Alia Hogben, The Kingston Whig-Standard, February 21, 2024
Let me tell you a Canadian story that will warm the cockles of your heart. It is about the lives and times of Nurjehan Aziz and M.G. Vassanji, a couple of Indian and African heritage who left Africa and came to Canada 40 years ago.
Canada is fortunate that this couple chose to make it their new home, because of what they have done for their adopted country and for other Canadians.
This story is more remarkable because this couple has not only personally enhanced Canada but has also helped create a space for other diverse Canadian writers. Through the creation of Mawenzi House Publishing, Aziz and Vassanji have provided a forum, mindful that many writers they feature continue to face racism and discrimination.
Aziz and Vassanji were born and raised in East Africa. In his powerful memoir, And Home was Kariakoo, Vassanji describes his strong emotional attachment to the places of Africa. Vassanji quotes Aime Cesaire, the Martinician poet and politician, “I should come back to this land of mine and say to it: ‘embrace me without fear.’ … If all I can do is speak, at least I shall speak for you.”
Read full article at The Kingston Whig-Standard
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