Ellen van Neerven talks with writer and spoken word poet Hani Abdile. Hani fled the civil war in Somalia at 16, forced to leave her family behind. She made her way to Australian waters by boat and was detained on Christmas Island. Hani is author of 'I Will Rise', an honorary member of PEN International, and a lead writer for Writing Through Fences. She currently lives in Sydney.

Hani discusses her new poem, 'Sadness and the Sea', and Ellen shares her new poem 'Access Denied', both of which address themes of survival, human rights, community and resilience.

To read the poems in full, visit www.uqp.com.au.

CREDITS:

Host: Ellen van Neerven

Producer: Sally Wilson

Audio production: Anthony Frangi