In September the music group Stone Flowers performed as part of the Peace Festival held each year in Manchester. This group of talented musicians is made up of torture victims who have fled their own countries to seek asylum in the UK.
Made up of twenty refugees, both men and women from Iran, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Iraq and Turkey, each member of Stone Flowers is a living testament to the strength of the human spirit.
These people have suffered every horror imaginable but to listen to them perform, you'd think they didn't have a care in the world. The music is lively and playful; at times so beautiful, it's hypnotic.
But watch them or look into their faces and their eyes tell a different story. Listen to the lyrics and it becomes clear that they have something vital to say.
Rita was in her mid-thirties when she arrived in the UK five years ago. She fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after two years in prison where she was beaten and raped, deprived of food, water, adequate shelter and contact with the outside world.
Because of the injuries she sustained due to repeated rape, today she cannot walk without the aid of a walking stick. Her crime? Her political beliefs. She was arrested for her part in a demonstration against the postponement of local elections.
Another woman, Amel from Turkey, was forced to consider leaving her home country when a relative was murdered. Before she eventually escaped, police detained her on numerous occasions, torturing her and interrogating her about the location of her husband.
While these stories are extreme, they are the stories of ordinary people. Ordinary people who suffered harrowing violence because they dared to defy corrupt regimes.
By the time they arrived in the UK, they were destitute and desperate. Their lives seemingly broken beyond repair. With the help of charities like Musicians Without Borders and Freedom from Torture, the organisations behind Stone Flowers, they find the strength to build new lives.
Lis Murphy is artistic director and founder of Musicians Without Borders. Talking about the music created by Stone Flowers, she said, "the quality of the creative material that has been produced has exceeded all our expectations. Each individual has something really important to say and the music they have written to express this is incredibly powerful."
On the night of the performance at the Peace Festival, Lis is the group's mentor and motivator. With a violin perched on her shoulder, she gracefully guides the group through each song.
The sounds are inspired by the members' musical backgrounds, a heady mix of African, Baltic and Middle Eastern beats. Each song begins as a murmur and builds to a magical crescendo, the voices of the singers joining in powerful refrain.
The women in the group are particularly striking. Dressed in colourful ethnic clothes, they stand at the front of the stage and literally sing their hearts out. It's impossible for the crowd not to be swept up by their enthusiasm. The audience clap to the beat, sway and tap their feet. Some even cry.
Lis uses the skills of other local musicians to complete the Stone Flowers line up. One of those musicians is double bass and flute player, Heather Bird.
When asked about working with Stone Flowers she said, "the rehearsal sessions are really intense. It's impossible not to be conscious of the sorrow these people have suffered. But to hear what they come up with musically, to get the chance to create something truly original with them, is such an amazing experience, I can't wait to do it all again."