Meltem Arikan

Meltem Arikan is a Turkish/Welsh author. Arikan has written 11 books, including nine novels and five plays. She wrote the libretto for the short opera “Die Verführung Europas”, which was staged as part of Theatre Freiburg’s large-scale multidisciplinary project “Eurotopia” in 2017. She has received several awards and was shortlisted for the Freedom of Expression Award in 2014 by Index on Censorship for her play ‘Mi Minor’, which the Turkish authorities claimed was a rehearsal for the Gezi Park demonstrations in 2013. Their subsequent hate campaign, fuelled by state-sponsored media, forced her to leave Turkey to live in Wales. In 2019 Turkish court accepted Gezi Indictment seeking life sentences for 16 people, including her.

She was diagnosed with Autism /Asperger 52 years old, as an Exile in Wales. This diagnosis was liberating for her. She has got many answers about herself. She realises that her wiring system makes it harder for her to do many things naturally to other people. But, on the flip side, it is essential to be aware that Asperger can also give her many magical perceptions that many neurotypicals are not capable of. So she decided to come out because there is still not enough Autism spectrum awareness even today. She believes that if those on the autistic spectrum share their experiences openly, it wouldn’t only help other autistic people and help neurotypical people better understand both autistic people and their behaviour.

Her life completely changed in the darkest time; it profoundly affected her life to ongoing discovery and transformation that can profoundly impact people’s lives and share her experience with other people.