Writer in Focus / Llenor Dan Sylw: Eric Ngalle Charles
‘I have always felt the need to use literature and creative writing as a means of overcoming trauma. It has worked for me, I highly recommend it.’
| Eric Ngalle Charles was born in Buea, Cameroon and he is a poet, dramatist, novelist and member of Wales PEN Cymru. He fled Cameroon and spent years as an illegal immigrant in Russia. He arrived in Cardiff in 1999 and was able to claim asylum.
Eric is currently a part of Wales PEN Cymru’s Telling the Story project, an initiative which aims to support refugee writers in Wales by helping them to integrate in the Welsh literary scene and develop a literary career in Wales. It also aims to raise public awareness of the challenges that face refugees, asylum seekers or otherwise displaced people in the UK, and specifically in Wales today, and help to mitigate the rise of xenophobia by organising events which focus on the stories of refugees and by working in schools with refugee writers. Eric gives performances of his work, which is based on his experiences, and also leads creative writing classes. In 2016 he published Asylum, a documentary drama about what it means to be a refugee, caught between two worlds, destitute and unable to move forward with one’s life. It features people Ngalle met through the creative writing classes he ran at the Welsh Refugee Centre, where he has helped more recent refugees arriving in Cardiff to use writing to overcome the trauma of being displaced. Eric currently runs creative writing classes at the Grange Town Hub (Mondays, Thursdays 10-12:30) and at Oasis Fridays, 1.30), and there are also women’s only group sessions at Grange Town Hub. As part of a broader remit, local artists are encouraged to meet with artists from the refugee communities to facilitate engagement and integration. He has edited several anthologies of poetry by refugees, migrants and indigenous artists with Dr Tom Cheesman, including, Mountain and a Sea; Soft Touch, Nobody’s Perfect; and Festival of Wolves His first play, My Mouth Brought Me Here, showcased at Encampment, Southbank, London in August 2016. Based around Ngalle’s poetry and an Old West African proverb, it explores the themes of migration, language, freedom of expression and dictatorship. In 2017 Parthian Books will publish his Memoirs. “I spent two years and two months exactly in Russia, survived by doing striptease, mimicking 2Pac, meeting the Bony Ms, buying and selling fake dollars, learned how to become a scammer using fake dollars, learned the tricks of human trafficking, Rejected by the Cameroonian embassy for thinking I was an Ibo Nigerian, rejected by the Nigerian Embassy for being a Cameroonian. Not being able to be repatriated by the United Nations as I had not lived in Russia long enough…….. ” (Excerpt from Memoirs) Hear his poem ‘Between a Mountain and a Sea’ set to ‘Barcelona Winter Dub’ here. |
Ganwyd Eric Ngalle Charles yn Buea, Cameroon, ac mae’n fardd, dramodydd, nofelydd ac aelod o Wales PEN Cymru. Dihangodd o Cameroon a threuliodd flynyddoedd fel mewnfudwr anghyfreithlon yn Rwsia. Cyrhaeddodd Gaerdydd yn 1999 a llwyddodd i hawlio lloches.
Ar hyn o bryd, mae Eric yn rhan o brosiect Adrodd y Stori sy’n cael ei gynnal gan Wales PEN Cymru. Mae hyn yn gynllun sy’n bwriadu cefnogi llenorion sy’n ffoaduriaid yng Nghymru gan helpu iddynt integreiddio ym myd llenyddol Cymru a datblygu gyrfa llenyddol yng Nghymru. Mae’r prosiect hefyd yn ceisio codi ymwybyddiaeth y cyhoedd am yr heriau sy’n cael eu hwynebu gan ffoaduriaid, ceiswyr lloches a phobl sydd wedi’u dadleoli yn y DU, ac yn benodol, yng Nghymru heddiw, a helpu i liniaru’r cynnyd mewn senoffobia gan drefnu digwyddiadau sy’n ffocysu ar hanesion ffoaduriaid a gan weithio mewn ysgolion gyda llenorion sy’n ffoaduriaid. Mae Eric yn perfformio’i waith, sy’n