I am married and have two grown-up children and a grandchild and I live in London. On my father’s side I am only second-generation British. My grandparents came from Poland before WWI, escaping pogroms against the Jews, and my mother’s family came for the same reason in the nineteenth century. England gave my ancestors a home and a future in a time of great need.
My husband was born in Baghdad into an Iraqi Jewish family. The entire Jewish community of Iraq were forced into exile in the 1950s, and most went to Israel where they lived in refugee camps, sometimes for years. The stories the Halahmy family told about Baghdad brought alive for me the markets and streets; the food and the pigeon keepers; the fishermen who grilled fish down by the river Tigris and how people slept on the roof in summer. The family still has one foot back in the Arabic world. Their stories helped me to create the Iraqi characters in my book and the world they came from that they miss so much.
I was a teacher in London for twenty-five years and worked with children from all over the world, many of whom were asylum seekers. But I have written since childhood and have published novels, short stories and poetry for children, teens and adults. My writing focuses on realistic stories with ordinary characters facing extraordinary situations and digging deep to find the hero in themselves.
One of the most important issues of the 21st century is the plight of refugees and how the world responds to their needs and aspirations. I have led writing workshops for asylum seekers through English PEN and the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture to help them write down their stories and come to terms with their lives.
My experiences both from my family background and my work have given me insight into this group in society. The inspiration behind the writing of Hidden was a desire to show that each asylum seeker is an individual just like you and me.
I have been active since I was a teenager promoting peace, tolerance and diversity. I believe that all divided communities can build bridges and all societies can embrace diversity if they wish. We should be prepared to stand up to any injustice, however small. All young people have a future, and reading can offer a map forward.