Migrants in Limbo
Migrants in Limbo was a series completed in 2021, where I had the honour of reconnecting with my community whilst discovering the individual voices of the Kurdish diaspora. This series intended to explore the stories of Kurdish refugees and displaced individuals living through lockdown, and the growing struggles they continued to face during the pandemic. I hoped to discover the lost moments of interacting and connecting with others during that time, and I believe that this project allowed me to unravel and share the vulnerable truths of individuals from my community. The series depict different stories shared by Kurdish migrants based in Britain that I had been grateful enough to document, encounter and connect with. The portraits and writings considered not only the isolation each of them faced, but also the strength they gained. Only a few of many, these stories were able to just about scratch the surface of the unsettling immigration structures we face as humanity. For this project, a personal aim was to reconnect with my community as I explored journalistic storytelling that could interconnect with visual paintings. This series was subsequently commissioned and featured in the 2021 Shubbak Festival exhibit Sawa Sawa as part of their celebration of artists from the MENA region. ~ I would like to extend my highest admirations and appreciation to Haval, Amir and Awara in being brave enough to replay their trauma and share their story in dedication for this project. I am in awe of your strength, resilience and everlasting hope. I would like to pay my most respectful thanks and gratitude towards community activist and friend Ata Mufty for all of his insight, wisdom and liaison services in this project. Most humble thanks to Muhsin Hama and the team at Freedom Solicitors for their endless journey in giving hope to the hopeless and providing me with a better understanding of the plight migrants go through.
Haval B.
Oils on canvas / 12 x 12 inches
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Haval’s story
Deriving from the Kurdish town of Ranya in Southern Kurdistan, Haval currently resides in Birmingham and has had an asylum seeker status since 2017. After sending a letter to a relative in the UK, she was suspected of being a spy and was consequently interrogated and tortured by the Iranian regime. She recounts a callous memory of being electrocuted and beaten before eventually being let go. Subsequently, Haval was subject to harassment, threats, and faced questioning every time she travelled outside the vicinity of her neighbourhood. This ultimately, is what prompted her in seeking sanctuary in the UK.
Whilst heavily pregnant with her son, Haval travelled for six days from Turkey to France on a 25-metre boat carrying nearly 160 others, which proved to be a nauseating journey for her. Since her husband at the time was not allowed entry, she had ended up travelling alone and so she sought comfort only by others near her on the overcrowded boat. Giving birth to her son upon arrival in France, she had not much time to recuperate, and after only a month of giving birth, continued her journey to the UK. She had been placed on the back of a refrigerated lorry with the destination of England in her mind, but not without apprehension about the survival of both herself and her one- month-old son.
Haval was brought to Birmingham, and amid concerns of her son’s health, was placed in a hospital for several days before being relocated to a hotel for nearly three months. She recalls the conditions being squalid, to the point of her and her son being constantly bitten by insects. After finally being reunited with her husband, they were able to move to a flat, but not without being subjected to little compassion and understanding from neighbours, locals, and the very same council who had placed them there.
Despite having the evidence, the Home Office believed Haval to be lying about why she sought refuge in the UK, and was told that she could go back to Southern Kurdistan if she feared persecution in Iran, but Haval’s situation in Kurdistan seemed dire too. Back in Ranya, Haval was subject to further harassment and death threats from a relative, so going back there is not an option for her either. Haval continues to place fresh claims to gain status for security, but due to little to no support from councils and no response from officials, she may have to continue waiting for months, maybe years, just to receive a response. Like many others placed in somewhat of an asylum limbo, Haval has been made to feel disregarded and abandoned by the system.
Haval, now with two young sons, had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia over the years, which attacks the body’s muscles, producing widespread pain and fatigue within the body. Although not much is known regarding the exact causes, doctors have understood Haval’s condition rooting from both psychological stress and traumatic events. Her status, medical condition and obligation to her sons renders her unable to work and provide the life she initially wanted for her family. Regardless, Haval continues to be indebted for having fled her oppressed life back home, and grateful with providing somewhat of a safer upbringing for her sons. She is a passionate member of the Kurdish community, often leading and speaking at pro-Kurdish protests and demonstrations in London, to help strengthen the hope and discussion of an independent Kurdistan.
Awara K.
