How is it possible to leave ones language and start over? When Jila Mossaed came to Sweden in 1986 she had published two novels and five collections of poetry in Farsi. In the following pages…
Posts By Mia Johansen
ICARH and the plight of LGBTs in Nigeria
Nigeria has adopted a range of laws targeting LGBT people. One Nigerian organisation, however, is trying to confront the dire situation by providing healthcare, counselling, and protection of LGBT people. By Loke Bisbjerg Nielsen •…
Who is a refugee?
By Ali Ali • 2016 Don’t panic. This text is not a legal document stating who is eligible for asylum. A refugee without paperwork When they ask me if I am a refugee, I say…
Nr. 56: My name is Ekaterina
Ekaterina Lemonjava is a Georgian journalist and migrants’ rights activist who was imprisoned in 2012 in the Polish detention camp Lesznowola: a closed camp for women, children, and families. The same year, she was deported…
Waiting for Asylum
visAvis brings two poems by Reem Zakzouk, a stateless woman of Palestine, born in Saudi Arabia and currently living in Sweden. In her writing she explores questions of exile and belonging, registration versus recognition and…
With Nails and Teeth: Walking the routes of the displaced here and there, Athens–Copenhagen
In November 2013, With Nails and Teeth for our Rights began as a workshop in Athens exploring borders and journeys through performance-actions. It continued at the artspace YNKB in Copenhagen in the spring of 2014.…
“If in Our Country”, The Policeman Said
By Ali Ali • December 2015 A “Syrian Swede”, whose status was complicated further by being a policeman, happened to check my documents at the Swedish border today. I gave him my passport, but his…
A narrative from the dirty doorsteps of ‘Fortress Europe’
Speech given at ‘Vi har Plads’/’We have Space’ – a solidarity manifestation for the refugees of the world with a particular focus on the situation in Syria. By Michelle Schulze from Asylret • September 2015…
The lived – in reverse, translated and solidified
By Kristina Hultegård • Illustrations by Marie Boye • visAvis #11, 2015 We are in a room at the Swedish Migration Agency, the first time the lived is to be told. Behind the table, close…
Reflections on War and Home
The words ‘home’ and ‘repatriation’ are widely used in the public debate, but the meaning of these words is rarely elaborated on. Starting from experience from the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this text attempts…
