It was wonderful to meet the brilliant and talented crew of Radio Redmond and Roet in Het Eten. I read from Dancing in the Shadow of the Once from the Bloodchildren Anthology. Here’s a link to the reading and the interview. The reading starts a little bit after 18 minutes. The rest of the broadcast is in Dutch. In short, we talk about the Octavia Butler Scholarship Fund, the need for diversity in the field of SFF and the themes that appear not only in Dancing in the Shadow of the Once but also in my other work.

After that first hour, another guest came on the show. Coring de Los Reyes. We discussed the state of undocumented migrant workers in the Netherlands and why it’s important for the Dutch government to ratify ILO Convention-189. Ratifying the convention will grant protection to the undocumented migrant workers and ensure protection for them.

Considering how progressive Dutch government and society claim to be, it will be interesting to see whether they live up to their reputation of being forward-thinking and humanitarian. I say, the Dutch government should recognize the contribution of these migrant workers and offer them the protection and the recognition they deserve.

(From L-R: Hodan Warsame, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz and Coring de Los Reyes. Photo via @roetinheteten )

(Also posted on http://rcloenen-ruiz.livejournal.com)