Oils on canvas / 8 x 10 inches
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Awara’s story
Originally from the Dokan District in Southern Kurdistan, Awara has lived in the UK since 2007 without status, currently residing in South West London. Back in Kurdistan, engineering was the dream for him, but a lower standard of living and a high unemployment rate pushed him to seek a better and safer life in Europe. Leaving without any goodbyes, he set for Turkey and began his long and aching journey to Europe through Greece, Italy and France. Awara had encountered a lot of deceit from smugglers, who were repeatedly abusive and often played on the vulnerability of migrants’ desperate situations. Crossing borders and reaching cities in search for the next step, had become somewhat of a constant painful occurrence for him.
One regretful memory Awara had was crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, huddled in a small boat with dozens of others in the same situation as he was. He recounts feeling like they had to prepare for death at any given moment, and details memories of others becoming sick on each other during the journey.
Only accompanied by one or two friends, and his determination, Awara would often have to walk with bloody feet, dressed in the same wet and dirty clothing from the boats for sometimes, 10 to 12 hours nonstop. Once a local villager offered him and his friends Cola and bread for energy, to which he remembers fondly.
Awara’s time in refugee camps proved to be a painful experience for him, and the barbed wire fences encompassing the camps made him question whether this was assistance, or prison. After hunger striking against the dire conditions, and after some aid from his brother, Awara managed to leave the camp alone and travel to Italy via lorry. Placed with eighteen others for 24 hours, they were all huddled so closely together that no one was able to sit down.
Awara was unable to study, work or even rent a property in his own name, and travelling back to Kurdistan to see his family was not even an option. In 2013, his dad’s declining health is what eventually pushed him to revisit the Home Office in hopes of seeing his family again. After little support, Awara was able to receive help from a local MP in registering as an asylum seeker and put forward a claim.
Work is all Awara knows, so he felt lucky enough to find work as a butcher in his local Kurdish supermarket. Nonetheless, due to the draining asylum process, and his claims relentlessly getting denied, Awara no longer sees a better life for himself in the UK. Since putting forward his most recent claim, he has only heard complete silence in return. Since his mother’s passing, he has solemnly acknowledged that giving up on the exhaustive journey and process may have to be an option for him. For Awara, he’s allowed in the idea of possibly marrying and relocating outside of Europe in the near future, as the next step towards his healing and mental wellbeing.
Amir S.
Oils on canvas / 8 x 10 inches
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Amir’s story
Amir originates from the Kalar district in Southern Kurdistan, known for its rich archaeological history, situated close to the Iranian border. He sought refuge away from home in 2018, after being detained and continuously targeted for his journalism and political views. He focused primarily the crimes and corruption fuelled by governments. Amir saw power in exposing dishonesty, but soon did it become wounding for him, after witnessing several of his journalist friends being tortured and killed before his very eyes. Fearing for his own safety, he sought for asylum in Europe.
The risk of travelling on the back of a lorry was one Amir felt he had to take, and once arriving in the UK, he was sent to Birmingham. He reminisces a memory of finally laying eyes on a bed frame one night and had embraced the mattress with disbelief. It had been a long time since he had seen a bed, so long that he feared he may have forgotten what one even looked like. After being placed in a hotel, Amir was subjected to several racist attacks in the community, but what the breaking point was for him was an incident involving several locals gaining access to the premises with cameras, hurling racial abuse and mocking, belittling and degrading migrants occupying the rooms. The video and Amir’s face was consequently circulated on social media, which stirred anxiety and panic for him as he feared being harassed or attacked. This was not the democratic behaviour he had expected to experience, and he found some irony in the fact that he was being subjected to something that he had fought so tenaciously for in Kurdistan.
Requests to be moved to other accommodation due to fear of his safety had not been approved, and the fears Amir faced about his physical wellbeing had not been taken seriously, and so the requests had been denied several times. He had even been threatened with the cutting of his weekly benefits and support, if he continued to reject the same accommodation that he felt unsafe in. Despite the risk of losing shelter, Amir’s worries became too strong and has resorted to couch hopping and sleeping on the streets. With legal help, Amir has been able to place a fresh claim in hopes of attaining permanent residency after several years.
Despite Amir regarding the majority of his life to be in a constant state of escaping and survival, his resilience is what ultimately maintains him on the very same journey that he set out for in Kurdistan. That notion of security and safety has become his hope in not letting his trauma define him, but rather provide a gateway to healing.
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Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture
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