After finding a job in the UK, me and my family had to start the search for a house during quarantine. We knew nothing about how to find reasonable rent or how to travel from home to work.
Harbour is a Merseyside magazine produced by people with English as a second language. Our aim is a fresh view of the region. A platform. A place not to be judged. A harbour.
Enjoy the articles and please be in touch if you want to be involved in the future. Harbour is striving for as much diversity as possible and understands it is nowhere near this yet.
Stupid Men
Her story started with a young girl leaving home during the India partition. She travelled to the UK as a young woman to learn further about medical practice, then returned to share this information with those in her profession in Pakistan. Her knowledge grew and she...
A Place to Bond: Tony Luna and the Music for Hope Project
Tony’s story starts with a war. In the 80s, when he was just a kid, his native El Salvador was being torn apart by civil war. Families were separated, communities destroyed. People forced to move to different countries to protect themselves and their loved ones.
The Frontline – Royal Liverpool 2020
I am in a place far from home, far from my loved ones. Far from the comfort of familiar things I find refuge in. But the pen in my hand knows what I am trying to convey.
Made of Stars
Asylum and its secrets engulf our social and official discourse, especially the media. But is there anyone diving into the depths to discover the stories and experiences of refugees from the inside. To share their daily lives after they reach what is believed to be a safe haven. The film project which bears the name of Made Of Stars strained to open this sealed box
Commitment to Diversity: La Feria Festival Liverpool
I saw the advertisement everywhere (good shot!) and then, last minute, I got a call “could you review an event, it is this evening, in a few hours.” I was already planning to go but time flies and you try to keep up with all the commitments and forget what you wanted...
Then came the Questions
I was born in Hungary, in a small town hidden in the mountains. Socialism was still in full swing.
Loss
“Establish rapport”, the words I would always hear from my instructors way back when I was just a student nurse. The words that echo in my mind and in my heart every time I see my patients.
A Bet You Cannot Lose
Out of my twenty-six years of life, I have lived twenty- four years in Italy, and the last two in Liverpool. It has been a total, radical shift that completely revolutionised my way of living, of relating to people, and most of all, talking
“A different language gives a different view of life” – Federico Fellini
I fell in love with Italy when I visited Rome 20 years ago. I only understood a few words of Italian at that time but wanted to learn. When I came home, I tried learning for pleasure, with limited success, but continued exploring the country, learning a few more words each time.
Behind The Menu
Christmas means one thing to me: my grandma’s homemade “caplèt”, a type of stuffed fresh pasta typical of Emilia-Romagna. She never got tired of making them. We never got tired of eating them. It was a beautifully equal exchange.
We Are a Glitch
I already witnessed the glitch on my journey to the exhibition. This is a concept that is beyond the common limits dictated by the definition of “culture” and “identity”. It’s one step ahead. The step you take in Bold Street, and you can pop from India to Italy, from England to East Asia just by walking.
My Grandmother’s Melody
I started playing piano when I was three. At five, I started with the guzheng. Coming back from kindergarten, I first washed my hands, then spent an hour practicing piano and an hour on guzheng. Practice doubled during weekends
Patient Loss
I had been allocated to 5 different patients. One patient was a 13 years old young girl. She was admitted with an infection onthe back side of her ear lobes. Doctors tried to find the exact causes.
Jacob Viera’s Story
It was 2009, I was a few months from a trial with Newcastle United in the UK. And in a hospital bed in Kenya, the victim of electrocution, fearing for my life.
Closed Borders, Closed Doors – Ambrose Musiyiwa
Before Black Lives Matter, it seemed as if Britain did not have the language to talk about race and racism. Now Britain looks like it is talking about this in ways it has not done before.
My Letters to Liverpool
I was living in Madrid in 2015, working as a designer in a company. I felt I needed a change and was really keen to learn English. As my boyfriend had moved to Liverpool a year before I decided to join him for a few months.
Strength and Justice
An interview by Megha G with Dr. Tanaji Jadhav of Tiger Group. Tanaji has won many honours, including Dada Saheb Phalke award and Nelson Mandela Peace Award, for work providing support to many women seeking refuge from domestic violence
News From Nowhere
I read extensively in my first language for personal and professional reasons. In the summer of 2019, I noticed that the selection of Italian novels translated into English was not broad.
Do It Or Die
I was crossing the French border to go on holiday, and I saw two white sheets on the street. Later, I found out that these were two migrants hit and killed.
We don’t need no education…or do we just need a different (higher) education?
Jane Austen, school uniforms, London with all it has to offer, even the packed sandwiches you can buy at Tesco’s, but most definitely and more than anything, the language itself…
We Must Keep Walking – So Long, Sir Ken Robinson
I wonder how much of what I read in the papers from the start of the pandemic I actually took in. Don’t get me wrong, I checked, I read, I kind of processed, but nothing meant much.
Fear is not Faith
The struggle for awareness on honour-based abuse and harmful practices. An interview with Afrah Qassim from Savera UK
Breaking Boundaries: Rowena Gander’s Woman | Women
This physical and comedic performance by Rowena Gander captured the contradictions and nuances of lesbian relationships with an honesty that was deeply moving yet refreshingly humorous.