I was only able to make one of the three Resilience Readings evenings last week but I wouldn't have missed it for anything. Organised by Freedom from Torture and supported by such national figures as Daljit Nagra, Imtiaz Dharker and Ian McMillan, the readings showcased the writing of survivors of horrific pasts alongside the winners of the Resilience poetry competition. My Women Aloud colleague Frances March had been highly commended in the competition for her beautiful poem Willowherb, written after hearing an interview with a Syrian refugee; it was lovely to hear her reading it. But the highlight of the evening had to be the three featured victims of torture, who, through the organisation's weekly Write to Life programmes, had found the voices that had been all but obliterated in their own environments. Their testimony was incredibly moving.
You can find excerpts from all three evenings on the Freedom from Torture website; they're well worth having a look at. And you'll also find lots about the organisation's tremendous work in providing therapy and fostering hope for the future, a future too many of their service users almost never had.
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