Trauma experienced by torture survivors is often extreme and long-lasting. It causes flashbacks, anxiety, depression and other forms of stress. Torture survivors experience huge losses including home, culture and family.
In the UK, survivors face further issues including poor housing, hate crime, isolation and poverty, whilst battling the UK’s complex, confusing asylum system and the constant threat of immediate detention, homelessness, or even deportation back to war, torture or persecution.
Today I feel like the oppression I was feeling has been reduced because of organisations like Music Action International. – Frank, Stone Flowers
Stone Flowers supports traumatised refugee and asylum seeker torture survivors living in the UK through regular therapeutic music sessions, bringing people together who are often without family and without hope.
As sessions develop, survivors begin to write original songs with messages of hope, peace and resilience. Survivors move beyond trauma to rediscover feelings of motivation and self-esteem, becoming the architects of their own recovery, using music as a strategy for coping with stress and anxiety.
Stone Flowers members have fled war, conflict and violence from across the world including Iran, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Syria, Afghanistan, Cameroon and the DRC. Survivors express themselves through the languages, traditions and cultures of their home countries as well as in English. Since 2011 we have worked with over 200 torture survivors and recorded two studio albums available to buy or download
The Stone Flowers concert was fantastic. It is really important for thinking about war and peace, and supporting survivors. – Audience Member
Following amazing performances including Manchester Academy, Amnesty HQ and Bridgewater Hall, Stone Flowers also supported Peace, Paloma Faith and Kate Tempest to raise money for Help Refugees at the 02 Forum in London.
Come and See Stone Flowers Live!
I can’t stop listening to the new Stone Flowers Album – Ngunda. I’ve even got my kids to sing along to it on long car journeys! Great work. Many congratulations. – Russell Delew, Cancer Research UK
You can hear great music and support Stone Flowers by buying the album here. All Proceeds go directly to supporting Stone Flowers
