Understanding refugees - understanding humanity 

I suppose the first thing to ask is where did the long-term inspiration for this project come from?

I approached ECRE when I when I saw the project was being launched as an idea, so I started back in February 2006 and have been working with them since then. They were quite brave taking me on because they had no experience of working with an artist, but I see myself almost as a ‘war artist’ - going into certain situations, meeting people, reading their stories and responding to it. It’s taken a long time to paint these pieces. For the future, the work will move on. It will possibly move to London and Scotland, so there are possibilities coming up for exhibitions in the future.

As a war artist, then, do you think it’s important to become emotionally involved? How connected did you become to the stories that you have listened to and now portrayed?

They made me cry. You can’t become detached from such stories. You can’t help but step into their shoes - they made these stories so human. And I think that’s the whole point - I tried to get some of that across in my work, the feeling that, basically, it could be you or me in the same situation, it could be anyone.

Would you say that your exhibition is a counterpoint to people’s well-documented prejudices against refugees?

It raises some of these questions, I hope. I hope, also, that it reaches deep inside those people who are thinking racist thoughts without realising it. They have to get on with their everyday lives, and they have this idea of what is to be a refugee, even though they may not have never met one or read any stories. I just hope it raises some questions and makes people stop and think.

The exhibition is in Brussels until December - if you take into account the political interest in this, how will you measure your success afterwards? For you, is it simply a question of drawing attention to the refugee issue or are your aims also more political? 

Drawing attention to the issue is the number-one prority, maybe making people realise there is another side to the story, to make people realise these are real people we’re talking about who need help. A lot of my work is quite political, these statements are quite political in the sense that they talk about how the system is not working. And it needs to be re-addressed. It’s no good when you see all the people all over Europe seeking asylum. I was shocked because I just thought it would just be Malta or other places which get so much attention, but actually some of the stories coming out of the UK and Belgium were just as horrific. That truly shocked me.

Playing devil’s advocate, is it not fair to say that there is normally some truth in the stereotype, that people don’t have prejudices for no reason, even though they are often based on fear or ignorance. But, and without wishing to appear racist, there are obviously refugees who have travelled illegally and those that abuse the systems of their ‘host’ countries. How would you react to that?

I truly believe that if I wanted to change my life for the better, for my children and my husband and if we were not coping, I would move. I know that there are some people who come to Europe and they lie, but that’s because they want to be part of the system and want to have the benefits that each country has. I actually totally understand that; it may not be the way-forward politically, but I too am an economic refugee in the sense that I came here from the UK. We didn’t have the jobs there, but we have them here, and we have a much better lifestyle. I was happy to move here and take up any job that was offered. We’re lucky that we’re white and European and that we have those opportunities open to us, so I understand why people would do anything to move.

So what you’re talking about is not merely a question of understanding refugees, but also of understanding humanity – human nature?

And why human beings move across the planet - it’s because they need to. A lot of people would stay at home if they could.

How many refugees have you spoken to, to put the exhibition together?

Mostly, I’ve been reading and I’ve read maybe 80 interviews, which are three-hour transcripts. I’ve done a lot of that kind of work. I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve worked with refugees and I’ve talked to actual refugees. I also talked to a lot of homeless people in churches, etc. around Brussels - that was fine, but talking to actual refugees is a little bit harder because getting into detention centres was impossible, the people are very closed, they do not allow press or anyone to get in, not even artists! I talked a lot with refugee services which do a lot of work over here. So, most of my research comes from reading stories from people who were seeking asylum, and the other half was be from illegal immigrants who I met. That was quite daunting, because, I thought, why would they want to talk to me?

Were most willing to talk to you, in fact?

Absolutely, but I was like - why would you want to tell me your story? They’re here trying to make a life for themselves, but they are constantly forced to tell their story again and again. I don’t like it but it’s something you have to do. But some of the stories are so personal and so affecting, especially those stories which I’ve read, they’re an incredible testament to the spirit and generosity of the refugees, being as willing as they are to open themselves up to such an extent… 

I wouldn’t want to tell anyone about my private life…

Nor me! Especially not the horrors! It’s very generous of refugees and asylum-seekers to do that.

The ECRE exhibition ‘Refugee Stories’ is hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee and runs until 15 December 2006 at 74 rue de Trèves in Brussels. It is available by appointment only. To arrange a visit, contact Alice Kennedy at  akennedy@ecre.be .