Livia Barreira - Interview

Livia Barreira works in Journalism and Communications and manages the Living in Sheffield Facebook and Instagram accounts. She is ethnically Brazillian and has Brazilian and British citizenship. She has lived in Brazil and Portugal, and currently lives in the UK with her husband.

Livia's portrait

Livia told me that she constantly contemplates my first interview question ”what is home to you?” because she doesn’t feel like she entirely fits in her native Brazil or in the UK where she currently lives. She stressed the universality of this challenge for migrants which has empowered her to create a supportive community of migrant women in Sheffield. She also emphasized the importance of language in the deep connection she has with her husband:

●      “It's quite a challenge to reply to this question. I was born in Brazil and I lived there for the first 30 years of my life. Then I went to Lisbon in Portugal, to do a Masters in strategy of communications for two years. Then I came to Sheffield in England, and I've been living in Sheffield for 9 years.”

●      “There’s not one day that I don't think about this question, what is home? For me, I think home is where we put our intentions. But for many migrants, home is a kind of a limbo. I don't feel I'm totally part of British society, even though I have British nationality now, but it's not about that. In terms of my heart, I don't feel that I totally belong to the UK. At the same time, when I go to Brazil, I don't feel I belong there anymore, because many things changed in my mind, my views on life extended because I was exposed to other cultures, to people from all across the world when I left my comfort zone in Brazil.”

●      “It’s quite a challenge - I think it's a constant mental battle for many migrants. What I've been doing in Sheffield is to create a powerful community with other migrant women like me.”

●      “I'm not British and Northern enough here, when I go to Brazil, I'm not Brazilian enough anymore.”

●      “Home for me means that my partner is able to speak fluent Portuguese, because otherwise he couldn't understand my deepest feelings. I need to be able to understand his deepest feelings. He needs to be able to understand my deepest feelings. So, we only make home together when we learn the languages of each other.”

Livia described her identity through her values, actions and passions:

●      “I'm a natural communicator and connector of people. I have a strong sense of social justice. I'm passionate about diversity, and I see life as a unique opportunity to do something interesting. While I can be a serious person, I'm also someone who genuinely enjoys life and appreciates the opportunity to meet people and make valuable friends. I am loyal to those people, and I try to keep in my life and in my heart, those who share my own values of empathy, reciprocity and respect for others.”

●      “I would just say I'm someone who has a big heart. Who is very extrovert, spontaneous and courageous”

Livia described the insidious nature of the discrimination she has faced as a migrant, even from those who claim to support migrant and refugee communities. Nevertheless, she emphasized her pride in her Brazilian accent and belief in celebrating the stories of migrant communities:

●      “Wherever I go in the world, I try to understand the local culture and the local communities. We know that in British culture, they will not tell you straight to your face that you’re not welcome here. You need to learn how to interpret the cultural nuances. I'm still learning every day, to understand when someone refuses you, but it takes a while, because we are very straight in Brazil, we tell it to your face.”

●      “In the UK, people will not say they don't want to do things or to work with you - they refuse you in a very polite way. It took me years to understand this is a cold kind of society.”

●      “So, I'm a journalist. I have a CV built for eight years of my career back in Brazil. I covered big events in Brazil, and people here don't show any interest, or even worse, they think I'm lying.”

●      “The Brazilian community is the biggest migrant community in Portugal. Unfortunately, every day you can see on the news many cases of violence against migrants. Doing academia in Portugal was not easy. Brazilians who settle there, go through things differently depending on the color of their skin and economic and social status.

●      “I'm from Fortaleza, a city of nearly three million people, so it's a big city. Unfortunately, the majority of people there are living in economic disadvantage - and I grew up seeing that. And when I came to the UK to start a life here in this country, to build something in this country, that was very hard for me because no one knew where I came from, and I felt like people didn't have any interest in my views or in my story. And we can see it with many other migrants, unfortunately. Everyone carries something interesting”

●      “When I first arrived in Sheffield, my English skills were not great. So, I had the idea to go to community centers for free English classes and conversation clubs. I went to these places every single day of my week, because I wanted to engage with the community while I was learning new vocabulary. I realized after a year, when my English was better, I could see a particular English teacher from a community group that was not impressed. I felt like he was not happy and not excited for migrants who don’t need him anymore. I actually understood that very clearly at the launch of my first book, when this person I met years before went to the event. He was there watching everything. Then he just left, and I couldn't forget his face – He was not happy for my achievement. This person didn't buy the book and didn't support my work, or anything. How many migrants can write and publish a book in their second language and have the courage to be in front of many people launching it? If I was a Portuguese teacher in Brazil I would be very proud of my ex-student to see them progressing. At that moment I saw that this is the reality for many migrants and refugees in the UK: when we progress, some people are not happy with that. Not everyone, but some people, and it feels like a “power” thing, they like being superior to you and having pity for you. It’s the colonizer kind of mindset and it's what leads us to things such as Brexit - they don't want migrants integrating. They want us to be on a lower level. The sense of superiority... No-one is superior to another human being.”

Livia runs the Living in Sheffield Instagram account and has created the International Women in Sheffield community. She spoke about her sense of belonging to this community and the importance of empowering migrant women in society:

●      “It's not about me. It never was. What I want is to see all the migrants being inspired and thinking about their own value and about who they are and taking action in this country. Don't accept less than you deserve. So, what I'm doing with Living in Sheffield is to not accept less than I deserve, professionally and personally.”

●      “Of course, I speak English with an accent - I'm very proud of my Brazilian accent.”

●      “I know we are from different cultures and we have different views in life, but I would love to see all the migrant women be united, especially in the patriarchal society we live in. We should be united, because when we are a united community, we also become stronger.”

Livia described her passion as exploring the world, highlighting the importance of experiencing different cultures, as well as empowering others to do so:

●      “I’m passionate about different cultures. I think it makes us grow as human beings, in terms of how we perceive and understand the world, and I think more people need to be exposed to other cultures and to learn how to respect the differences between us. If we live in our world where everyone can understand each other, it would be so much more peaceful and so much more powerful and human.”

●      “I'm someone who likes to explore, but when I post about things I'm doing in Sheffield or anywhere, what I want is to make all the migrants feel they can also explore. You need to take control of your life. And I think it's important as a migrant, as a foreigner living here in Sheffield, it's important to pass on the message, that we are here, and we matter. We are part of the society and we are going to explore and occupy the spaces. And we will shine!”

Livia chose bold, feminine colours for her portrait and flag representing her commitment to female empowerment, as well green to reflect her connection with nature and the city of Sheffield. Equally, her flag design represents her values and the importance of inclusion:

●      “I personally like bright colors. I like strong pink, red and purple, because it represents the power of women.”

●      “I would just say green for the fourth corner, towards more equilibrium and to add some time for disconnection from the craziness of the world. Green is also the color of nature and we are in Sheffield, which is very green - it's a peaceful kind of color to think about.”

●      “On the cover of my book, I have women from different backgrounds, different colors of skin, different ages, disabilities. I like inclusion. It’s one of my main values in life. Inclusion. I like the idea of the hands coming together in a circle.”

Livia's flag

Find all the interviews from my 'Kaleidentity' poject on my blog!