Pupils from one of the most diverse schools in Northern Ireland are producing a book about belonging here.
Around 210 pupils at Fane Street Primary in Belfast are ‘new arrivals’ – pupils who were not originally native English or Irish speakers.
More than one in 20 schoolchildren in Northern Ireland are ‘new arrivals’.
These students make up 5.2% of the school population.
More than 90 native languages are spoken by school children, with Polish and Lithuanian being the most common after English.
As part of the Belfast Book Festival at the Crescent Arts Centre, children’s book author and illustrator Barry Falls has worked with the children of the Primary Six in Fane Street to produce a book about their memories and experiences.
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“I was amazed at the diversity of backgrounds they come from,” he told BBC News NI.
“There are children from Afghanistan, from Iran, from Somalia, from Zimbabwe, really everywhere.
“One of the interesting things that came up in conversations with me and the kids was ‘Where is home for you?’
“For some it really went back to the country they knew before Northern Ireland, but for others it was very much ‘Belfast is my home’.
“And the pictures and memories they’ve made here make them feel like they belong here.”
Among those who call Northern Ireland home now is 10-year-old Hadia, originally from Afghanistan.
“I remember everything there — the sunny days and the time with my family,” she said.
“When I first came here I was a bit scared because things were new to me, like the shops I would be going to, school was new to me.
“Schools are really different, the teachers, the students.
“But they’re really nice, everyone here.”
Hadia likes to go to school and especially likes to learn math.
So did Saad, whose family came to Belfast from Syria.
He still has vivid memories of his childhood there.
“There used to be an ice cream parlor in front of my house and I used to go out for ice cream every day,” he said.
Sara was born in Belfast but still has family in Albania.
“They told me they grow watermelons, cherries, chilies and some oranges,” she said.
But based in Belfast, Sara’s ambitions for the future are inspired by a global sports superstar.
“Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s a footballer and when he was young he cleaned streets and stuff like that.
“So for some reason I really want to become one.”
She plays football at Fane Street and would like to continue playing in secondary school.
In the workshops with Barry Falls, the students drew and wrote poetry that will be collected into a book of belonging to be read during the Book Festival taking place June 10-19 in nearby Crescent.
“I hope they get a sense that their stories matter and their memories matter,” he said.
“You can take those memories and those stories and actually share them with people and create something lasting and valuable.”
Although she only recently came to Belfast from Afghanistan, Hadia now feels that she belongs here.
“I feel like I have a role in this country,” she said.
And when asked if Belfast feels like home, her answer is a resounding yes.
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