Festival director hits out at Home Office as Moroccan storyteller denied visa for Wigtown Book Festival

Adrian Turpin, director of the lauded festival, has called on David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, and Alister Jack MP, to intervene in in the case and help the "utterly dedicated" writer attend the event.

Mr El Ghaly's visa refusal is the latest in a series of visa issues experienced by artists attempting to travel to Scotland: this year's Festival season in Edinburgh saw several artists, of all kinds, stopped from entering the country.

Mr Turpin said: "We are calling on the region's MPs and MSPs to make representations to the Home Office, whose decision mars the country's reputation for intellectual openness and exchange."

He added: "It is disappointing and frustrating that a respected young storyteller involved in a long-running arts project designed to bring peoples together should be denied a visa to attend an international festival.

“Wigtown Book Festival involves writers, journalists, academics, artists and visitors from all over the world and is an award-winning showcase for Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and the whole of the UK."

Mr El Ghaly said: "I received a letter by email that stated the reason was that I didn't show evidence that I will go back to my home country Morocco once the festival would finish, therefore the Home Office wasn't satisfied with my application.

"I would assure everyone that I would go back."

He said that he applied for a visa in 2015, so that he could take part in the Scottish International Storytelling Festival as well, and added: "It was declined as well, which was sad and it prevented me from sharing what I had worked on for over a year.

"I will apply again for sure because my art knows no boundaries and it's storytelling which has travelled and it's meant to keep that tradition strong for the years to come."

Aalong with photographer Houssain Belabbes from Morocco, he has been working with Scottish counterparts Anne Errington and Laura Hudson Mackay on a project called Confluence exploring and comparing storytelling traditions from the two countries.

They have been awarded a residency at the Wigtown Book Festival where they were due to tell stories, many illustrated by photography, from Morocco and work with visitors to the festival to gather or create new tales.

The project was planned as an exchange, the second part of which would see the Scots welcomed to Morocco.

Ms Mackay said: "The project is about humanity and exploring storytelling traditions of what on the surface appears to be very culturally different, Celtic and Arabian.

“Mehdi is utterly dedicated to his country and its culture, a social entrepreneur running projects to teach Morocco’s ancient stories to a new generation and to preserve their centuries old traditions of public storytelling.

“To deny a gifted, enthusiastic young man who wants to share his storytelling talent and culture with us in Scotland is shortsighted and negative.

“To deny him the opportunity to be part of the Confluence event at Wigtown Book Festival is a shame, but we very much look forward to October when our next Confluence event takes place in Marrakech, Morocco, where Mehdi lives.”

The Moroccan added: “Whenever there was a storyteller in the square in Marrakech you’d find me there.

"And I as grew the passion for storytelling grew in me. So, I said to myself, ‘Why not become a storyteller?’ I want to share the art that changed my own life."

Confluence will go ahead the Wigtown Book Festival which runs from 22 September to 1 October.

Joyce Woodcock, interim director, of the Upland Arts Agency which is funding Confluence and collaborates with Wigtown Book Festival on an annual residency, said: “It is deeply unfortunate that a young man taking part in a project intended to bring people together is being prevented from coming to the festival – especially at a time of such international tensions when there is a greater need than ever to build bridges between countries and cultures.

“It is a tribute to the other people involved in Confluence that they are determined to continue with their work and make it a success.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance.

“Applicants for visit visas must provide evidence of their financial circumstances and how they intend to support themselves during their trip, where they fail to do so their applications will be refused.”

ANALYSIS:

IT was noticeable during this year’s Edinburgh Festival season that the Home Office was rejecting a large number of visas for travelling artists of all kinds.

The case at this year’s Wigtown Book Festival, therefore, follows a trend which has concerned senior arts figures across the country.

In particular in 2017, a showcase of Arab artists at the Fringe was beset with visa issues. The Edinburgh International Book Festival was also affected, as was the Edinburgh International Festival. The visa refusals - which tend to revolve around officials seeming to believe artists will not return home after performing in the UK - have now become commonplace. Festival directors expressed frustration and concern at the refusals.

The Home Office has a policy of not commenting on visa refusals or details. However, the reasons for refusal often come from the artists themselves.

At the Edinburgh Book Festival, the Iranian artist Ehsan Abdollahi was initially refused a Visa. The apparent reasons given were that he was single, and he had too much money in his bank account. According to the words attached to the refusal, they were not satisfied there was enough evidence that it was “genuinely” the artists money. Mr Abdollahi was subsequently given a Visa, but noted: “Since when being a single person has become a crime?”. The director of the book festival, Nick Barley, campaigned for the visa decision to be overturned, and noted that it was three years in a row that an Iranian has been denied a visa for the festival. He said: “Honestly, in what way is this book a threat to British security … How can we combat stereotypes and reduce prejudice in UK if author visas are denied?”

At the Fringe, the visa issue was a major issue: nearly a quarter of the visas for performers and organisers at the Arab showcase, Arab Arts Focus, were refused more than once.

The works in the showcase ranged from plays by Syrian and Iraqi playwrights to contemporary dance from Egypt and Palestine, to children’s theatre from Lebanon. In the list of visa refusals, performers from Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Sudan were affected.

Despite backing from the Fringe Society, numerous Edinburgh venues and the British Council, they were refused. Sara Shaarawi, the Egyptian playwright, and organiser of the event, said at the time: “We never thought the issues with visas would be this bad. It’s a continuous nightmare and it has cost us a lot of money, and hours and energy...I don’t think people realise how difficult it is for Arab performers to present their work here.”

At the Festival, a Syrian band were denied entry to the country, leading to an event’s cancellation. Basalt, a trio based in Vienna, were due to perform with the Eurovision Song Contest winning singer, Conchita Wurst, for the New European Songbook events. The performance, in the end, had to be cancelled. As Fergus Linehan, the director of the festival noted, the visa refusal was ironic given the whole event’s theme was to to show the value of migration, and how immigration enriches and broadens culture.