In May 2018, Shonchi saw a tweet stating that 48,000 Rohingya women were about to give birth to babies conceived out of rape. Three weeks later, she was working as a volunteer at the Rohingya refugee camps on behalf of Action Aid. She made a promise to the women to present their stories to the world.
Rohingya Lives Matters features spoken word, music, photos, art, performance and film, that gives people an insight into what life and conditions are like in the camp. A genocide has occurred and still the Burmese military are not being held accountable.
Shonchi (the artist formerly known as Sanchita Islam) has built an international reputation as a visual artist; it was after her own recall of trauma that she suddenly started making music – to date 400 pieces in 3 years – and recently signed with Pulse Soundworks. She will be performing songs from her new album Solitude and Ash, featuring the voice of Stephen Fry, that presents music that deals with mental pain and trauma.
