Melat is a 29 year old woman from Ethiopia who was referred to us by her husband, concerned for her following a period of detention in Ethiopia. He too was detained during this time, but the couple have never discussed their individual experiences in prison. They have three young children, one of whom was born in the UK.

When referred to us, Melat was unable to speak about her detention. She had been brutally tortured, including multiple rapes. She was socially isolated, profoundly depressed and suffering from acute post-traumatic stress disorder. Her relationship with her husband was breaking down and her children were disturbed by her behaviour; staying up all night, screaming in her sleep, spending days without getting dressed, and refusing to leave the house.

Over time and with gentle encouragement, Melat has begun to speak of her feelings towards herself, towards other people, towards men. After a year of attending HBF she volunteered to attend the women’s group. This was a huge step because she had been terrified of any social contact, particularly with people from her country. She believed that if others knew that she had been raped it would be spread around the community. At first she attended the group hesitantly, sitting close to the facilitator and not interacting with other members. But gradually, she began to approach other women and particularly, women from Ethiopia. This came as an enormous surprise for Melat who has now become an active participant, keen to discuss human rights problems for women and children in Ethiopia. She has contributed a recipe and an extensive written piece, and is offering support and friendship to several other group members.

Melat and her family have been seeing a pastor volunteering at HBF who has been trained in trauma work by the Medical Foundation for Torture Survivors in Australia. The family is attending a retreat-day looking at spirituality in the healing of traumatic memories. Melat’s relationship with her husband is becoming closer, and her daily living is no longer overtly affected by her trauma. She realizes that the after effects of what happened may never be completely overcome, and she and her family remain in a highly precarious immigration situation. But now she speaks of being alive, whereas a year ago she spoke only of feeling dead, and wishing that her life had been taken from her the day she was imprisoned. Through our support and a great deal of work on her own, she has fostered a renewed sense of personal and social integration. In the last group she described herself as: “Now having mostly light, before all I had was darkness”.

The family’s asylum claim was refused and we helped Melat seek legal advice. She has a new solicitor, new representations have been made, and we have provided an expert report to support her testimony.