With our much anticipated PUSH Festival 2017 opening here at HOME this Saturday, our friends at The Skinny have interviewed poet Louise Wallwein. Here she recalls volunteering with Kos Solidarity in Greece, providing food, water and support for refugees – experiences which have informed a new dramatic work exploring the urgency of this global crisis. Read a excerpt of the interview below…
The child, Aylan, he was heading to Kos when he drowned with his mother and brother. When I read that, I went cold; he was heading to an island I know very well.
Life started to turn around for me when I became one of the 1% of care leavers to get a degree. At Salford University I met this very kind and cool bunch of international students from all over the world: Angola, Portugal, Greece. I became good friends with my pal George Frouzakis who had to go back to his island, Kos, and do his national service. I went to see him and was welcomed by his wonderful family. People from Kos are very kind, they share their food and take you in. This meant the world to me, with no family of my own.
When this crisis hit them – these waves of people seeking peace and security – the people of Kos and the Greek Islands were left to deal with the situation on their own. So I got in touch with George, he told me about Kos Solidarity and I hopped on a plane as soon as I could.
Read the full interview here. To find out more about our PUSH 2017 events and to book tickets, click here.
