I just finished reading Tears of Gold: Portraits of Yazidi, Rohingya, and Nigerian Women by Hannah Rose Thomas (Plough Publishing House, 2024). I read it in one sitting, stopping only to wipe my tears and compose myself before turning the page to a new portrait and a new story of loss and courage.
Thomas, a portrait artist, captures the myriad expressions of women who suffered unspeakable violence. These portraits are not just paintings but written records of the violence perpetrated against these women. Tears of Gold gives a voice and a face to these tearful stories.
From Suffering, ART
In the aftermath of the inhumanity experienced at the hands of ISIS, and violence in Myanmar and Nigeria with the Boko Haram, the women featured in these pages have their humanity restored and celebrated. Their suffering is not exploited, but rather, shared and documented in the visages of women who have survived.
The book opens with a lovely treatise on the dignity of the human person. In the first chapter titled, The Art of Attention, Thomas draws from philosophers and saints, poets and popes, to make the case we must observe and see the other to recognize ourselves and our shared humanity. It is breath taking.
Years ago, when I was teaching at a technical college in Atlanta, we experienced several waves of immigration from Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. In fact, many of the students we served were refugees from war-torn and oppressive regimes. My personal history as the granddaughter of Basque Spaniards fleeing the Civil War in Spain, and then my parents and I leaving Cuba as exiles seeking religious and personal freedom, I had a profound sense of empathy for my students, particularly because they were predominantly women. In retrospect, this book speaks to the suffering of some of my students. Perhaps that is why it hits so hard.
The Healing Power of Art
We connected on the common experience of finding ourselves in a new culture, reconciling the opportunities ahead of us while still nursing the emotional and physical wounds of violence perpetrated against us. Part of my curriculum included keeping a journal, and I soon found that my students were eager to share their stories. Somehow, it took their power back. I’ve never forgotten them or their stories.
Hannah Rose Thomas understands the healing properties of art, whether on the canvas or the page. This poignant collection captures the beauty of tears of gold, as each woman tells her story, often accompanied by a self-portrait. I am moved by how they see themselves, and what Thomas captures in their portraits.
Highly recommended.