seiliedig ar ei brofiadau, ac yn arwain gwersi ysgrifennu creadigol. Yn 2016, cyhoeddodd ef Asylum, drama ddogfennol am yr hyn y mae’n ei olygu i fod yn ffoadur, rhwng dau fyd, yn anghenus a methu symud ymlaen gyda bywyd. Mae’n nodweddu pobl y wnaeth Ngalle gwrdd â nhw trwy’r gwersi ysgrifennu creadigol y mae ef yn eu cynnal yng Nghanolfan Ffoaduriaid Cymraeg. Yma, mae ef wedi bod o gymorth i ragor o ffoaduriaid sy’n cyrraedd yng Nghaerdydd i ddefnyddio ysgrifen i oresgyn trawma o ddadleoli. Mae ef wedi golygu nifer o antholegau o gerddi gan ffoaduriaid, ymfudwyr ac artistiaid cynhenid gyda Dr Tom Cheesman, gan gynnwys, Mountain and a Sea; Soft Touch, Nobody’s Perfect; and Festival of Wolves. Arddangoswyd ei ddrama gynaf, My Mouth Brought Me Here, yn Encampment, Southbank, Llundain ym mis Awst 2016. Wedi seilio ar farddoniaeth Ngalle a hen ddihareb o Orllewin Affrica, mae’r ddrama yn archwilio themâu ymfudo, iaith, rhyddid mynegiant ac unbennaeth. Yn 2017, bydd Parthian Books yn cyhoeddi ei Gofiannau. Gellir clywed ei gerdd Between a Mountain and a Sea wedi’i gosod i Barcelona Winter Dub yma. |
Writers in Prison / Llenorion yn y Carchar
GWELER ISOD AM Y GYMRAEG
Imprisoned but not silenced – On Day of the Imprisoned Writer PEN stands in solidarity with writers imprisoned for their work
Each year, on 15 November, PEN International, PEN Centres and PEN members from around the world commemorate the Day of the Imprisoned Writer to highlight and campaign on behalf of writers who face unjust imprisonment, attacks, harassment and violence simply for expressing themselves.
Started in 1981 by PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee, the day is marked by celebrating the freedom to write, and by taking action to call for justice and freedom for imprisoned and murdered colleagues. Since 15 November 2015 at least 35 writers have been killed worldwide as a result of their work.
Salil Tripathi, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee said: ‘Writers should be writing when they want to write. They should not be in prison. And yet, around the world, hundreds of writers are in jail today, and many more face intimidation and persecution because what they express upsets the authorities, offends the powerful, and unnerves governments. Writers are the conscience-keepers of society; they must remain free – their place is not in prison, but with pen and paper, with typewriters, with their keyboards. And on this day, every year, the entire PEN community says in one voice that we will continue to fight for freedom for any writer, anywhere in the world, who is prevented from doing his or her work. ‘
Each year, PEN International focuses its campaigning on five cases that are emblematic of the kinds of challenges and dangers writers face simply in the course of carrying out their free expression work.
For more information please contact Global Campaign Manager Sarah Perry: sarah.perry@pen-international.org | t. +44 (0)20 7405 0338 |Twitter: @pen_int | Facebook: www.facebook.com/peninternational
Yn y carchar ond ddim yn dawel – Ar Ddiwrnod y Llenor sydd wedi’i Garcharu, mae PEN yn sefyll mewn undod gyda llenorion sydd wedi’u carcharu am eu gwaith
15 Tachwedd 2016 – Bob blwyddyn, ar 15 Tachwedd, mae PEN Rhyngwladol, Canolfannau PEN ac aelodau PEN o ledled y byd yn coffáu Diwrnod y Llenor sydd wedi’i Garcharu er mwyn amlygu ac ymgyrchu ar ran y llenorion sy’n wynebu carchariad anghyfiawn, ymosodiadau, aflonyddwch a thrais am fynegi eu hunain.
Dechreuodd y diwrnod yn 1981 gan Bwyllgor Llenorion yn y Carchar PEN Rhyngwladol, ac mae’n cael ei nodi gan ddathlu’r rhyddid i ysgrifennu, a gan weithredu i alw am gyfiawnder a rhyddid dros cydweithwyr sydd yn y carchar neu sydd wedi’u llofruddio. Ers 15 Tachwedd 2015, mae o leiaf 35 o lenorion wedi cael eu lladd dros y byd o ganlyniad i’w gwaith.
