing something that reminds them of the war, the young people in town now have something important to look forward to, instead of simply a bloody recent history to look back upon. We have shown them what was possible, but they are the ones who built both a great production and so many profound friendships. Now I can appreciate why Professor Garrod fell in love with the city of Mostar – its young people are so bright, energetic and hopeful for the future. Summer 2007 will see our team at Youth Bridge Global returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina, this time touring through the country with an even bigger production and a theatre workshop. The production could not have been possible without the financial support of the City of Mostar, and the Canadian and Norwegian Embassies in Sarajevo, as well as private individuals. As a non-profit organisation, Youth Bridge Global are constantly looking for financial support in order to carry out our work. If you would like to know more about YBG, please visit www.ybglobal.org or contact Emilie Brothers directly at mlebros@hotmail.com

OBITUARIES

HAROLD TOOVEY Teaching Cert 1939-41 Harold Toovey, who died on 10 June 2006 aged 86 after a short illness, was one of the students evacuated from Goldsmiths to Nottingham shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. While at Nottingham, Harold was awarded his half colours for athletics. After the war he taught at primary and secondary schools in High Wycombe until his retirement in 1980. In 1959 he spent a year at the Royal Academy of Music studying Choral Singing and he went on to conduct a number of choirs. He also founded the High Wycombe and District Schools Music Association. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and ﬁve grandchildren. Betty Toovey

efﬁciency as an administrator earned him the respect of all his colleagues.” Peter Baynes (formerly Head of Adult and Social Studies) MEGAN JAMES (née BICKLEY) Teaching Cert 1936-38 Megan Grace James, who died recently aged 87, taught at Maindee Infants’ School until 1949, when she became one of the ﬁrst teachers from South Wales to participate in the teacher exchange programme in Australia. After resuming her career at Maindee, she moved to the newly opened Alway School in 1953. She remained at Alway until her retirement, rising to the position of Deputy Head. She will be fondly remembered by all those who came into contact with her. Claire Fraser

LEN LUSTED Len Lusted, who died at the age of 91 on 15 March 2006, retired from his post as Assistant Bursar at Aberdeen Hall in 1994, having first been appointed to the staff of Goldsmiths as Head Porter. After distinguished war service, where he rose to the rank of Captain, and a short period in Australia, he began his 43 years of remarkable service to the College in 1951. His letter of appointment from the then Warden, Aubrey Price, stated ‘it is not feasible to lay down exact or fi xed hours of work for the Head Porter … this is a responsible post, on the official conduct of which a great deal of the smooth running of the college depends.’ With responsibility for all the College buildings and the maintenance staff, no one could have risen to this challenge better than Len. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1978. His son Jeff summed Len up admirably: “it would be difficult to fully tell of the admiration and affection felt for Len by everyone who has ever had any involvement with the College … his qualities of leadership, his complete devotion to duty, and his

Also sadly deceased Ernest Bayly (BA History 1943-45) Edward Cothey (Teaching Cert 1939-41) Margaret Dickson (BA Social Policy 1997-2000) Irmela Horten (MA Contemporary Caribbean Cultural History 1994-96) Vicky Hurst (PhD Education 1997-98) Muriel Hyde (BMus 1934-36) Joyce Lovett (Teaching Cert 1941-43) David Oakley (BSc Botany and Zoology 1963-66)

NANCY LOGUE (née ASVAT) BA Sociology 1967-1971

Leonard Powell OBE (Teaching Cert 1932-35)

Nancy studied at Goldsmiths while teaching at Kidbrooke School. Subsequently she became Headmistress at Barnsbury Girls’ School and was a member of the ILEA Women Headteachers’ Group. After gaining an MA in History at Birkbeck College she became School Inspector for Essex. Nancy continued studying, and in November 1995 she gained an MSc in Human Sexuality from St George’s Medical School. She then practised as a sex therapist for the NHS. Nancy had an avid interest in everyone who crossed her path. She gave generously, and was a true bon viveur, always responding positively to what life brought her. She gave her all in every situation, whether at school, training college, Goldsmiths or her numerous homes, whilst remaining a free ﬂoating spirit, always wise and generous. Bertha Sokoloff and Juliette Hunting (BA Sociology 1967-71)

Saverimuthu Stanislaus (PACE Cert 1999-2000)

Alumni services www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/alumni/services

The Goldsmiths Society was formed in 1991, with the aim of fostering the relationship between Goldsmiths and its former students. On leaving Goldsmiths, all graduates and staff now automatically become members of the Society.

