Painting of Jean Ryan Hakizimana for asylum-seekers

Jean Ryan Hakizimana is the author of  "Postcolonial Identities: Constructing the 'New Irish'".He was born in Rwanda from Burundian Parents, a Hutu Father and a Tutsi Mother. He survived the early 70's Burundi civil war. His Family was assisted in their escape by an Irish priest, Fr. Ryan. His  parents gave him the middle name 'Ryan' in honour of this priest's generosity. In the early 90's his family returned to live in Burundi, butthey were force to flee again. His mother, father and sisters were killed . He was emprisonned and tortured. He managed to escape. He lived in precarity in the long marathon of refugees and asylum-seekers. Upon arrival in Irland, Limerick "he had no family, no English, and no certainty about his future.Today Jean Ryan uses his paintings to tell the story of his troubled past and the difficulties experienced by asylum-seekers all over the world."