Read some residents stories
Storytelling can be a powerful way of learning collaboratively. Here are some Wigan Borough resident's stories.
Silvanos
Silvanos is originally from Zimbabwe and now lives in Leigh.
An activist, writer and actor, who trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Silvanos then returned to Zimbabwe, where he set up a theatre company. He produced theatre that challenged the political regime and raised awareness of human rights issues.
In September 2016, he was arrested and tortured for hours and was freed following an international social media campaign for his release.
Silvanos has now been granted asylum in the UK with the support of the University of Manchester and the artist protection fund.
Silvanos’ story
I was in high school in Zimbabwe when I started to practice drama. The HIV and AIDS crisis was at its height and I got involved in a community drama group to raise awareness of these issues. I was selected to receive a bursary for drama which meant I could continue to study at A Level.
After school I joined a professional theatre company and we toured Asia and Europe for two years and I secured a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Following my training, I returned to Zimbabwe and I could see the problems in my home community had worsened. There was corruption, an economic meltdown, and an increasingly ruthless political regime.
There was only one TV station and 6 radio stations, which were all aligned and run by the same people, all giving the government’s messages.
I could have decided to live with it all but I could feel the community’s pain and I knew I was someone who could do something about it, I had to be part of the change I desired. I started to bring information to people using drama.
I first began getting arrested around 2004. I was arrested on stage, arrested at home. In 2008, I was charged with treason and kept in leg irons and chains for 14 days until a judge dismissed the charges.
September 2016 was the height of it all. I had spoken with other activists and rumour said the central intelligence agency were looking for me. I had noticed cars following me.
A friend from high school had become a journalist and had written about issues in Zimbabwe. He had been abducted and never seen again so I knew that this could happen.
One night there was a bang on the door, and I knew what was happening. Guns were being fired in the air and people were breaking down my door. I tried to get my wife and kids into one room, and I managed to send out a quick message on a WhatsApp group to say what was happening.
The next 4 hours were the worst of my life.
I was taken and held and tortured and beaten into a semi paralysis. I didn’t have the answers to the questions they were asking so they continued with the torture.
At the same time my WhatsApp message had reached fellow activists and they were raising awareness of my disappearance on social media. It started to become breaking news. The BBC picked up the story and ran with it.
I didn’t know this and thought I would never be seen again like my friend from high school.
Suddenly everything stopped and I was being carried out and put into a car. My face was covered but I could see lights, so I knew we were heading towards a city. I was injected with something that made me pass out and when I woke up, I was lying on the ground outside. I had no idea where I was.
The people who found me called the local MP. Luckily, he was an opposition MP and so wanted to help me. He got me to hospital, and I was there for 16 days and had to have several operations.
The University of Manchester knew of my work and had heard the story. With the help of the artist protection fund they helped to get me to the UK and supported me with my application for asylum.
I had to leave my family in Zimbabwe so I arranged to move them to another city until I could bring them to the UK.
I stayed in University accommodation in Manchester at first, but I wanted a quieter environment for my family. I like Leigh. It’s a place where the kids can be happy going to school. It feels like we can finally settle.
In the UK you are lucky that you are free to share your views on social media. It feels liberating. I feel like a different person. I do miss the theatre work. I have ideas and I know I would like to do what I do best and try to enlighten others about human rights through drama.
I have been welcomed here and I know I will contribute a lot to this community.
Kurt
I’ve always loved to learn. In high school we had a chemistry lesson where we made a green powder turn black and that sparked my interest in science.
I love anything to do with evolution and planets. I think it’s about looking into the unknown and then finding out how it all makes sense.
One of my achievements is getting the 100% attendance award in college. I did 4 years at St. John Rigby, and I didn’t miss a day.
I was born prematurely, which caused my disabilities. I can walk with a walking stick and I’m deaf. I wear one hearing aid and I could wear two but that sometimes makes the background noises louder, which can be distracting.
I think some problems for people with disabilities come from not being allowed to do things. Your family might not want you to go to the cinema until you’re older, because they care about you and want to protect you, but you might feel ready for that.
My mum has always fought for me to make sure I could have a go at anything I wanted to do when I was growing up. I said I wanted to try trampolining and guess what, the next thing I knew I was doing it.
I’d like to open people’s minds and give them a different perspective, my message to younger children with disabilities is to always be yourself and never give up.
People with disabilities can do things, it doesn’t matter if we’re in a wheelchair or not, there are always ways we can do things.
My ambition for the future is I’d like the public to see this. And in the immediate future, I’d also like to get a tattoo!
Sue
Sue lives with her husband Ray in Winstanley. She has lived with several disabilities since having breast cancer more than 20 years ago. Sue, 75, and Ray, 83, kindly talked to us about the impact her disabilities have on her life, the challenges the pandemic brought, and their advice to anyone who develops disabilities as they go through life.
Sue says
One of the side effects of the treatments I had for breast cancer is that I have osteoporosis, which means that my bones are much weaker and can break easily.
I’m also weaker on my left side, where the cancer was, which can mean my balance isn’t always good, and so I’ve had several falls, which have led to lots of operations and more complications.
My life has changed quite a bit. I can’t get myself dressed without help as I can’t do my shoes or zips. We have rails on the stairs, bed, and in the shower to help me get around. I’m petrified on stairs as I’ve had a few serious falls there.
I have a walker to help me, but I have to be careful all the time, which has been a big change.
I don’t know what I would have done without Ray. After one operation he took on all the cooking and I would give him instructions on how to cook salmon. Our sons came over and they made a Sunday dinner between them all. It must be very difficult if this sort of thing happens to you and you’re on your own.
I did have a stage where I felt I needed to speak with a professional about how I was feeling. Our GP put me in touch with someone and we talked through a few things, but I feel like I’ve come out of that now.
At first the pandemic was ok as we got used to everything being quiet and it felt as though everyone was in the same boat. We had our shopping delivered and our family, friends and neighbours were helpful so there was no pressure to go out.
As everything opened again, I did feel a bit insecure, but we decided it was important to get out and mix with people again.
We try to go out somewhere every day, even if just for an hour. We’ve found a group of people through our surgery, and we all go on an organised walk once a month around Scotmans Flash. It’s a beautiful area and right on our doorstep, we didn’t realise it was there. We can walk at our own pace and talk to each other and everyone in the group is so different that we’ve learned lots from each other.