DISCOUNT ON TUITION FEES

CAREERS ADVICE

There is a discount on tuition fees for all those who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree, DipHE or postgraduate taught programme at Goldsmiths, and who now wish to progress to a different postgraduate degree. In order to apply for the reduced tuition fee, you will need to have been accepted on to your intended programme of study and to have satisﬁed all the normal academic admissions criteria as well as all the conditions of enrolment and registration set down by the College. For further information please contact Steve Edwards at s.edwards@gold.ac.uk

The Careers Service would like to hear from any alumni who have vacancies to ﬁ ll in their own working environment or who can join the Careers Network and spare some time to talk to current students about their own jobs. Further information is available at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/careers

Development Ofﬁce Goldsmiths, University of London New Cross London SE14 6NW goldsoc@gold.ac.uk

CHATHAM HOUSE

Rosie Dewhurst Director of Development 020 7919 7612 r.dewhurst@gold.ac.uk

LIBRARY ACCESS Alumni can visit the library at Goldsmiths for free, and are allowed reference use of the library’s books and periodicals. A one-day ticket will normally be issued, repeated up to three times a term, or you can apply in writing to use the library for a more sustained period. It is also possible to borrow books – for just £50, alumni are able to have borrowing rights for a full twelve months. Further information can be found at http://libweb.gold.ac.uk/homelinks/ alumni.php

KEEPING YOU IN TOUCH If you would like to make contact with lost friends, why not register with Goldsmiths Reconnected at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/alumni? If the person you are looking for is not listed, you may ﬁnd them on the Lost Alumni page of the website at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/alumni/ lostalumni.php. Your search can also be featured in future editions of Goldlink or on the website Message Board.

Chatham House, home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, has teamed up with Goldsmiths to offer discounted membership to former students. Attend events, read about the real issues behind the news and access one of the most established collections of international affairs material in the UK. To take up this offer or for more information, please contact Charlotte Armah, tel 020 7957 5721 or e-mail carmah@cathamhouse.org.uk

CONFIRMATION OF AWARDS & TRANSCRIPTS If you require a transcript or official confirmation of your qualifications, please complete the application form available at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/ registry/transcripts-archives.php. All other enquiries should be made in writing to Archives (RHB 122), Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW or email archives@gold.ac.uk. Please give your full name, date of birth, full title of programme and time of study.

GYM MEMBERSHIP Want to get ﬁt? If so, why not try out one of over 90 exercise stations, all ﬁtted with built in TV entertainment, in Clubpulse, the new Goldsmiths gym? Goldlink has got together with Clubpulse to offer a special alumni membership rate – for further information, visit www.clubpulse.gold.ac.uk

The Goldsmiths Society is managed by Goldsmiths Development Ofﬁce, the part of Goldsmiths responsible for external fundraising and alumni relations.

Stephen Clarke, Development and Alumni Manager 020 7919 7265 s.clarke@gold.ac.uk Will Finch Alumni Officer / Goldlink editor 020 7919 7069 w.finch@gold.ac.uk Matthew Grew Clerical Assistant 020 7919 7033 m.grew@gold.ac.uk Data held by Goldsmiths Development Office is secure and will be treated confidentially and appropriately in carrying out the ongoing business of Goldsmiths, University of London. The data is for the use of Goldsmiths and will not be disclosed to external organisations, other than those acting as agents for Goldsmiths. It is used for a full range of alumni activities, including mailing publications, notification of events and programmes involving academic and administrative departments, fundraising, and the promotion of benefits and services. Under the terms of the 1998 Data Protection Act you have the right to object to the use of your data for any of the above purposes.

