Portraits of Resistance: A Refugee Week x Open Britain Collaboration
Radwan Abdullah Ishaq was born in Darfur, Sudan, one of four siblings.
After completing school, he began studying Law at university but was forced to stop after two years when conflict in Sudan led to the closure of universities and public institutions.
As violence escalated in Darfur in 2024 and armed groups attempted to recruit him, Radwan fled Sudan in search of safety.
Arriving in the UK with few possessions, he received support from Refugee Support Group while navigating the asylum process and settling into a new country. Unable to transfer his legal studies, he focused on learning English and preparing for further education.
In September, he will begin a new course in Reading. Despite the challenges of displacement, Radwan remains determined to rebuild his future through education and new opportunities.
Cho Cho was born in rural Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1960s, where her parents worked as farmers.
As a young woman, she became involved in the pro-democracy student movement during the political unrest of the late 1980s, experiencing the risks faced by those who opposed military rule.
She later devoted herself to raising her three children while her husband worked as a chemical engineer. Education was central to family life, and her children went on to become a chemist, engineer and electrician.
Cho Cho travelled to the UK in 2020 to visit family, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented her return. Following Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, she decided to remain in the UK, fearing persecution because of her pro-democracy activism.
Today, she supports democracy in Myanmar through peaceful campaigning, while working with children with autism. Despite personal loss and separation from family, she remains committed to helping her communities in both the UK and Myanmar.
Abadi Al Hasani was born in 1991 and grew up between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in a family of nine siblings.
He was educated in Yemen before returning to Saudi Arabia, where many Yemeni families faced restrictive residency rules, rising fees and limited access to legal work, creating constant financial pressure.
He left school at 14 to support his family, working long hours in ticketing, events, sales and administration. As opportunities narrowed and the risk of deportation increased, he left to seek safety.
His journey included a failed attempt and two dangerous overcrowded sea crossings. After travelling across Europe, he reached the UK and claimed asylum, being granted refugee status in 2024.
He later volunteered in refugee communities and now works as an Integration Coordinator with Refugee Support Group, helping others rebuild their lives. He remains closely connected to Yemen and continues to support his family there.
Dr Alice Mpofu-Coles was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the youngest of five children.
Raised in colonial-era townships, she grew up amid segregation and early experiences of injustice. Between the ages of 24 and 37, she suffered the loss of her parents, four brothers, and her husband.
She worked as a diplomat in Belgrade before the collapse of Yugoslavia and later in Maputo during post-civil war reconstruction, witnessing conflict and displacement first-hand.
In 2002, she came to the UK seeking sanctuary with her two daughters. She rebuilt her life through long hours in care work, factories, and service roles while working toward family reunification.
Guided by Ubuntu, she overcame breast cancer, studied social work, and completed a PhD at the University of Reading on migrant identity and belonging.
She went on to become a councillor and, in 2025–26, Reading’s first Black female mayor, continuing her work on community, dignity, and inclusion.
AAmal was born in Dubai to Sudanese parents and grew up between the UAE and Sudan before moving permanently at 16 to continue her education.
She studied at university in Sudan and worked with the British Embassy and EU programmes on economic development, food security and humanitarian projects.
In 2023, while living in Khartoum, war broke out suddenly. Her home was damaged as violence escalated, and she fled with relatives through militia-controlled areas to Omdurman before travelling to Egypt after the airport closed.
After several months in Cairo, she came to the UK on a visitor visa and was granted asylum in 2024.
She now works at the University of Reading while her family remains dispersed across different countries, hoping one day to return home.
Adil grew up in Darfur with two sisters, where his parents were farmers.
Conflict shaped his entire life, with violence and displacement spanning more than 20 years. He studied engineering at university, but as recruitment pressures increased, his father urged him to leave for safety.
His journey to the UK in 2025 took a year and included Libya, South Sudan, Turkey, Greece and France, marked by extreme danger and hardship. In the UK, he now works in a warehouse while continuing to learn English and rebuild his life.
He volunteers supporting other refugees and asylum seekers, drawing on his own experience. His family remains in Darfur with limited contact.
He hopes one day to return when it is safe and help rebuild his country.
Tomson Chauke was born in 1973 in Chiredzi, southern Zimbabwe, near the Mozambique border.
One of six children, he grew up in Hippo Valley, where his mother worked as a maid and his father supervised workers on a sugar estate. Inspired by his older brother’s homemade guitars, Tomson developed a passion for music, teaching himself rhythm and learning from local bands.
When a touring band’s drummer fell ill, he stepped in, launching a career that took him across southern Africa and Europe.
As Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis deepened, he moved to the UK in 2003 to build a new future. While working various jobs, he continued pursuing music and later founded Limpopo Groove, a multicultural band blending Zimbabwean rhythms with global influences.
Today, through World Groove, Tomson delivers music workshops in schools and communities, supports autistic young people, and founded Sanctuary Strikers, a football club helping refugees and asylum seekers build friendship, confidence and belonging through sport.
Zahra and Fatemeh were born in Iran after their parents fled Afghanistan due to decades of conflict.
Growing up as refugees, they faced limited legal status and barriers to education and work.
When they were accepted onto the UK Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), only part of their family was able to travel, leaving their brothers behind in Iran and causing deep separation.
Arriving in the UK with little English and no familiarity with the system, they described the experience as overwhelming. They began volunteering in a hotel kitchen where they were housed, which later led to paid work. They continue to support others arriving through similar routes.
Now rebuilding their lives, Zahra hopes to continue her education, while both sisters remain focused on work, language learning and creating stability in the UK, taking their future step by step.
Ganna is from Kyiv and arrived in the UK three years ago with her mother and son after Russia’s invasion forced them to flee.
In Ukraine she worked with her husband as a choreographer and set designer. He remained behind to care for his elderly parents, and the ongoing separation remains one of the hardest parts of her journey.
Ganna settled in Reading, where her son struggled with the loss of home, friends and stability. In response, she created a social enterprise using art therapy to support wellbeing and expression for others facing trauma.
She also founded “Balamuty”, a Ukrainian dance troupe celebrating culture and community. Her mother contributes by making costumes, keeping tradition alive across generations.
Her son is now studying sports therapy, while the family continues rebuilding their lives through creativity, resilience and connection to their heritage.
Gassim was born in a small village in Sudan, where he grew up working on his family’s farm alongside his father.
Life was shaped by agriculture, family and community, but growing instability and conflict in Sudan eventually made the future uncertain.
At 29, he left home to seek safety. His journey took him across multiple countries in Europe over two years, often without safe or legal routes available. He ultimately completed a dangerous small-boat crossing to reach the United Kingdom.
Arriving in the UK, Gassim faced the challenge of starting over without English or familiarity with the system. While learning the language, he worked in a kitchen and later in a warehouse once permitted to work.
For him, employment represented stability and independence after years of uncertainty.
Today, he continues to improve his English and build a new life in the UK, focused on safety, work, and the future.
