ALWS Awareness Week 2015 Stories From The Field #1 · 2015-01-22 · looked after by foster parents. ... groundnuts and bubblegum, but I also sell ... Welcoming the Stranger —ALWS

Welcoming the Stranger —ALWS Awareness Week 2015

Australian Lutheran World Service Awareness Week 2015

Welcoming the Stranger With a focus on Refugees

For further information contact Email: [email protected]

Ph: 1300 763 407 Web: www.alws.org.au

Dare to Dream a Different World

Kwichy Kwichy is 13, and has been at Kakuma for 3 years. He is looked after by foster parents. “There is a war in South Sudan, and my parents are gone. I know both my mother and father are killed. We were brought from our home to Juba in a police vehicle, then to Kapoeta, then to Kakuma. I came with my uncle who is 17. He lives here now too. I was feeling so bad because I know my parents are no more. When I met my foster parents, I felt good. I know I am staying with people who came from the same place as I. I love being in school, and I like all the teachers. At school we get porridge – but it doesn’t taste good because it doesn’t have any sugar. I like English, Maths and Science. I have a uniform, and I am very happy. I am being promoted to Class 4. I was number 14 out of 40 students. I would like to be a policeman. I want to help keep the peace.”

Anne-Marie Bihuyumbuza “Back in Bujumburra (Burundi), I had a big shop. My brother would bring me supplies from Kampala. We had a comfortable life. We left in 2010 because of the political situation. My son supported one side, and my neighbours the other. The children started facing harassment. We were attacked. People drove into our compound, and said they were going to burn our house. There were gunshots. When the war broke out, my husband disappeared. We had to run away. I had to leave the children behind. When I had to leave the children, I was crying throughout, it hurt so much. I could not eat or drink.

I ended up in Nairobi, through UNHCR. I called back to ask about the children, and was told they were safe, but had gone in different directions. I arranged for the children to be put on a truck to come to Kenya. I was so thankful to God when I could see my children. Here in the camp I had an idea for a business. I applied to LWF, and was accepted for three days training. I learnt how to replace that money, to save it, how it would help me grow. After some time I was given a grant of 5000 Ksh ($62 USD). I bought 6kg sugar, and broke it into small parcels and sold them at 20 Ksh each ($0.25 USD). I also bought 3kg groundnuts, and packed them into small parcels, and sold them. I also bought two packets of bubble gum to sell. I had a little table at the edge of the roadside. After one week I made a profit of 800 Ksh ($10 USD). I cut the profit in two. I used one half to buy basics for my children, and I used the other half to buy more items to sell. I also started cooking buns, and rice and beans. I still had sugar, groundnuts and bubblegum, but I also sell vegetables. I carry the vegetables on my head, and I knock on every door to sell. It is not easy, but I must do it. I also give the vegetables to my daughter to sell. We work every day unless we don’t get supply. Every day except Sunday because then we go to church. To be a successful businesswoman, you must have trust in God. That is the first thing. You must also have enough capital. You must be at peace, and be happy, and have your rights respected like any other person. Then you can succeed. I talk to my children, and counsel them. I tell them regardless of the difference between the lifestyle they had at home, and what they have in camp now, they must keep hoping things will get better. When your neighbour is cooking meat, and you have only maize, do not compare. I tell them you must also complete your education.”

Stories From The Field #1

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.alws.org.au







Akech Akech is from South Sudan. She is 6 years old. When this interview was conducted, Akech had just arrived at the Reception Centre at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. She was carrying her brother. Akech is extremely articulate. She has two sisters and two brothers, and another sister who has died.