Dywedodd Salil Tripathi, Cadeirydd Pwyllgor Llenorion yn y Carchar PEN Rhyngwladol: ‘Dylai llenorion allu ysgrifennu pan yr hoffen nhw ysgrifennu. Ni ddylen nhw fod yn y carchar. Ond eto, o gwmpas y byd, mae cannoedd o lenorion yn y carchar heddiw, ac mae nifer ohonynt yn wynebu brawychiad ac erledigaeth oherwydd bod yr hyn y maent yn mynegi yn cynhyrfu’r awdurdodau, digio’r bobl bwerus ac yn anesmwytho’r llywodraeth. Llenorion yw’r bobl sy’n cadw cydwybod o fewn cymdeithas; mae thaid iddynt fod yn rhydd – nid yw eu lle yn y carchar, ond gyda phen a phapur, gyda theipiaduron, gyda’u bysellfyrddau. Ac ar y diwrnod hwn, bob blwyddyn, mae’r gymuned PEN i gyd yn mynegi mewn un llais, ac yn mynegi ein bod ni am barhau i frwydro dros ryddid unrhyw lenor, unrhyw le yn y byd, sy’n cael ei wahardd rhag wneud ei waith.‘
Bob blwyddyn, mae PEN Rhyngwladol yn ffocysu ei ymgyrchoedd ar bump achos sy’n arwyddluniol o’r mathau o heriau a’r peryglon y mae llenorion yn eu hwynebu wrth fynegi eu barn yn rhydd yn eu gwaith. Eleni, mae PEN yn ymgyrchu ar ran:
- Ahmed Naji (yr Aifft) – Mae nofelydd a newyddiadurwr Ahmed Naji yn y carchar am ddwy flynedd am ‘darfu ar wleidydd-dra gyhoeddus’ mewn perthynas â chyhoeddiad rhannau o’i nofel o 2014, Istikhdam al-Hayat (Defnydd Bywyd) yng nghylchgrawn o’r enw Akhbar al-Adab, yn 2014. Mae Naji wedi gwneud wyth mis o’i ddedfryd.
- Aslı Erdoğan (Twrci) – Nofelydd adnabyddus ac aelod o PEN, cafodd Aslı Erdoğan ei harestio yn ei thŷ yn Istanbul ar 17 Awst 2016. Cafodd ei hanfon at garchar yn Istanbul ar gyhuddiadau rhagarweiniol o “aelodaeth o sefydliad terfydgol” a “thanseilio undod cenedlaethol.” Mae hi wedi bod ar ei chyn-dreial ers iddi gael ei harestio, ac fel y bo ar 15 Tachwedd, nid yw dyddiad wedi cael ei drefnu am ei threial.
- Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa (Hondwras) – Raddedig yn Newyddiaduriaeth, arweinydd myfyrwyr, ac aelod ar fwrdd ac aelod sefydliadol PEN Hondwrad, mae Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa wedi wynebu erlyniad, bygythiadau ac aflonyddiaeth am ei ran mewn protestiadau myfyrwyr parhaol ym Mhrifysgol Ymreolaethol Cenedlaethol Hondwras (UNAH) ym mhrifddinas Hondwras, Tegucigalpa ers 2014.
- Dareen Tatour (Israel) –Mae Dareen Tatour, bardd a dinesydd Palesteinaidd Israel yn cael ei threialu ar gyhuddon “gefnogi sefydliad terfysgol” a nifer o achosion o dditiad i drais mewn cysylltiad â’i barddoniaeth a gweithgaredd ar rwydweithiau cymdeithasol. Cafodd Tatour ei chadw’n gaeth dros flwyddyn yn ôl ac ar hyn o bryd, mae hi’n gaeth i’w chartref..
- Gui Minhai (Tseina) – Ym mis Hydref 2015, diflanodd cyhoeddwr Gui Minhai o’i dŷ haf yng Ngwlad Thai. Tri mis yn ddiweddarach, ymddangosodd mewn ‘cyffesiad’ teledu ar deledu a reolir gan y wladwriaeth, yn dweud ei fod e wedi ildio’i hun yn wirfoddol i’w awdurdodau Tsieineaidd dros ei gyfranogiad tybiedig mewn achos taro a rhedeg farwol ym mis Rhagyr 2003. Ers hynny, mae ei leoliad wedi bod yn anhysbys; yn ôl pob sôn, nid oes ganddo fynediad at gyngor cyfreithiol neu gyswllt gyda’i ferch, sy’n byw yn y DU.
Fel rhan o ymgyrch PEN eleni, anfonodd llenorion adnabyddus Hanan Al-Shaykh, Margaret Atwood, Gioconda Belli, Jennifer Clement a Salil Tripathi negeseuon o undod i’r pump o lenorion hyn.
