TLRH | Justice, Poetry, Refugees and Borders | Poets roundtable

Thursday, 17 February 2022, 1 – 2pm An online roundtable discussion
with Neo Gilson, Jamalida Rafique, and Thirukumaran Thiruchelvan
(Thiru), three of the poets who took part in our ‘Window to My
World’ series for World Poetry Day 2021, showcasing poetry from
refugees, asylum seekers, and exiled poets in Ireland. The
discussion will be chaired by Professor Philip Coleman, School of
English, TCD, and is organised by Dr Jude Lal Fernando, Director of
Trinity Centre for Post-Conflict Justice, in association with the
Trinity Long Room Hub. About the poets About the poets Neo Gilson
Neo was born in Kimberley South Africa, and currently lives in
Ireland as an immigrant. She is a poet, singer, writer, story-
teller, and motivational speaker. She released a gospel audio CD
titled "Behind The Veil" in May 2013, which has received airplay on
various radio shows in South Africa. She is a member of Poetry
Africa and Samro in South Africa, a member of Women In Library in
Glasgow, and a member of WOW in Ireland. In 2020, Neo wrote a poem
for the Love and Charity production in Ireland titled ‘Women on
Women’. She is passionate about women empowerment projects and
loves to contribute to society in a meaningful way. Neo has also
been part of the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. Jamalida Rafique
Jamalida was born in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, in 2008.
She was resettled along with her parents in Ireland at the age of
just eight months. She is in her second year of secondary school at
St. Leo’s College, Carlow. She has visited the refugee camp where
she was born and witnessed how hundreds of thousands of Rohingya
children fled to Bangladesh during the mass exodus in 2017.
Jamalida has met and sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees on the importance of education for Rohingya children. She
continues to speak on behalf of those refugee children who have
been denied their right to education. Thirukumaran Thiruchelvan
(Thiru) Thiru is an Eelam Tamil poet, lyricist, writer, journalist,
environmentalist, and author of four anthologies of poems. He was a
victim of torture by the Sri Lankan security forces during the last
phase of the war in that country. He was in direct provision in
Ireland for four years and was granted refugee status in 2014 and
now is an Irish citizen. Thiru, who is a graduate of Jaffna
University in Sri Lanka, has had his poetry included in the syllabi
of postgraduate programmes on Tamil literature in three
universities in the southern states of India. His poems have been
translated into English, German, Irish and Sinhala. His poetry
books were launched and featured in Literature and/or Book
Festivals in many countries around the world, including India,
United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, and Canada. Learn
more at: https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/