In 2014, Hannah Rose Thomas was in Jordan as part of an Arabic degree, when UNHCR asked her to run an art project with Syrian refugees. Since then she has found powerful ways to combine art with humanitarian work, spending time with Yezidi women who’ve escaped ISIS captivity, Nigerian women who’ve survived Boko Haram violence, and Rohingya women who’ve fled persecution in Myanmar - enabling some of them to paint self-portraits as a way of expressing their unspeakable grief and processing some of their trauma. The resulting paintings convey extraordinary dignity and resilience.

In response, Hannah has painted very beautiful portraits of them, exhibited around the world, as a way of telling their stories….giving voice to the voiceless.

I’m so glad to be able to introduce Hannah Rose Thomas, and some of those extraordinary women, to Premier listeners.