Sally Rooney has been advised she “can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest” due to her support for the British group Palestine Action.
The Irish author has been donating money to the group, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government in July, after activists broke into an RAF base and damaged two military aircraft earlier this year.
Despite the ban on the group, Sally has emphasised that she would continue to be a supporter.
Following her win at the Sky Arts Award for Literature on Tuesday, the Co. Mayo writer reaffirmed her “solidarity with the people of Palestine” through a message delivered by her editor during the London ceremony.
“I have a few very simple words from her, which she asked me to share,” said Faber’s Alex Bowler.
“I’m so touched and grateful to receive this prize. I truly loved writing Intermezzo, and it means the world to me to think that it has found some small place in the lives of its readers. Thank you.
“I wish that I could be with you this evening to accept the honour in person, but because of my support for non-violent anti-war protest, I’m advised that I can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest,” she explained.
“In that context, I want to thank you all the more warmly for honouring my work tonight and to reiterate my belief in the dignity and beauty of all human life, and my solidarity with the people of Palestine. Thank you.”
Sally has been very open about her support for Palestine as well as Palestine Action, writing in The Times: “If this makes me a supporter of terror under UK law, so be it”.
PA reports that Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the ambassador of the state of Palestine in Ireland, said: “Sally Rooney is using her voice to call out international law and human rights violations in Palestine.
“I hope these calls result in practical actions that will stop the horrors we’re witnessing carried out by Israel in Palestine; to stop the genocide and forced displacement and end the Israeli occupation.”
