Hanif Youssef

Hanif Youssef was born in Syria in a Kurdish family. In 1983, then a 21- year old poet and journalist he was arrested and sent to prison because of his political activism. He was to spend four years there. He never stopped writing. His poems written there, first memorized during months of solitary confinement and then, at great personal risk, secretly written down in the margin of a book, were eventually smuggled out of prison. These poems still await publishing. After his release, Hanif had to wait another six years for the opportunity to flee his home country. He can never go back. With the help of Amnesty International Hanif got asylum in the Netherlands, now his new home. He has published bundles in Arabic, Kurdish and now also in Dutch.