Simone Weil writes, “The capacity to give one’s attention to a sufferer is a very rare and difficult thing; it is almost a miracle; it is a miracle,” for this is what restores the sufferer’s humanity. The attention Weil is speaking of is far from pity. It is a way of looking at and listening to another, a way of giving that person recognition. It requires an openness or receptivity, a willingness to encounter the reality of another’s suffering.

The book Tears of Gold gathers my portraits of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS slavery, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram captivity, as well as Afghan, Ukrainian, Palestinian, and Uyghur women.

I hoped to create a safe place for them to share their stories and begin to reclaim their voice and dignity.