Living in Limbo
More than 117 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced; over 42 million are refugees. For many, exile is no longer temporary but a protracted condition lasting decades. What does it mean to build a life in limbo? This evening opens with a documentary by R.K. Radhakrishnan on Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. Thomars Shamuyarira shares his work with The Fruit Basket, an LGBTQI+ refugee-led organisation in South Africa, and Abhishek Thapar reflects on rebuilding home at the intersection of loss and belonging. Together with other discussants, they explore how futures are imagined and shaped in contexts of prolonged displacement.
Together with Thomars Shamuyarira Founder and Director of The Fruit Basket Abhishek Thapar Independent theatre and performance maker, performer, teacher and artist R.K. Radhakrishnan Journalist I Academic I Digital Media I Public Policy I GovernanceAbout the speakers
Thomars Shamuyarira is a community organiser and advocate working at the intersection of migration, LGBTQI+ rights and refugee justice. He is the Founder and Director of The Fruit Basket, an LGBTQI+ refugee-led organisation based in South Africa. His work centres lived experience, dignity and dismantling structural barriers faced by displaced communities. Through organising, advocacy and public speaking, Thomars brings grounded perspectives to debates on belonging, refugeedom and social change.
R.K. Radhakrishnan is an award-winning political journalist and academic based in Chennai, India. He is Senior Associate Editor at Frontline magazine and writes on democracy, governance and refugee integration in protracted situations across South Asia. He received the RedInk Media Award (2017) for political reporting and was a PANOS Media Fellow researching migrant labour. He is a member of the SICCI–UNHCR partnership forum on refugee livelihoods and holds a PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Abhishek Thapar: Moga (IN)/Amsterdam (NL) works as an Independent theatre and performance maker, performer, teacher and artist based in Amsterdam. His work unfolds at the intersection of contemporary theatre, social art practice and post-colonial epistemologies. He often collaborates with non-professional actors and creates intimate portraits in immersive environments and participatory formats. His works have been produced and presented in more than 20 countries around the world. His latest project ‘Lacuna Kitchen’ (2025) in collaboration with kitchen workers, focuses on invisible labor and unheard stories from the Dutch gastronomy and hospitality industry. In 2023, he established Afra Tafri Creations, an organization based in the Netherlands which produces his artistic works.
The event is co-organised by the Athena Institute of the Vrije University, Amsterdam. The Athena Institute at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a research organisation focusing on transdisciplinary studies that connect science, technology and society. It aims to address complex societal challenges, such as health inequalities, sustainability and digitalisation, by fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers and citizens to drive systemic change.
Timeline Screening of the documentaryDocumentary on Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in India for over three decades and their ways of making home in exile.
Q&AWith filmmaker and journalist R.K. Radhakrishnan.
Talk: Thomars ShamuyariraOn refugee justice, LGBTQI+ rights, and the work of The Fruit Basket in supporting displaced communities in Africa.
Presentation: Abhishek ThaparOn ‘Home at the Intersection’ and the layered experience of losing and rebuilding home.
Discussion:The programme ends with a moderated discussion on the broader theme of liminality, with contributions from three more speakers from academia, civil society and community organisers.