“I came here with my mother and my uncle. My father was killed in the violence. My mother was beaten. I am always thinking about my father who was killed. We ran away to Kenya. We come for safety, and also for food. I came from Sudan by foot. We were two days on foot. We were very tired. I was frightened. Then the UN picked us up. I felt good when we get here. We get beans and maize here. I am in Class One at school. My favourite subject is writing. I like collecting water, and I like playing. I want to be a teacher. I do not want to go home because there is still a lot of fighting.” Akech’s Mum, Adele – crossed the border from South Sudan with 5 children. She simply said: “My husband has died.” The family has a UNHCR tent at the rear of the Reception Centre compound. It is about 4m x 5m, supported by a central pole. There is flywire at the entrance, and sewn-in plastic on the floor. A small entry area is a storage space for things like buckets and shoes. Inside the tent it is very hot, despite the temperature outside being quite pleasant. A pile of clothes is stored in one corner, and a carry-bag of possessions in another. There are three jerry-cans from UNICEF for carrying water, which also act as stools. Mosquito nets are strung from a central pole.

Modesta Modesta is a refugee from Burundi, living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp. “I am Hutu, and my husband was a Tutsi. When the violence started, my family killed my husband. This was so painful for me. I was hurt in two areas. First, it was my own family who killed my husband. Second, my husband’s family thought I was involved, so they rejected me too. At this time my family also killed my child because they say he is Tutsi too. Romeo was 5. He was a twin. The other child lives. I am worried we will be forced back home. If there is any help here, we will appreciate it. I may try to forgive my family, but I don’t know how. If you ask me where is God, I know God was there. Yet still it seems such a wrong thing to happen to my husband. My husband was a good man. He liked to interact with people. And he liked to pray so much. He was not willing to see people have problems, he always wanted to help. I am not angry with God, because what God has planned, no one will change it. I get my strength from God. I keep praying because this is the only place I can get strength. My message to Australians is first thanks because you have helped us when so many of us have died. I make a request that you please do not get tired of helping us, and keep giving us your support. Tomorrow I have hope that we can some day smile once more.”







Ph: 1300 763 407


Kedija Mohammod Nur “I left Somalia on Friday. I left because my livestock died, and I lost all my properties. It was my decision to come, but it was very hard. I had plenty of problems I was facing. There was conflict and war. I live in the countryside and I often hear about the conflict between the tribes. I cannot go into the town because Al Shabaab* has the towns. One of the major reasons I must leave my home is because I no longer have any assets. There was drought, and I could not feed my family. I have to go back many years in my memory to remember a time when I had enough food for my children. I cry most of the time when I see my children hungry. The best option for my family to get food is to leave the country. My husband has stayed in Somalia, but he tells me: “You go first to Ethiopia, to save your life and the children. I will follow you when I can.” I miss my husband very much. It is this crisis that separates us, otherwise I would not depart from him. I have four children, and there were problems travelling. I walked most of the way. Some of my children were walking, and some I must carry. We walk for three days because we could not afford transport. The first impression I had on arrival at the Reception Centre was that I was safe, and that my children and I had survived. I have not yet received many things because we have only just arrived at this Transit Centre today. I hope my children and I will get dinner tonight. I am very happy that I am at least getting water from here. I am just happy and I want to say thank you.” *Al Shabaab are an extremist, jihadist terrorist group based in Somalia. They were working with Al-Qaeda, but this union seems to have mostly dissolved.

Fatuma Jelle Ibrahim

Fatuma works with the CPPT (Community Peace and Protection Team). She has 4 children and a husband. “I came here when I was 16. I was living with my parents in Mogadishu. I was a student at that time. We had not seen any problems until the civil war come. Then we could no longer get our basic needs. I was planning to be an educated person. I wanted to learn. I thought there was a bright future. When the war came we left Mogadishu. As we walked we don’t have water, we don’t have food, or vehicle or transport. We are walking for one month. We are fearing of other tribes. If you are not of that tribe, they will kill you. You must give them money for permission to move through. They will also rape women, and my mother feared this would happen to me. This is how and why we came to be here at Dadaab. At that time there was no security, and there was bandit every night. We see these problems in the camp, and I am unsettled to leave my children. My husband worked as daily labourer. He earned enough money for our daily needs. Before we came to this camp, we were in another. Some people attacked my husband. They shoot with guns. He became a medical case, so we left and came to this camp. Even here, though, he was still feeling fear. To escape, he went to South Africa. He was there for one year, but he came back because he wanted to see his children. They were then under five years. He said, “If I will be killed, at least I will be killed with my family.” One night he got a phone call, and went out from our home to get money for basics. The whole night I am waiting for him. In the morning people came and told me my husband’s body was at the police station. My children still now remember their father. They say, “The person who killed my father also killed me.”