Goldsmiths Reconnected Keeping you in touch with Goldsmiths Update your own details online and receive information about Goldsmiths news and events www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/alumni

Are your details correct? Please help us to ensure that our alumni database is correct and up to date. By mail Complete your details below and send them, free of charge, to: Development OfďŹ ce Goldsmiths, University of London Freepost LON15003 New Cross London SE14 6AF By e-mail or telephone Alternatively, you can email your new details to goldsoc@gold.ac.uk or telephone 020 7919 7069.

Personal Information: Title

Full Name

Maiden Name (while at Goldsmiths) Mailing Address (if different from overleaf) Date of Birth Email Address

Phone Number

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Dates of Study

Job Title

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Name and Address of Employer

Fellow students we might not be aware of: Full Name Maiden Name (while at Goldsmiths) Course Title

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A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE On 28 October 2006, a group of over forty former students, who all graduated between the years of 1954 and 1959, gathered together for the fifth time to meet up with long-lost friends, reminisce about times past, and take a tour around some of the new buildings at Goldsmiths. Our furthest flung guest was Sinclair Richards (Teaching Cert 1952-54) who flew in from Bermuda, while Jennifer Nunes (Teaching Cert 1956-58) came from Portugal. Many thanks to Al Barclay for helping to organise the event.

Clockwise from top left: Roger Edwards (Teaching Cert 1957-59) and Maurice Dawson (Teaching Cert 1957-59) pose for the camera Helen Osborne (nee Roberts) (Cert Ed 1956) and Alan Fox (Teaching Cert 1954-57) delve into a photo album Peter Benson (Teaching Cert 1955-57) and Sinclair Richards catch up on old times David Ross (Teaching Cert 1955-57) sharing a joke with Diana Brooke (nee Kimber) (Teaching Cert 1954-56)

Goldlink asked some of those present for the memories of their time at Goldsmiths

Al Barclay Teaching Cert 1956-58 On our ﬁrst day we were ushered into the imposing Great Hall in total silence. The Students’ Union President, dressed in his black gown, walked solemnly up to the lectern upon which he placed his notes, studying his audience with a serious expression. He uttered half a word and then the two balconies above us suddenly erupted into a cacophony of jeers and catcalls accompanied by a salvo of toilet rolls. This was followed by a parade of people dressed in a variety of costumes walking across the hall, including one group dressed as undertakers, bearing a black cofﬁn labelled ‘The Student Body.’

Tony Whelpton BA Ed 1953-57 During my time at Goldsmiths, I frequently sang with the College Choral Society. On one occasion we performed Vaughan Williams’ Sancta Civitas, and, to our amazement, the composer himself (then in his 80s) came to listen. We were never quite sure whether what happened was a comment on our performance or not, but at one point the great man ostentatiously removed his hearing aid from his ear, shook it violently, and then replaced it.

Val Owen Cert Ed 1956-59 We were trying to reproduce in French a passage from Don Quixote. Someone had used the imperfect instead of the perfect tense, to denote a completed action. Our French lecturer asked in his lovely French accent, “What do you think ‘e was doing, sitting on his ass all day long?” Of course, we all collapsed, before trying to explain that ‘sitting on his ass all day long’ in a French accent was not the same as ‘sitting on his donkey!’

10 COVER STORY

WHY READ WHEN YOU CAN LIVE? Former Goldsmiths graduate Hisham Matar hit the big time in 2006 when his debut novel, In the Country of Men was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. Will Finch meets him to talk about donkeys, Sufism and Huckleberry Finn... Hisham Matar does not seem to mind that we begin our conversation by discussing the difference between crumpets and English muffins. To me it seems strange to talk about such matters with an author recently shortlisted for the Booker Prize. For Hisham, talking about his book is much stranger. As he takes a sip of coffee, I suggest that such difficulties of language must be ever-present in his work. While the novel that has brought him to prominence, In the Country of Men, was written in English, English is not Hisham’s first language. He was brought up speaking Arabic in Libya and Egypt, only attending English-speaking schools from the age of twelve. “Now I speak English better than I speak Arabic,” he says. “I was given one academic year to learn English from absolutely nothing at an American school in Cairo. So I immersed myself in English music and song and fi lm, and most of that was American too, so my English lies somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”

