Marli Wilson

Marli grew up in the countryside in Brazil. She holds many happy memories of her childhood, playing outdoors, spending time with her family and friends riding horses and swimming in the river. It was a very special time for and she recalls the family celebrations and her home always having an open door to welcome others; hospitality is a very important part of Brazilian culture. Her Father was a farmer and she developed a love for the land from an early age, little did she know this knowledge would one day be significant in shaping her decisions and life in NI.

After studying at school, Marli went on to study Social Work and left her idyllic country life to move to Sao Paulo to study and work. Moving to such a big city wasn’t an easy transition but she found her feet here and also met her husband. Interestingly, her husband has Irish roots. His parents had moved to Brazil as missionaries and he being Brazilian too was fully immersed in Brazilian culture. When he was offered a job opportunity in England, he and Marli made the difficult decision to move to the UK. It was not easy, especially since Marli was leaving her beloved mum behind in Brazil. She spoke no English and enrolled in a full time college course to learn English. She speaks about feelings of lack of confidence and inability to engage having no English and the importance of connection and breaking down isolation.

They lived in England for 14 years before arriving in NI in 2007. In a sense coming to England initially paved the way for life in NI although upon arrival, she quickly saw Ireland was not as diverse or accepting of “foreigners”. Life felt different, not only from Brazil but from England and this came as a surprise, especially trying to understand the Irish accent! She laughs, as she reflects on those early days, “I thought I spoke good English! The Irish accent was a whole other thing!”. Having married a man with Irish roots and family living close by in a rural area made the adjustment to living here somewhat easier. Her family connections brought an immediate opportunity for integration especially in the local farming community and through her church.

Sadly, even though Marli had a degree in Social Work from Brazil, from one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil, she had and continues to have a sense that many assume migrant women are not highly skilled or educated and have to work harder to prove themselves and their academic ability. She hopes this stigma will be reversed as NI becomes more inclusive, welcoming diversity and those from other cultures. She attributes such negativity to lack of understanding and miscommunication. As a social worker she has always been passionate about supporting families and individuals, helping them gain confidence and to make changes in their lives. She believes when cultures integrate and we learn from each other, we are richer and stronger from the experience.

She has an amazing heart for connecting with people and as a Brazilian loves to welcome people through generous hospitality. She has a beautiful servant heart and tells us, she lives to serve other. This is very clearly evident and something she has integrated into life in NI. She now has an AirBnB at the family farm and she runs a crotchet group. She has made good friends through her church, people she sees as family. Her faith in God is vital in her life, giving her hope when life is difficult and there are difficult challenges to face. Her Brazilian traditions and culture are still very important to her. She and her husband speak Portuguese with each other, although her children and grandchildren prefer to speak English these days. Being Brazilian, food, particularly dishes including rice, beans and meat form a staple part of her diet. She still enjoys cooking food from her home country and explains how she has introduced Brazilian flavours into local Irish cooking, cuisines merging!

Marli leads an incredibly busy life. As well as having three grown up children and grandchildren, working a full time job and hospitality business, she and her husband took up farming and now own their own herd of cattle. She loves farm life and is somewhat surprised as she recalls her childhood and skills she didn’t realise had been handed down from her father in negotiating buying calves and generally feeding and looking after their herd.

She would love to help local people understand that all “foreigners” are not asylum seekers or refugees and there are many reason people from other nations have come to live here in Mid Ulster. She understands people can be fearful and anxious but largely this is due to ignorance of others’ stories and often we need to forge relationships and safe spaces to listen and meet with others so we can appreciate each other’s humanity.

Marli brings much joy and laughter. Her sense of fun is infectious and she is the best story teller.

She laughs when asked what home means to her; “Of course, home is where my herd is!”.

She certainly hasn’t lost her Latin spirit!