On Monday 9th June awarding-winning author and human rights activist Deborah Ellis joined Julia Eccleshare, Childrens’ Books Editor for the Guardian in conversation. They spoke for about twenty minutes, before fielding questions from some of the eighty people plus who attended. Simon Barrett  sent us this report:

The evening provided an opportunity to discuss Deborah’s books that document the lives of children caught up in conflict around the world, including Afghanistan (The Breadwinner) , Israel (Three Wishes) and in her latest book, The Prison Runner, the drugs trade in South America. In her writing she tries to see the world from the point of view of such children and let the story explore the moral issues.

Deborah described how children from the cities are taken into the jungle. There they crush cocoa leaves with their bare feet in large pits full of chemicals that will eventually eat away their skin. They are starved and fed drugs to keep them working. Many do not survive, and those that do are put back on the streets. Street Kids International is one charity that helps street kids around the world, including many involved in the drugs trade. This charity asked Deborah to write their story.

Deborah talked about interviewing children in Bolivia, often in prisons. Unlike Western prisons, she explained, the guards guard the prison gate and the prisoners run the prisons. Children live in the prison if their parents cannot afford, or are unable to, make other arrangements. She also discussed the difficulties she experiences when interviewing children through an adult interpreter and the danger it can put some people in.

Deborah spoke about the need for the children to earn money to buy food. For her, conflict and drugs are tied to the problems of poverty. This is how Diego, the main character in The Prison Runner, gets caught up in the drugs trade. Diego is based upon a number of children Deborah met. Julia Eccleshare mentioned the ambivalence she felt towards the ‘Cocaine Boss’. He is kind to start with, Deborah said, otherwise Deigo would not have gone with him, but he is a very dangerous man. Despite the bleakness of the book, Deborah is optimistic that there are more good people in the world than bad. She believes stories can change the world. We remember stories we are told when we are children and she hopes children will remember these stories as they grow up and become the decision-makers.