Angel of death

"A young Kurdish girl appreciating the beauty of life despite the heavy cloud of war, fascism and Middle Eastern Conservatism that plague her existence." So reads the caption to this picture, part of an exhibition of art by refugees who were temporary residents of Penally Camp until it was closed in March. See more in extras.

The exhibition was at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, where we had gone to see a stunning production of Angel, a one-woman play about Rehana, a young Kurdish woman who became a renowned sniper defending her home town of Kobane against Isis. It is not clear how much of the story is authentic, but in the hands of Henry Naylor the writer, Pater Doran the director, and above all Yasemin Özdemir the astonishingly talented young actor, it was extremely moving.

Link to the production here.

A rather sceptical account of the 'true' story here. (I particularly like "the Islamic State, whose respects for women's rights are seen as severely limited", which should win some sort of prize for understatement.) 

A bit more on Penally Camp here. The residents (all young men) actually organised themselves very well, with support from members of the local community, and since leaving have set up a support organisation for other refugees.