This is my motivation for becoming a CPPT. We want to live in a safe place. This is why we want to work with the community, and be Ambassadors of Peace.”










Alsaid (12 years old)

“I was in Level 7 at school when we left Somalia. There was war going on, and there were bandits. When they see you, they shoot you. I see one person who has died already. There were two rebel groups fighting for control of our area. We had to run away from these clashes. There were burials daily, so many died. I was very scared I would be killed. This is why we run away. We boarded a vehicle from Somalia. It took two days to reach the border. On the way we were intercepted by bandits. They took all our clothes, and by the time we arrived here we were half naked. We arrived at Dagahaley camp where we were registered as new arrivals. As the area was filled up, we had to live on the outskirts. We had to live in the local shelter made from shrubs. We came here with nothing. We received help from our relatives who were already here, and we received food distribution. We also received sleeping mats, utensils, blankets, and a tent. My parents can just stay in the camp. There is no work for them to do, and this makes them sad. LWF is the one who give us the education. They built up the school for us. I give my thanks to the people in Australia. I am grateful. Please continue your help as the school is not yet completed. We have no permanent classroom. Without this, the wind can come and blow this school away. We do not even have a school bell, so the children don’t know when to come. We need a stamp to put the school name on the textbooks. We get homework, but we do not have enough books. At home we also do not have light so we cannot study at night.

I would like to be a teacher. I will teach the younger children, and be a teacher here at this camp. I will make sure parents bring the children to school, because if the children do not have education they can only be labourers. Education is the best thing to make life better in the camp.”

Batulo and her baby Bolo

“I have been at Dadaab for five years. We have come here because of war. A bullet was thrown and hit my husband in the stomach. Then there were artillery shells.

We fled for our lives. We came here by foot. It took two months and eight days. The towns gave us a little food, and we move slowly, slowly. When I came here I was first given cooking utensils, sleeping mats and blankets. We feel safe here after the emergency. When my child grows, I will take him to school. This is my only plan. The people here are living a low standard of life. The climate is very hot, so we need cool clothes. We also need blankets for the babies. LWF has given me a baby layette and plastic sheets for shelter. We see LWF (staff) around the camp every day.”










Maryan Omav Gabow “Before the war I do business selling clothes. There was enough money made to feed my family. When the war started I was 15 years old. Sometimes it was calm, but when it was violent there was no food. We had to eat leaves. There was a lot of killing. This is traumatising. My small daughter was kidnapped by Al Shabab* fighters. They took her without my consent. They just take her. She was 15 years old. I was frightened and traumatised

because she is in the hands of the militia. I went to Al Shabab* and I had quarrels with them about my daughter. They told me it was against our religion to protect my daughter. They threatened to kill me. My husband left Somalia because he was scared they would kill him. Al Shabab* beat me, and I have gunshot wounds in my shoulder and back. But I got my daughter back, and now she is with me. The thing that made me leave was some of my relatives and neighbours and family friends were killed. Others left, so I decided to go too. I was among some ladies who boarded a bus. Later it was attacked. The ladies were raped, and many were killed. I was fortunate to escape. I was one of very few. The majority were killed. When I arrived here I had only two of my children. I also had other children who had arrived here earlier with their father. We were apart for six months, and it was so hard to be apart. Now we are reunited. I have been here five months. When I arrived I had nothing, only my two children. We don’t want to return to Somalia. We are hoping we can go to a better place than this. We like to be resettled in some place like Australia, where there is peace, and where they don’t know the word Al Shabab*. Since I came from war, and here there is peace, this is what I will hope for.”


