A writer will find a home in Wroclaw
‘I hope that we start doing great work today by joining the cities that protect culture and heritage,’ assures Deputy Mayor Anna Szarycz. ‘It is very useful for us to gain such experience, express our good will and help a specific person,’ emphasises Mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz. In the nearest future, he will choose the writer who will arrive in Wroclaw and stay here for two years.
ICORN for persecuted writers
The capital of Lower Silesia will join a group of 50 European cities that already provide shelter to many writers and journalists. ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network) is an independent organisation with a seat in Stavanger, Norway, which supports persecuted writers and advocates the freedom of speech and the idea of solidarity. ICORN comprises partner cities. ‘ICORN’s strength lies in the fact that each of our cities is different, and this is both a huge challenge and huge power,’ stresses Helge Lunde. ‘It is important for a writer of our choice to suit the place where he will live and write,’ adds Helge Lunde. ICORN’s director is absolutely certain that Wroclaw is a great destination as an international city that expresses strong attachment to a number of fundamental ideas, including solidarity.
Svetlana Alexievich, ICORN’s most famous beneficiary
The most famous writer who took advantage of ICORN’s support is this year’s Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich, who lived and wrote in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 2006 till 2008. ‘We still keep in touch with her,’ stresses Helge Lunde, ICORN’s Executive Director, adding that not all of the writers have a chance to return to their homeland. The organisation also takes care of Morocco’s Zineb el Rhazoui, the publisher of the famous magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’, who was on holiday during the dramatic events of January 2015 (when 12 members of the editorial board were killed). ‘After this, she could not stay in one place for longer than one day,’ explains Helge Lunde. On ICORN’s website we can find names of many other writers who were forced to emigrate due to the political situation in their homeland, such as Norwan, a female poet from Afghanistan, who has lived in Stavanger, Norway, since 2011, or Mamon Ali Jabari from Syria (for safety reasons, his place of stay is kept secret).
