Abdul: In my country, there is a guerilla war. The army has been pillaging many people in my village for so many years now. My Dad was killed in the same process.

Abdul: My Mom, the rest of my family? Well, I sure don’t know now. They are all scattered may be around the world. I don’t know. One thing I know is that by some luck, some of them may still be alive.

Abdul: Hesitantly and uncomfortable I find it unbelievable. I feel like I am cursed. Like there is no hope for any life to me.

Abdul: I left with some seven Boys and some 2 girls. We walked aimlessly not knowing where we were heading for. We just ended up some where in a Mud-baked area. I have never known what this place was. I had never been here before.

Abdul: While there, some armed men in army uniforms found us. We were so tired and helpless that all we had left was to surrender. There was no telling what they were going to do to us but we kept our spirits high. We wanted to believe we had some chance that someone found us but didn’t kill us on the spot. They were not that friendly to us but with nothing to do, we just had to wait.

Abdul: One of the men, got out some ropes from his bag. They were very coarse, so hard and rough. They tied us up so tightly and beat us up like we never expected. They use rifle butts some times to hit us in the back so we keep moving. We then knew we were done for.

Abdul: During these times, people were being forced to fight, especially strong-looking teenagers. We now knew this was the time. In fact, one of the boys I was with was so scared and he tried to take off. He was sliced to death right before us. All we were left with was to keep obedient lest we also have the same treat.

Abdul: We just kept moving on. After a very long walk, we came to a camp. I didn’t know any of the people we found there and I didn’t know the place either.

Abdul: To our dismay, we were set free. All we had in our minds now was to take off. Before we could even think about it, some one was reading us some rules. Very strict rules and concluded by saying, "I strongly advise that you don’t consider escaping".

Abdul: Of course, we had to stay here for some time. We were being given very little to eat and drink, but at least we were given something. There was a little hospitality at this camp which I greatly attribute to my being here today. We were free to move around the camp but there some places we were not supposed to go.

Abdul: I simply broke the last rule. I escaped. I took off just aimlessly as I started and found myself in Northern Uganda. I just didn’t it was northern Uganda anyway but who care, I was all right. As I kept on going, I came to a place. I think it was a camp. There were so many people.

Abdul: It is very likely that I spent many days moving. What bothers me most is that I used to spend days without water or food and where there was water it was some of the worst I have seen.

Abdul: I found there was a procedure to be followed. First every new entrant had to register before being allowed to stay. So I did just that. You see it was very important otherwise some rebels could also come and settle among us just to continue terrorizing us.

Abdul: It was really a blessing that I got here. I found many people from my home area and I found it very easy to fit in.

Abdul: Not much. You see, as I was getting used to it, we were transferred to another camp. (From his description of where they went, I could tell they went to Bundibugyo. This is another refugee settlement are in western Uganda. It is in the Rwenzori Mountains the boarder of Uganda and the Democratic republic of Congo. Currently it is also war-stricken with Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Rebels. They have cause a couple of other atrocities in this region.)

Abdul: Life in this place may not be worth for a king but it was heaven to me. Let me say it was more or less Paradise if I compare it to what I was living like through the past. There I used to get everything free and good. I got medication and care. People there think we are useful and they are concerned about how I am living.

Abdul: As you can expect, almost all people who go to the camps are different. So as usual there are many conflicts and quarrels, fighting for food and a lot more. But most of the problems are from the poor hygienic conditions. There are so many of us but very little space to live. So many wastes are scattered allover the camp including human waste. In this case, you will find a lot of epidemics like Cholera, diarrhea typhoid and so many others.

Abdul: Not so simple. In fact I would say meaningless. You see you leave an aimless life for many reasons. (Listing them) 1. You are not sure if you will ever go back to your home. 2. You feel a total failure in life after losing almost everything in life 3. Being in a foreign country, you just do not know where or how to start. 4. In the camps, there is not much developmental work you can do.

Abdul: There are so many things that I would really want to have. But as you can see, the world changes its color every day. Maybe what would be best for me is to continue with my studies that I had started and complete. After that, I could take on what I can. I hope the UNHCR can help me and that’s what I am here to find out.

Abdul: I really don’t have so much willingness to go back there. I can’t even imagine how it looks there now. I don’t even have a family to go back to. Worst of all at this moment all male human beings in my country are expected to become government soldiers. What future can I have as a government soldier with hardly a pay? I can’t even imagine leaving the life I’ve tasted here for that. I’ve even never thought of becoming a soldier.

Abdul: If they can, I would like them to help and not to send away people who are looking for such help as refugees. Though some may not be real refugees but if they can be examined to find out the truth they should help us where they can. We really need a lot of their help.