➣On 21 November 2025, for our Day of the Young Imprisoned Writer campaign, young members of PEN Nigeria's Young Writers Committee gathered for an evening of solidarity, organised by Halima Abdulazeez.
➣Young writers read Furkan's short stories from prison before reading the moving poems they wrote in support of Furkan Karabay, the 29 year old journalist and writer currently imprisoned in solitary confinement in Turkey.
➣ It was an inspiring demonstration of how heartfelt solidarity travels across borders from Nigeria to a cell in Istanbul. An example peers elsewhere can follow, connecting over lending their voices to those at risk.
➣Furkan Karabay responded from Silivri Prison:
PEN Nigeria’s solidarity event, the poems and words of friends there, gave me feelings and a gratefulness that I can’t describe. It gave me strength and hope, thank you so much for all the support.
How lucky I am if I had even a small contribution to motivate people to come together, and instil a sense of collective struggle. To have these feelings makes me the richest person in the world. Your messages give meaning to our fight for humans to live humanely. I have a hearing soon and I want to say, regardless of being on the inside or outside (of prison), we are always side by side. With love, Furkan
➣You can read learn more about Furkan on our Empty Chair file, where you can also find his address to write support letters.
Solidarity Poems for Furkan
#1
A loaf of bread rests humbly upon the table's crest,
and it seems nothing more than simple sustenance. Yet, in our perception of this familiar staple, we often neglect to consider the journey, the remarkable transformation of the countless grains that culminate in its creation.
Each tiny grain of wheat, initially isolated in solitude, must relinquish its individuality.
These grains are relentlessly crushed beneath the rotating stone mill and must merge with the water, representing the collective tears of human endeavor, to shape something whole.
It is through this divine act of solidarity, the grinding and melding process, that singularity is shattered, allowing the spirit of brotherhood to emerge and nourish societies across the globe.
The Law of the Echo
The lonely cry in the desert is not lost to the sand; it travels until it finds a sympathetic stone from which to rebound. Your joy, if it is to be true, must seek the chamber of your brother's ear, and his joy must return to you as an echo, fuller than the initial sound. For happiness unshared is a whisper, but happiness shared is the Law of Echoes, magnifying the silence into a chorus.
#2
We cannot board Turkish Airlines
But let our voice travel through the winds
Let it light up the corners of your prison wall
Like a loop of endless rays perched on a prism
The floor may be slippery but your heart carries the friction
That holds the voice of the voiceless without colouration
They may refuse you keeping fit and exercising your body
But your reportage is the gym they can never come out from
Daily they shall bear the weight of your stories
Like a lump on their chest too heavy to lift
We know you're ready if only they're ready
If only their ichy ears will convey your testimonies down their drought throat
To their faint heart to know that you cannot forget
The poor children who burned to death in a shack
Those who died in prison on hunger strike
Those killed by police violence on the streets
Those tortured to death by the state behind four walls.
Perhaps you think your words are not enough blade for their cesserian
But it is blunt enough to plunge their hearts
Though body be behind bars, no iron gate can hold your voice
We pour libation on the god of justice
And seek favour upon your trials and next hearing
—Ogunremi Temitope, popularly called Awareness, is a graduate of English and Literary Studies from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, the founder of the Awareness Literary Society ALS, and the Convener of the Kogi Book and Art Festival, KOBAFEST.
He's a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Kogi State Chapter. Recent record holder as marathoner the Guinness World Record for the Longest Reading Aloud Marathon by a Team.
His work has been published in the Pinecone Review, CWC Bulletin, Graphics Newspapers, and The Things In-between on Selar.com. His collection of Creative Nonfiction is awaiting publication.
