On Monday 28 November, author of The Lightless Sky Gulwali Passarlay visited Shiplake College, giving an inspirational talk to staff and pupils about his journey from war-torn Afghanistan to safety in Britain. Shiplake’s own theatre company, the Scruffy Penguin Theatre Company, created an original piece of drama based on Gulwali’s autobiographical book, The Lightless Sky. Lightless was taken to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival during August, and had incredible responses from audience members. Following the talk, Gulwali stayed at the College to watch Lightless.
Gulwali’s heart-wrenching book tells of the perilous journey he took as a young boy. Being sent away from home with his brother, Gulwali travelled to the UK to find refuge. Gulwali told a packed Lecture Theatre of his journey growing up. Starting with childhood, Gulwali painted an idealistic picture of being raised in the mountains of Afghanistan, spending time outside with the family’s goats and sheep. He told the pupils of how he spent a lot of time with his grandparents growing up, being taught the rich history of his country and learning manners and etiquette. The audience learnt of how Gulwali’s father was a doctor and his mother was a midwife. When the Taliban and American forces began fighting in and around the area, it was expected of Gulwali’s father that he would treat the wounded from both sides. His talk was comic in places and the audience hung on his every word, moved by the rollercoaster of emotions. Stories of trips with his mother to see women give birth struck a particular cord with Gulwali and shaped his attitude to women; Gulwali spoke with respect and admiration about the women important to him. Opening up about his grandmother’s death, he commented: ‘I am so grateful for all that I have here…opportunities, education, peace, stability and security – but one of the biggest sacrifices I’ve made is family and events that happen only once in life. I couldn’t have saved her, even if I had been there, but I wish I could have held her hands and told her that she inspires me – she is the woman that inspires me.’
From a peaceful childhood, Gulwali’s life came shattering down around him. As the war between the Taliban and the American forces raged around him and his young brother, his family arranged a passage to Britain, and to safety. He recalls his mother saying: ‘no matter how bad it gets, don’t come back.’ Gulwali spoke candidly about his journey, being separated from his brother, meeting other migrants, leaping from trains and learning to trust strangers. As he puts it: ‘I had to trust strangers; I was in the hands and at the mercy of smugglers and traffickers.’ It is difficult to believe that as a boy Gulwali undertook such a perilous journey; his story is heart-breaking and brave, and the audience were enthralled listening to him.
Upon arrival in Britain, it was by no means plain-sailing from there. Gulwali told the audience of how ‘social services saw me as a suspect – as a criminal.’ It was at this stage, he said, that he lost hope. After all the trials of the journey to safety, to land in what felt like an inhospitable environment was heart-breaking. However, Gulwali – who is now 24 and has just graduated from Manchester University – told of how they were people looking out for him, who got him into education and helped him become the person he is today.
Following the talk, a performance of the original script, Lightless, was put on by the Shiplake Drama Department. A nerve-racking moment for the Shiplake thespians, but they performed admirably and boldly, tackling the poignant subject matter with emotional maturity. Gulwali’s reaction to the play spoke of how thoughtful and sophisticated the adaptation was: ‘I don’t know where to start. You guys were amazing tonight…really impressive and admirable. I had an absolutely heart-touching and amazing evening watching the play. Truly awesome. Well done to everyone.’