Wole Adedoyin interviews Jen Ross

WA: Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your literary journey?
Jen Ross Laguna: My name is Jen Ross Laguna and I’m a Chilean-Canadian journalist and writer. I’ve been writing poetry and fiction since elementary school but it took a sideline when I started working. I reconnected with my writing 10 years ago when I took a year-long leave of absence from my work and moved to my husband’s country, Aruba. It’s the perfect place to relax, disconnect and reconnect within. 

WA: What first inspired you to become a writer or artist in your country?
Jen Ross Laguna: A love of reading and art was my first inspiration. I started writing illustrated children’s stories when I was a child, which my teachers loved. But It took two different teachers in high school telling me I should write professionally for me to imagine I could do it as a career.

WA: How would you describe the relationship between literature and society in your country today?
Jen Ross Laguna: I’m still living in Aruba, a Caribbean island, and am part of a vibrant, multigenerational and multicultural poetry community that meets monthly, called Basha Foundation. Literature is less loved by young people these days, I’m afraid, but we still get through to many.

WA: In your view, how can writers and artists help promote respect for human rights in their communities?
Jen Ross Laguna: Raising awareness is best done through literature and the arts because it is a genuine reflection of realities and can get through to people in a way that is not preachy or propagandist. 

WA: Are there particular human rights concerns in your country that often appear in literary or artistic works?
Jen Ross Laguna: I technically have three countries, so let’s go one by one. Canada, my birth country, has long had a legacy of disrespecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and there is still an epidemic of missing and murdered women and girls. I lost an Indigenous friend from high school that way and wrote about that recently in an unpublished creative nonfiction piece. Chile, my mother’s country and my second home and nationality, has faced many human rights issues over the years, related to the abuses during the dictatorship and social justice, many forms of discrimination and social inequality. Despite being one of Latin America’s best-off economies, the division of wealth is extremely unequal. Women’s rights are also still sadly far behind. And Aruba is doing well on many fronts but undocumented immigrants, especially from Venezuela and Latin America, face particular challenges and discrimination, although that is changing with recent measures such as a blanket amnesty allowing most to become documented. 

WA: How free are writers and artists in your country to express their opinions on political or social issues?
Jen Ross Laguna: Very free, in Aruba. Of course on a small island, identifying oneself with one political party or persuasion can close many doors, so that has an indirect silencing effect for some. 

WA: What role does storytelling play in documenting the struggles and resilience of people in your society?

An important one, in Canada and Chile in particular. Perhaps less so in Aruba only because it has had fewer struggles, comparatively.

WA: Can you discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by writers trying to publish their work in your country?
Jen Ross Laguna: We have foundations such as the poetry group I mentioned earlier, and several cultural fonds and grants available in Aruba. However, one missing piece is that schools here are weak on teaching any art or creative writing, limiting themselves to studying literature but not producing it.

WA: How important are local languages and indigenous cultures in shaping contemporary literature in your country?
Jen Ross Laguna: Extremely. The local language in Aruba is Papiamento, an Antillean Creole with only 300,000 estimated speakers around the world, making it an at-risk language. At our monthly poetry group events, many poems are in Papiamento, some in English, Dutch and Spanish too. Local funds and competitions prioritize works in Papiamento.

WA: Do you think the younger generation of writers in your country is paying enough attention to human rights themes? Why or why not?
Jen Ross Laguna: No, sadly. I think social media is partly to blame, as it’s quite addictive and superficial and is making this generation paradoxically more self-centred despite having access to more information about human rights than ever. 

WA: How has digital technology and social media influenced writing and publishing in your country?
Jen Ross Laguna: Not sure.

WA: What advice would you give to writers who want to address human rights issues through poetry, fiction, or essays?
Jen Ross Laguna: Just do it. Write about what moves you. Write about what you think people should care about. Even if you can’t publish in your own country, there are many international venues available. 

WA: Can you share a moment in your career when writing or art helped raise awareness about a social or human rights issue?
Jen Ross Laguna: Most of my fiction and poetry in recent years has been focused on gender, social and human rights issues. I’ve published short stories about child marriage in Egypt; human trafficking in Brazil; corrective rape in South Africa; child soldiers in Colombia; female foeticide in India; women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work in Panama; and the challenges faced by girls with disabilities in Czechia. It’s sometimes hard to know where the awareness lands or where it has a resonance or domino effect into action and advocacy, but my hope is that each of these pieces has had that result. My poetry had also focused on themes of discrimination and social justice. 

WA: How did you first learn about the International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM)?
Jen Ross Laguna: I saw a call for submissions to an IHRAM short story contest several years ago and have followed it since.

WA: What motivated you to participate in activities or initiatives organized by IHRAM?
Jen Ross Laguna: I share the deep concern for human rights and advocacy through storytelling. Besides my poetry and fiction I have also worked as a nonfiction writer and editor for the United Nations for many years. It’s extremely important for me to raise awareness and contribute to bringing about positive and transformational change.

WA: What impact do you think organizations like IHRAM have on promoting human rights through art and literature globally?
Jen Ross Laguna: Organizations like IHRAM have an important impact on promoting human rights. We need to reach people in ways that interest and excite them and art and literature are a key method and way ‘in’.

WA: What message would you like to share with writers around the world who believe in using art as a tool for justice and human rights?
Jen Ross Laguna: There is power in your pen and your paintbrush. Wield it for the good of humanity. We need stories that expose and uplift, in these challenging times more than ever.