#3
Furkan, we see you in the cell where silence tries to crush your voice
Where the floors are slippery, the wounds open, and the water tastes of punishment
We feel the pain of every cut, every scab that reminds you of their cruelty
We know the guards take your small comforts, the ropes, the radios, the curtains,
Yet they cannot take the courage that rises from your chest
We see you reach for prayer beads, holding them like fragments of hope
You rise each day, even when the cold rain and shivering courtyards threaten to break you
We know the loneliness of walls, the weight of injustice, the anger of those unseen
We feel the love you hold for Uncle Toso, Abdulhalit, the President, and your brothers
The hugs, the whispered words, the shared cigarettes,they are proof you are not alone
We remember your fire, the need to write, to report, to shout, to pour out every untold truth
We know your words pierce where their fists and walls cannot reach
The smoke in the corridors, the small gaps under doors, the music from memory,they are your rebellion
Your courage survives the hunger, the pain, the isolation, and the cruelty of men
We feel the vow in your heart to remember, to immortalize, to never forget
The injustice you endure reminds the world of the truths they try to hide
Your pen is sharper than their chains, your voice louder than their silence
We send this note to say you are seen, you are honored, you are stronger than their fear
Furkan, your courage inspires us, your defiance teaches us, your story lives beyond Silivri
We stand with you, and we promise, you are not forgotten.
We stand beside you, Furkan,
even from a world your walls cannot touch.
Your pain moves through iron bars
and finds a home in our hearts.
They bruise your body,
but they cannot steal your voice
a voice that rises like dawn
even in the darkest cells.
Your courage is a fire
that their cold floors cannot extinguish.
Your truth is a river
that no prison gate can dam.
We carry your story,
we echo your strength,
and until freedom opens its door,
know this
you do not walk this suffering alone.
-Abu Alimat Sadiat is an upcoming poet and emerging writer whose work explores themes of identity, loss, healing, and hope. She blends her creative instincts with AI tools to refine her voice and transform her ideas into vivid, compelling pieces. Her writing carries emotional depth and a sincere connection to the human experience.
#4
A Memo To The Memories Of Tomorrow
Yesterday is one moment so hard to come by;
One neither you nor I am ever getting back — but more so, tomorrow.
And whatever transpires within is the secret between today and tomorrow,
A story tomorrow as sworn to keep telling today.
They say memories are sieves,
But shutting out the fleas is shutting in the heat.
And dare I say, the happy ones are evil; a facade; an imitation of happiness
Holding me hostage 'n' inducing this mist of Stockholm syndrome.
A catty-corner that rivals the moon's solitary; a close, dark, even in daylight;
And it's just the Sun casting shadows on shadows
I couldn't seem to leave in the past
Deadweights I was more than capable to pick, but I'm too weak to unload.
I guess it may not be than a fleeting wish,
That I wouldn't be so hard on myself as I am of this moment.
But here's a memo to tomorrow, hoisted at the helms by tears; colourless but not transparent;
A paper boat to paddle through my ocean of worries.
To catch a glimpse of tomorrow's sunset,
With a multitude of questions scribbled all around it.
But only one question eats at my soul's rest,
And it's if tomorrow would turn out well.
-Olunlade, Samuel Olumuyiwa is a graduate of the department of English BA.ed., a dynamic, creative enthusiast; a graphic design creative, a keyboardist, a writer, a poet and also, a Christian.
He is a three-time winner & awardee of the poetry contest organized by the Nasel's Poetry Club of the University of Ibadan, Epe Campus – where he was also opportune to serve in multiple leadership positions he believes to have impactfully reshaped him, in the Christian fellowship community and beyond.
Otherwise known as "Muyiwasam" in the artistic world, he is passionate about the art of storytelling and story-showing, touching the sore hearts and stories of fictive and non-fictive souls and bringing to light unsettling issues, with his love for satire.
Smile while they pull
A little sharper than words
As they cower in fear
Of truths your ink spells
Be strong as you pull
Pull your chains closer
And dance in peace
Of the tears on paper
Jump, dance and smile
In pain of your ink
Know that you have a power
One to dance for as they cower.
-Siwoniku Ayomide
