Speakers :
Tobiloba Afolayan, Nigeria
Sufian Massalema, Czech Republic
Azadeh Parsapour, Iran/UK (Nogaam)
Moderated by Hani Altafah, Syria/Turkey (Marfaa for Culture and Publishing)
Tobiloba Afolayan : “Exile has affected my identity positively. I love myself more, and I’m living what I love. I’m living the kind of life I want.”
Sufian Massalema : “I am one of the organizers of a festival of Arabic culture in the Czech Republic because I realized I am living in a privileged country. It is not hard for me to publish books or be active culturally [...] but it’s harder for people who are living in countries like Egypt or Syria. [...] It makes sense for me to use my privilege to help authors publish their books from those less privileged countries or countries that are under some sort of repressive regime.”
Azadeh Parsapour : “As exile publishers, we can be useful and essential in preserving the culture, the heritage, the language, and the narratives because [...] we need to do advocacy publishing.”
Zainab Akhlaqi : “Writing is actually connecting me to my roots, I think of it as a bridge that connects me to my roots and to my country.”
This panel discussion took place during the 2026 edition of the Babelica Book Fair.