COVER ART: KEMI OLOYEDE
JANE TRAIES
50 Scene
FREE TO BE ME ) Earlier this year a very sexy-looking 92-page literary magazine called Covert was released to showcase the creativity of black, Asian and ethnically diverse writers and artists.
) While admitting that her new book, Free To Be Me: Refugee Stories from the Lesbian Immigration Support Group (LISG), is “not an easy read”, Jane Traies hopes this selection of lesbian life stories by women who have been part of the LISG in Manchester will be read as being “about courage, being yourself, the kindness of strangers”.
Produced by Writing Our Legacy in association with New Writing South, the magazine’s theme was: Sussex Fortune Teller – What Do Writers See in the Future, and its impact in terms of both contributors and audience wasn’t necessarily something the editorial team could have predicted.
Jane’s journey into this book began three years ago when she received an email from a volunteer with the group who had heard of the work she had done with older lesbians and wondered if she might have anything in her research that could help a refugee from Uganda.
“I think I blew people’s minds a little bit. I decided to really push the boat out [...] .It’s nice to have something a bit special, especially for readers of colour when they don’t have much validation.” “We had more than 100 submissions in each of the categories: fiction, poetry, artwork,” says editorial team member and a driving force behind the project, Amy Zamarripa Solis.
The woman, in her 70s, had been fighting for asylum for 13 years but been turned down because the Home Office didn’t believe she was a lesbian. Jane met with the group and helped prepare a statement.
“In 2019 we published an anthology of writers of colour called Hidden Sussex, which was life stories, but this book [focusing on fiction and poetry] was something I had been thinking about for six years.
Jane wanted to tell the stories and was able to carry out most of the interviews face to face in Manchester “literally days before lockdown”. Jane says: “Some of the experiences of the women who have to leave their country were horrific and do include sexual violence. It’s not an easy read but I hope it’s worthwhile.” “My mum called me and cried on the phone, saying I’d brought shame to the family. My father said he never wanted to set his eyes on me again and that the day he does, he will kill me.” (Faith) All proceeds from the book, to be published by Tollington Press on International Women’s Day, Monday, March 8, are going to go back to the LISG, “so I have no shame in saying ‘buy my book’”. It wasn’t the easiest of projects to put together, as Jane explains: “If you’re seeking asylum and have had your claim rejected by the Home Office they take away your support, so most of the women have no income and nowhere to live; no computers, only a phone, and no money to use the phone. We do take all those things for granted.” There were also language barriers, so there was toing and froing to ensure everyone was able to say what they wanted to say, but, despite those hurdles and the restrictions of various lockdowns, all the stories were finally signed off and can now be told. “The ways are different here, and at first it was too odd. In the winter, it is so, so cold! But I think I’m better off, far from my own country. Because even if things are so hard, I’m not being beaten, I’m open, I’m free. Nobody says anything like, ‘Why are you wearing clothes like a man?’“ (Sophie) “It’s been a journey,” says Jane. “This is only one small corner of the refugee world. I knew nothing about this three years ago and now I know there are groups all over the UK. All these people have had horrible experiences here because of the culture of disbelief.”
AMY ZAMARRIPA SOLIS
Eventually the woman was granted asylum. “She and I were born in the same year and I kept thinking about her life and mine and I don’t think I’ve ever been so aware of my own privilege.”
“I could observe that there were a lot of talented writers but they might not try to access opportunities or try to get published, so I thought if there was something local [that might sway them]. “A lot of the work we do with people of colour is really about confidence building. We try to do things that still help with that and being published is a great feeling. It really gave me a taste of what community publishing could achieve.” As with so many projects, it was somewhat hampered by the pandemic and the first lockdown, but the group applied for emergency funding from the Arts Council and from March to May was busy organising “lots of solidarity Zoom calls to try to help people stay connected”. Amy and her fellow voluntary editorial team members, writer Sharon Duggal and poet John Prebble, made the initial selection of works and gave recommendations to guest editors for their consideration. Each submission had to fit the theme, which, says Amy, was about asking writers to look into the future. Fifteen contributors are showcased in the magazine. As for the final article, with its high-quality finish: “I think I blew people’s minds a little bit. I decided to really push the boat out. I was originally thinking of doing something digital but with lockdown it’s nice to have something a bit special, especially for readers of colour when they don’t have much validation.” And the work doesn’t stop there. “The next phase will be approaching universities and libraries to get it to a wider audience,” says Amy. “We haven’t put it on Amazon but we do have an e-book.” Writing Our Legacy has managed to secure further Arts Council funding and is in the process of moving to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, along with planning how the next edition will be funded. D For more info, visit: www.writingourlegacy.org.uk
