91B0FBB4-04A9-D5D7-16F0F3976AA697ED
C9A22247-E776-B892-2D807E7555171534
Kamila Shamsie '94

Award-winning author Kamila Shamsie ’94 wrote an op-ed for the British newspaper The Guardian titled “The UK once welcomed refugees - now we detain them indefinitely. It must end.”

Shamsie writes that, “In a few decades, welcome centres for refugees have become detention centres built on violence and humiliation. The government must shut them down.

“The UK is the only country in Europe that doesn’t have a time limit on detention – that must change, and this is where many of us have focused our attention.”

Shamsie is an award-winning author. Her seventh novel, Home Fire  won the 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction and was named to the 2017 Man Booker Prize long list, among other honors. It tells the story of an immigrant Pakistani family living in London, two sisters and a brother who is recruited by ISIS. 

At Hamilton, Shamsie majored in creative writing and went on to earn a master’s in fine arts at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her most recent visit to campus was in 2018, for Refugee Solidarity Month.

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

Site Search