‘Fel chi, rydw i a nifer o bobl eraill yn teimlo bod llenyddiaeth yn gallu ysbrydoli’r hiraeth am gyfiawnder, creu goddefgarwch, ac ehangu cydymdeimlad a dealltwriaeth dyn. Er eich bod chi yn y carchar, nid ydych chi ar eich ben eich hunain: mae holl gymuned PEN o lenotion ledled y byd yn brwydro dros eich rhyddid.’ – rhan o lythyr gan Margaret Atwood at lenor Twrceg ac aelod PEN Asli Erdogan, sydd yn y carchar.
Am ragor o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â Sarah Perry, Rheolwr Ymgyrchoedd Byd-eang: sarah.perry@pen-international.org | ff. +44 (0)20 7405 0338 |Trydar: @pen_int | Facebook: www.facebook.com/peninternational
Can Dündar and Erdem Gül
GWELER ISOD AM Y GYMRAEG
‘In this country, the upright should be as brave as those engaged in corruption’ Part of Can Dündar’s first defence in court on the 17th of December 2015
Wales PEN Cymru urges its membership to send messages of support and solidarity to Can Dündar and Erdem Gül.
Can Dündar is a film-maker, author, poet, TV host and Editor-in-Chief of Turkey’s leading centre-left broadsheet ‘Cumhuriyet’. He has published over twenty books and is a member of PEN Turkey. His son, Ece Dündar is a member of PEN Turkey’s Executive Committee.
Can Dündar and Erdem Gül have been held in solitary confinement since their arrests in November. No visitors have been permitted. They are being held on charges of treason for carrying out their duties as journalists.
In November 2015 Can Dündar and his Ankara Editor Erdem Gül were arrested on charges of treason for reporting a story in 2011 in which their newspaper had discovered missiles being sent across the Turkey-Syrian border hidden under a layer of medical supplies in lorries belonging to MIT, the State Intelligence organisation.
Picture of Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar with the story in question. Headline: ‘Here are the weapons Erdoğan said did not exist’, ‘They were hidden underneath medical supplies’.
Messages may be in Welsh or English. Welsh messages will be translated into Turkish.
Send your letter or postcard to: Wales PEN Cymru, Cae Llo Brith, Llanystumdwy, Cricieth, Gwynedd. LL52 0LW.
or direct to the detention facility (English only):
Can Dündar – Erdem Gül
Silivri 9 No. lu Ceza İnfaz Kurumu
A-1 Blok. 5 No.lu Koğuş.
İstanbul
Turkey
Can Dündar: ‘There’s no need to get upset. This is like a medal of honour for us. Our struggle will continue within and without.’
Erdem Gül: ‘Because of a journalistic article I wrote I am being accused of matters ranging from spying to being a member of an (illegal) organisation and of divulging state secrets. The whole business will be finished when the judge passes his verdict.’
Excerpts from the New Year message of Zeynep Oral, President of Turkish PEN: 22 December 2015
Can Dündar and Erdem Gül have now been in solitary confinement for 27 days in Silivri Detention Facility due to their having carried out their journalistic responsibilities. No organisation, including PEN Turkey, has been granted permission to visit them. On the 30th of December 2015 it is our turn to take over the ‘Vigil of Hope’ outside the Detention Centre near Ankara which has been held by three organisations, PEN Turkey, The Turkish Writers’ Syndicate and the Artists’ Initiative.
This vigil is not only for Can and Erdem but for all writers and journalists in prison…
We continue the fight against the mindset that disregards human honour.
With love and respect,
Zeynep Oral – President of PEN Turkey
Can Dündar ac Erdem Gül
‘In this country, the upright should be as brave as those engaged in corruption’
Rhan o amddiffyniad cyntaf Can Dündar yn y llys ar 17 Rhagfyr, 2015
Mae Wales PEN Cymru yn erfyn ar aelodau i anfon negeseuon o gefnogaeth a chyd-gefnogaeth i Can Dündar ac Erdem Gül.
Gwneuthurwr ffilm, awdur, bardd a chyflwynydd teledu yw Can Dündar ac ef hefyd yw Prif Olygydd ‘Cumhuriyet’, papur canol-chwith blaenllaw yn Nhwrci. Cyhoeddodd dros ugain o lyfrau ac mae’n aelod o PEN Twrci. Mae ei fab, Ece Dündar, yn aelod o Bwyllgor Gweithredol PEN Twrci.
