Visiting Scholar Begins a Second Year with UNO

Sharmila Seyyid, a Sri Lankan journalist, poet, and writer under threat of persecution and violence in her home country, has begun her second year as a Visiting Faculty Fellow at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Seyyid came to UNO for her first year after receiving a prestigious Institute for International Education’s Artist Protection Fund Fellowship (IIE-APF) and placed in residence with UNO’s Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and UNO’s Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy (Fried Academy). Prior to UNO, she was in exile in India, Thailand, and Turkey. Her second year is funded by UNO’s College of Arts and Sciences, including the GCHR, Fried Academy, and the Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights.

According to Curtis Hutt, Ph.D., Executive Director of the GCHR, Sharmila is hopefully only the first in a long line of threatened artists and scholars to be hosted by UNO.

“Sharmila is not only an amazing person and an award-winning international author but sheltering her is also an example of what UNO can — in conjunction with groups like the IIE and Scholars at Risk — do as an institution for our colleagues around the world,” Hutt says.

Executive Director of the Fried Academy Mark Celinscak, Ph.D., applauds her work here in Omaha.

“Since arriving at UNO, Sharmila has been active both on campus and in the community. Her work in defense of the rights of women and children is both urgent and vital,” Celinscak says.

Seyyid’s first year at UNO brought many successes, including reuniting with her children and husband in Omaha, publishing four books in her native language Tamil, and quickly learning more about American culture and English. She spoke at several events about the politics in Sri Lanka. She hosted a book club for UNO’s English department, which has worked to integrate her novel and experiences in the classroom. Also, with a focus on trauma and healing, she piloted a bibliotherapy work for the Omaha community at KANEKO over the summer.

“During the first year, I realized a how much safe environment can be a catalyst for an artists’ performance.” Seyyid continues, “It allowed me to focus my attention in many ways, be it writing or activism. I had the opportunity to concentrate not only on connecting myself with the Omaha community, but also staying connected to my home country.”

Her second year is expected to follow suit, with two of her new publications scheduled to be released in English, development of literary therapy workshops, continuing her international work, and exploring pathways to a safe environment for writing and human rights activism.

Seyyid is optimistic about her second year and beyond, “I feel so energized, like I’m in my superpower active mode. I’m proud of the woman I’m becoming. I’m evolving!”

To learn more about Seyyid’s literary work and activism, her exhibition “Entangled Memories of Violence: Rise and Heal” can be seen at UNO Criss Library, on the main level, through December 10, 2022.