Above: Hisham signing copies of In the Country of Men during his recent appearance at Goldsmiths for the 2006 Dean Lecture Far right: The Warden Professor Geoffrey Crossick looks on as Hisham tells us ‘how he came to write’ Overleaf: Chris Murray meeting Hisham after the Dean Lecture 2006 Photos by Anna Kiss

He may have picked up the accent, but he is pleased not to have picked up some of the other traits. “Some of the American children were awful. They were racist. A lot of the kids were from military families. On the whole I spent two years in that school avoiding ﬁghts. It was very hardcore. Suddenly my ‘Arabness’ became very problematic.” After the American school came an English school, which provided much happier memories, and by the time he was ﬁfteen Hisham was established in boarding school in the UK. “It was completely my decision. It seemed like an adventure. I wanted something liberal and open and I found it. I had been to England before, I had loved it and had a really great time.” He has stayed in England ever since, gaining his MA in Design Futures at Goldsmiths in 1996 and then opening an architectural practice before turning to writing full-time. However, his undoubted skill with the English language doesn’t mean that writing in a foreign tongue is something that isn’t nagging away at him all the time.

“I’m interested in displacement, and I like writing in a language that I never take for granted. It’s what I like about American literature. It comes from exile. Salman Rushdie is another example – language is something he has to deal with. I distrust language in general, and I am more acutely aware of that if I’m writing in English.” The theme of displacement is key to In the Country of Men. It is a story of family life in the repressive atmosphere of 1970s Libya, and the events of the story are seen through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy called Suleiman. When I ask Hisham why he chose Suleiman as his narrator, he is clear that such a decision must come from the work itself. “It might take a long time to come, but it will come. Choices like who is going to tell your story are so important. It’s like the donkey that is halfway between two bags of food. And he can’t make up his mind. So he starves to death. One step either way would have saved him, because he would have been that little bit closer. It’s interesting because it explains the sacriﬁces we have to make when we make a choice.

“

WORKING WITH THE LEFTOVERS OF WAR Clockwise from left: A DanChurchAid deminer at work, Mines and UXO ready for demolition, A Congolese woman getting ready to vote

Line Brylle (MA Anthropology of Development 2002-03) tells us about life in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she works on a Humanitarian Mine Action Programme for Danish NGO DanChurchAid. Several armies from neighbouring countries and different rebel groups fought in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 1998 and 2003. They left behind mines, bombs, grenades and mortars, which now pose a danger to the everyday lives of the Congolese people. I have been working for DanChurchAid in DRC since January 2006. Our work consists of survey, mine risk education, mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal. In other words one could say that we clean up the leftovers of the war. I deal mainly with the socioeconomic aspects of mine action ie, survey and mine risk education. Survey is when our local employees go out and research whether there are dangerous areas with mines or unexploded ordnance (UXO).

They talk to the population and find out which areas are blocked. It can be paths, fields, buildings. We do research on what areas are the most important for people to have cleared, ie, which areas will benefit the population most in socio-economic terms if they are cleared of mines or other dangerous items. Mine risk education is important especially for refugees returning home who might not be aware of the dangers that mines and UXO pose. Following the survey and mine risk education, our mine clearance teams are deployed to clear mined areas and demolish UXO. The programme also integrates HIV/AIDS education. The many different armed groups who fought in the DRC also raped and violated women. The country was estimated to have a low HIV/AIDS prevalence before the war, but now it is feared to have risen remarkably. The rural population hardly have access to any information on the existence of HIV/AIDS and nor do they have access to prevention. As our mine risk education programme reaches out to

remote areas, our facilitators also give HIV/AIDS education in those areas. We also distribute condoms and arrange events, with for example local rap groups, to highlight HIV/AIDS issues. Just recently the results of the second round of the presidential elections, the ﬁrst democratic elections in 45 years, were announced. It marks the end of the transition period that DRC has been undergoing since the end of the civil war. We are all awaiting in suspense to see whether these results will lead to any more troubles that will affect our work and the daily lives of the Congolese people who have long been wishing for a lasting peace. For more information on the work of DanChurchAid in DRC go to www.dca.dk