Carcharwyd Can Dündar ac Erdem Gül ar eu pennau eu hunain ers iddynt gael eu harestio ym mis Tachwedd. Ni chaniatawyd unrhyw ymwelwyr. Fe’u carcharwyd ar gyhuddiadau o frad am gyflawni eu dyletswyddau fel newyddiadurwyr.
Ym mis Tachwedd 2015 arestiwyd Can Dündar ac Erdem Gül, ei olygydd yn Ankara, ar gyhuddiadau o frad am gyhoeddi stori yn datgan fod eu papur wedi darganfod fod taflegrau yn cael eu hanfon dros y ffin rhwng Twrci a Syria, wedi’u cuddio o dan gyflenwadau meddygol mewn lorïau yn perthyn i MIT, sefydliad Cudd-ymchwil y Wladwriaeth.
Brif Olygydd Cumhuriyet Can Dündar ac Erdem Gül, ei olygydd yn Ankara (ar y chwith), pan gafon nhw eu arestio:
Gall negeseuon fod yn y Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Bydd negeseuon yn y Gymraeg yn cael eu cyfieithu i’r Dyrceg.
Anfonwch eich llythyr neu gerdyn post i: Wales PEN Cymru, Cae Llo Brith, Llanystumdwy, Cricieth, Gwynedd. LL52 0LW.
neu’n uniongyrchol at gyfleusterau’r carchar (Saesneg yn unig):
Can Dündar – Erdem Gül
Silivri 9 No. lu Ceza İnfaz Kurumu
A-1 Blok. 5 No.lu Koğuş.
İstanbul
Turkey
Can Dündar: ‘There’s no need to get upset. This is like a medal of honour for us. Our struggle will continue within and without.’
Erdem Gül: ‘Because of a journalistic article I wrote I am being accused of matters ranging from spying to being a member of an (illegal) organisation and of divulging state secrets. The whole business will be finished when the judge passes his verdict.’
Detholiad o neges Blwyddyn Newydd Zeynep Oral, Llywydd PEN Twrci:
22 Rhagfyr 2015
Erbyn hyn mae Can Dündar ac Erdem Gül wedi’u carcharu ar eu pennau eu hunain am 27 diwrnod yng Ngharchar Silivri oherwydd iddynt gyflawni eu cyfrifoldebau newyddiadurol. Ni chafodd yr un sefydliad, gan gynnwys PEN Twrci, ganiatâd i ymweld â nhw.Ar 30 Rhagfyr, 2015 ein tro ni yw cymryd trosodd yr ‘Wyliadwriaeth Gobaith’ a gynhelir gan aelodau PEN Twrci, Cynghrair Ysgrifenwyr Twrci a Menter yr Artistiaid y tu allan i’r c archar ger Ankara.Nid yn unig dros achos Can ac Erdem y mae’r wyliadwriaeth hon ond dros achos pob ysgrifenwr a newyddiadurwr a garcharwyd…
Parhawn yn ein brwydr yn erbyn meddylfryd sy’n anwybyddu parch dynol.
Gyda chariad a pharch,
Zeynep Oral
Llywydd PEN Twrci
Letter of thanks from Enoh Meyomesse to the assembly of delegates at the PEN International Congress, Québec
Dear Delegates,
Dear Colleagues,
I won’t keep you long, because what I have to say to you is short.
I would simply like to offer you my infinite gratitude for what you did for me, while I was in prison in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
I received hundreds of letters and postcards from you, which continued to rain down on me in prison, and even more now that I am no longer there.
The Prison Director found this greatly offensive, but, at the same time, his opinion of me immediately changed, as well as that of all the guards and all the other prisoners. Suddenly, I stopped being a criminal inmate who deserved his punishment, and instead became a V.I.P., not a “Very Important Person”, but in fact a ‘ *Very Important Prisoner*”, whose release was called for throughout the whole world.
What to say of the letters addressed to the Prime Minister of Cameroon and to the Minister of Justice, of which my lawyer brought me copies?
You’re probably not aware, but, let me tell you that, thanks to them, the Cameroonian Government arranged for my release to avoid being unpopular internationally, because national opinion, they do not care about, but international opinion, on the other hand, scares them greatly.
Dear Delegates,
Dear Colleagues,
In securing my release, you have at the same time demonstrated to the Cameroonians that a writer was not the useless being they thought, but indeed rather a personality whose existence and above all, well-being, is cared about throughout the world.
Thank you again, and best wishes to all.
Enoh Meyomesse.