Isaac Aged 25 years old. He has crossed the border taking care of 6 children – his siblings and cousins. “I came because I believe there is a lot of crisis. People are killing. They are putting people inside the hut and killing them. I have some education – Secondary Class 2 – but others are only keeping cattle. It is the cattle that cause the fighting. There is a lot of crisis. Tribes fighting tribes. My father has died. He was killed in the conflict, for independence. He was in the SPLA. My mother is too old to come. We had nothing there, so I have to bring the children. I came with six. We had no food. The children were frightened. When we came the car was stuck in the mud five times. There are a lot of people killed along the way. It took four days to get here. We have come from Lake State. Now I have six children to take care of. It is very hard. My hope is you can help the children get education and life.”

*Al Shabaab are an extremist, jihadist terrorist group based in Somalia. They were working with Al-Qaeda, but this union seems to have mostly dissolved.









Grace Mumate Leo 23 years old. “I am from the Congo. Bukavu in South Kif. I came from a family of six children, but my whole family was killed in 2010. Before this, life was very good. It was comfortable. We went to school. We played with our brothers and sisters. Life was very good. My father was a truck driver. He bought charcoal and sold it. There was a rebellion in 1994-5, and my father was forced to work with the rebels. He did not wear a uniform, or carry a gun – his work was to take the rebels around, and show them places. After this, he could not make money because there was not enough time left to do work. He could not even pay the school fees. In 2010 we were attacked because the Government said my father worked for the rebels. We were all at home. They raped my mother in front of us children. I was 19 when this happened. When my father could not stop them, he confronted them, and that’s when all my family were killed They started slashing us with pangas (machetes), then shot them and burnt the house. I escaped in all the confusion. The name of my father is Leo Mumatu. My mother is Jacqueline. My brother Didi was 24, then sister Victoria 18, then Jonathan 17, then the youngest my brother Mannasee, age 14. I ran away and found safety in a convent. I stayed there for four days. The Sisters felt I may still be unsafe, and so they put me on a long distance truck to Kenya. The truck driver brought me to Eldoret. Then I paid for a bus to Kakuma. I explained what had happened to the police, and they took me to the DRA (Department of Refugee Affairs). They then took me to the Reception Centre.

At that time I was traumatised and confused. When I got to the Reception Centre I found some people from my own country. We talked, and shared experiences, and this made me feel good. If it were not for LWF welcoming me there, I think I would have killed myself, I was so traumatised. After the assessment, I was referred for counselling. I was at the Reception Centre for three months because of concerns for my security. I was moved to a section of the camp nicknamed ‘Hong Kong’. They put up a tent for me, but people heard me singing at church, and they let me come and put up my tent in the compound of the church. Then I started looking for a livelihood. I looked for a job as a hairdresser. While I was working at the salon, some people brought in solar panels, and asked me to sell them. They said I would get a good commission. But I thought they were stolen, so I reported this to the police station. The police did the investigation, and the people were arrested and taken to court. I gave evidence in court. The men then held a grudge against me. They attacked me in the court premises, and I was beaten. Four men were found guilty and jailed. I started receiving phone-calls and threats, and then I was attacked again. Because of these security concerns I then lost my job. There was a person in the community who had a motorcycle, and he lent it to me to use as a taxi. We shared the profits. I am an artist. I want now to continue at school, and also develop my art skills. I want to excel so I can support myself all through my life. Even with everything that has happened to me, I know God is there, and is able to do anything. God acts in his own time. You cannot go against God, and God does things according to his will.You cannot complain ‘Why did you take away my father’, you can only rely on God. I want people to keep giving support to this refugee camp, otherwise we would not have survived. Please keep supporting us so we can become self-reliant.”

Grace holds a painting he did of his mother Jacqueline.




Documents

ALWS Awareness Week 2015 Stories From The Field #1 · 2015-01-22 · looked after by foster parents. ... groundnuts and bubblegum, but I also sell ... Welcoming the Stranger —ALWS