espanolIfedinma Dimbo nacio en Nkwelle-Ezunaka, en la region Igbo-parlante del este de Nigeria. Estudio Sociologia y Antropologia en la Universidad de Nigeria Nsukka. Al licenciarse, viajo por primera vez a Irlanda en 1995 para obtener un Master en Sociologia del Desarrollo en University College Cork, y dio a luz a su primer hijo durante ese periodo en Irlanda. Regresaron a Nigeria en 1998, pero en 2002 la familia Dimbo decidio volver a Irlanda, pensando que al ser padres de un hijo nacido en Irlanda, tanto ella como su marido tendrian derechos de residencia. Sin embargo, una vez alli tuvo que vivir en primera persona el sistema irlandes de Direct Provision, mientras lidiaba una batalla legal contra el departamento de inmigracion durante tres anos. Fue durante su experiencia como solicitante de asilo cuando sintio la llamada de su vocacion literaria. Uno de sus relatos aparecio en la publicacion de 2008 titulada Takinga the Wise Man, un volumen publicado por SPIRASI. SPIRASI es una organizacion irlandesa fundada por la Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Congregacion del Espiritu Santo) que trabaja con solicitantes de asilo politico, refugiados y otros grupos migrantes desfavorecidos, con especial atencion a los supervivientes de tortura. En 2010, su relato corto “Grafton Street of Dublin” aparecio en la antologia titulada Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination que publico la organizacion Irish Writers Exchange. Esta antologia incluye diez relatos cortos que tienen en comun su tematica, centrada en la ciudad de Dublin, y el hecho de que sus escritores viven en Irlanda. Algunos de los autores son nacidos en Irlanda, como la aclamada escritora Nuala ni Chonchuir, mientras que otros nacieron en lugares tan diversos como Suecia, Alemania, Estados Unidos o, como en este caso, Nigeria. En su aportacion a esta antologia, Dimbo trata el tema de la carencia economica en el sistema de Direct Provision, con un paseo por una de las calles mas comerciales de Dublin, Grafton Street, visto a traves de los ojos de una solicitante de asilo politico que tiene que vivir con la prestacion institucional de 19.10 euros semanales. En 2012, Irish Writers Exchange publico su primera novela, She Was Foolish? La protagonista, llamada Gift, es de nuevo una mujer nigeriana que solicita asilo politico en Irlanda. No obstante, la mayor extension de la novela permite a la autora profundizar en el pasado de Gift. De este modo, se muestran los motivos que la conducen a su situacion actual como solicitante de asilo, entre los que se encuentra una pareja abusiva que la induce a la prostitucion en Italia, todo lo cual repercute negativamente en el bienestar emocional y psicologico de la protagonista. Ifedinma Dimbo vive actualmente en Dublin, donde trabaja e investiga para su doctorado en Sociologia Medica. La escritora nacida en Nigeria y residente en Irlanda tuvo la amabilidad de contestar a mis preguntas via correo electronico entre los meses de agosto y octubre de 2014, con unas ultimas aclaraciones en enero de 2015. La obra de Ifedinma Dimbo, asi como sus respuestas en esta entrevista, son un testimonio invaluable de una realidad actual de Irlanda que se ha visto habitualmente silenciada. Ahora que la sociedad irlandesa comienza a darse cuenta del trato injusto que reciben los solicitantes de asilo politico por parte del sistema irlandes, ha llegado el momento de que las personas que, como Ifedinma Dimbo, han hecho de Irlanda su hogar, tengan la oportunidad de hacer oir sus voces en el campo de los Estudios Irlandeses. En esta entrevista Ifedinma Dimbo expone sin tapujos sus ideas sobre la escritura, la inmigracion, la religion y la sociedad irlandesa. EnglishIfedinma Dimbo was born in Nkwelle-Ezunaka, in the Igbo-speaking region of eastern Nigeria. She studied Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. She first went to Ireland as a graduate student in 1995 to obtain an MA in Sociology of Development from University College Cork, and during that period in Ireland her son was born. They went back to Nigeria in 1998, but the Dimbo family decided to return to Ireland in 2002, thinking that being parents of an Irish-born child gave both Ifedinma and her husband residency rights. However, they had to experience the Irish Direct Provision system first-hand while theymaintained a legal battle with immigrationfor three years. It was during her experience as an asylum seeker that she had her literary calling. One of her stories appeared in the 2008 publication Takinga the Wise Man, a book published by SPIRASI, an Irish organization set up by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit that works with asylum seekers, refugees and other disadvantaged migrant groups, with special concern for survivors of torture. In 2010, her short story “Grafton Street of Dublin” appeared in the Irish Writers Exchange’s compilation titled Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination. This anthology includes ten short stories, the common factor ofwhich is that they revolve around the city of Dublin and they are written by writers who live in Ireland. Some of the authors are Irish-born, like the critically acclaimed writer Nuala ni Chonchuir, while others were born in places as diverse as Sweden, Germany, the US or, as in the present case, Nigeria. In her short story, Dimbo tackles the issue of deprivation while in Direct Provision, with a walk through one of the most commercial streets in Dublin, Grafton Street, as seen through the eyes of a Nigerian female asylum seeker who has to live on the institutionally granted allowance of 19.10 euros per week. In 2012, the Irish Writers Exchange published Ifedinma Dimbo’s first novel, She Was Foolish? Once again, the protagonist, named Gift, is a Nigerian woman who seeks asylum in Ireland. However, the length of the novel allows the author to delve in Gift’s past and how she got to her current situation as an asylum seeker, including an abusive partner who led her to become a prostitute in Italy, all of which takes its toll in the protagonist’s emotional and psychological well-being. Ifedinma Dimbo currently lives in Dublin, where she works and researches for her PhD in Medical Sociology. The Nigerian-born, Irish-based writer was kind enough to answer my questions via e-mail between the months of August and October 2014, with some final elaboration in January 2015. Ifedinma Dimbo’s writing, as well as her answers in this interview, are an invaluable testimony to a reality that is currently taking place in Ireland and has often been silenced. Now that Irish society is beginning to be aware of the unfair treatment that refugees and asylum seekers receive at the hands of the Irish system, it is high time to let people who, like Ifedinma Dimbo, have made Ireland their home, have their voices heard in the field of Irish Studies. In this interview, Ifedinma Dimbo very sharply shares her views on writing, immigration, religion and Irish society.