“We shape our societies through the stories we tell about ourselves. They connect us; melding our anxieties, hopes, memories and preoccupations. Conversely, untold stories are painful and divisive. They sit inside us and ache. Not being able to speak your truth, to be shut out of the human narrative, is nothing short of dehumanising. By articulating about what had happened to me, offering up my version of events, I am shaping my own, often brutal and apparently arbitrary experiences into something cohesive and meaningful. And I was moving towards a greater connection, the best human impulse there is.” @hassanakkad