Karen O’Reilly

Karen O’Reilly is a writer and human rights and humanitarian worker. She has worked as a human rights educator for Amnesty International, and in refugee protection for the UN refugee agency in Uganda, the Central African Republic, and Jordan. Her writing examines in particular the human cost of war, and is based on her experiences working with refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries, as well as travel in the Middle East and Africa. This year, she has published stories in the Dublin Review that look at conflict and remembrance in Beirut and lack of access to water in Uganda. She has also written human rights Education materials including a textbook and drama and film resources for Amnesty International. During her residency at Mesa Refuge, she will be working primarily on a story about a community of Darfuri refugees who live in a remote corner of the Central African Republic.