Brought to you by Liverpool Irish Festival
Friday 22 October 2021, 6pm – 7.30pm
Online
Free. Pre-booking essential
During 1945-6, hundreds of Liverpool’s Chinese seamen were ’rounded-up’ and forcibly deported to China, Singapore or other locations. Official evidence has been hard to locate, with documents strewn across the world, often deliberately hidden from view, making the story difficult to confirm. Prior to their forced ‘repatriation’, many of these men met and married English and Irish women, creating Chinese-English and Chinese-Irish communities. A legacy that continues today.
What of those left behind? Of the men severed from their families and homes? Where did they end up and how did it affect the communities involved?
In 2014, The Sound Agents undertook interviews with remaining members of the community. From verbatim accounts of lived-experience of the trauma and aftershock, they crafted an incredible play, which was shown at Unity. This year, as MP Kim Johnson asked the Government’s Home Office for official recognition and an apology for this “shameful stain on our history”, The Liverpool Irish Festival resurrects the piece using the original players – Tina Malone and Simon Wan – to create an online version of the piece, available for international viewing from China, Singapore as well as homes locally.
In the spirit of alliance and anti-racism, The Liverpool Irish Festival stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Chinese community of Liverpool – their siblings – in requesting redress for this wrong.
This event is brought to you in partnership with The Sound Agents.
More information: www.liverpoolirishfestival.com
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Image Credit: (c)Curious Disappearance of Mr Foo courtesy of Judy Kinnon
