I was awarded Sweden's Pen Holder Prize for 2016, today. The prize was established since the late 80s & is annually awarded for female freelance journalists to support their work & dedication. If I'm not mistaken, I'm one of the first brown women given the award in Sweden, which not only makes me proud but also makes me love Sweden more. My Sweden sees a difference to be an advantage. And, more importantly, my Sweden believes in women's power.
Such recognition for my small & absolutely imperfect work, makes me wanna work harder & harder to continue echoing the voice of my people in Yemen. It's been 5 years for me in Sweden & I've always been thinking on how to dedicate my time & energy for my people, despite the distance (till the time comes when I work from Yemen).
Working with human rights issues is a tough work. You know that things might not get better. And they don't. They go backward, often. Still, what gets me jumping out of my bed every morning is: the love of my life, that's writing.
What would I have done without you, writing? Don't know..
Anyways, tack Sverige!
