Join podcaster and author Jaz O’Hara with a lineup of special guests to celebrate the release of her debut book Asylum Speakers: Stories of migration from the humans behind the headlines.
Asylum Speakers is a collection of 31 stories, amplifying the voices that often go unheard – the humans behind the statistics and the headlines. Come and hear first hand, the powerful voices of those with lived experience of displacement, and those working alongside them on the front line.
Transcending borders, nationalities, religions and languages, human rights activist Jaz is on a mission to reframe the fear-based narrative around migration, unlock common misconceptions and challenge stigmas. Jaz does this through film, talks, her extremely popular podcast Asylum Speakers and now her first book of the same name.
Jaz will be joined by friends:
Meseret Bereket is an Eritrean speaker and advocate for refugee rights who arrived to the UK as an unaccompanied asylum seeker at the age of just 13. He has since gone on to use his story of crossing the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean Sea and hiding underneath the Eurotunnel train to make it to the UK, as a powerful tool for awareness and education.
Gulwali Passarlay is a Best-selling author, activist, refugee rights advocate, campaigner and speaker committed to social justice. His book The Lightless Sky tells his story of arriving to the UK from Afghanistan as a lone child refugee, and not only highlights the dangers of the journey, but the challenges he faced one arriving to the UK and navigating its broken asylum system. Gulwali has now graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Social Science and is a member of many prestigious political, aid, and youth groups.
Giel Malual is a South Sudanese speaker and advocate for refugee rights. Giel’s work is powered by his own story of crossing land and sea to make it to safety aged just 16. Despite facing imprisonment, modern day slavery and more, Giel’s courage and bravery saw him overcome all odds to arrive to the UK, where he is now working as a model and student.
Ahmed Sinno is a Lebanese chef and entrepreneur who teaches Lebanese cookery classes with Migrateful and uses his platform to share his powerful story of leaving Lebanon after several shootings left him using a wheelchair. Ahmed now runs his own brand of tech accessories available on amazon.
This event is part of Refugee Week 2023 – a festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. This year’s theme explores what compassion looks like in action. Together we can create a shared understanding of compassion to ensure we are extending it widely to all.
You can purchase a copy of Asylum Speakers: Stories of migration from the humans behind the headlines via Second Home’s independent bookshop Libreria at the event or pre-order with our Bookshop Manager Lloyd at hello@libreria.io
