Hear their voices


Part of the mandate of JRS is to help give a voice to refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. This section is dedicated to just that. Here you can read stories from refugees and others who had to flee their homes, witness their resilience and learn more about their experience in exile and the challenges they face once they start rebuilding their lives.

South Sudan: Our lives in school and future dreams 18 mars 2013 Yambio, 11 March 2013 - Our names are Jane* and Mary*, studying in primary eight at St Mary’s primary school. We like this school because it is good and has teachers who teach us well in class. We wake up very early in the morning to come to school because it’s far from home. We do not like to come late to school otherwise we will be punished by our teachers. We carry wooden chairs from home because our classes do not have chairs. The wooden chairs are heavy and we get tired by the time we arrive in school. Read more >>

Kenya: How ‘logic and critical thinking’ class changed the way I think 19 janvier 2013 Kakuma, 19 January 2013 - Communication plays an important part in our daily lives. This is especially because, as human beings, we are meant to be with others. Part of our life requires that we create relationships with others – in the family, at school, at work places, and in the community. Read more >>

Ethiopia: It's better to live 31 octobre 2012 Dollo Ado, Ethiopia 31 October 2012 – Ali* is one of the young refugees at the Melkedida refugee camp, Dollo Ado District of Ethiopia. Back in his home village in Somalia, his family used to have many animals, a farm and a shop. Ali was the source of the family's wealth, as he worked hard. When his mother talks about Ali, she says, "he is a blessing to his family", as he understands all their needs and worries. He used to be adored by the community and small children wanted to be like him. The drought in 2010 killed all of his animals and left him with only one donkey, which he used to fetch water from the river. Read more >>

South Sudan: From liability to asset 18 octobre 2012 Yei, South Sudan, 18 October 2012 - My name is Alex, a 25 year-old South Sudanese born in a village of Yei River County. According to my parents, I was born normal and started walking well like any other children. Read more >>

Ethiopia: JRS could sense my grief 12 octobre 2012 Addis Ababa, 12 October 2012 – My name is Paul* and I was born in 1988 in Puntland, Somalia. I am an orphan as I lost both my parents before the age of 10, due to the violent conflict in Somalia. Read more >>

Kenya: The impact of a JRS scholarship 18 septembre 2012 Nairobi, 19 September 2012 - My name is Tesfu*, formerly a civil servant and senior NGO worker from Asmara, Eritrea, now a refugee living in Nairobi, Kenya. In August 2010 my wife, my two sons and my little girl moved from Eritrea to join me in Kenya as I had secured a very good new job in Nairobi and the future looked bright. However what should have been a time for new beginnings quickly turned sour. Read more >>

Kenya: Like a bird freed from its cage 16 septembre 2012 Kenya, 11 September 2012 - My name is Jamal* and I am a former refugee from Saudi Arabia. I now live in Louiseville, Kentucky in the USA, and my life has turned around dramatically. JRS helped me greatly along the way and so I wanted to tell my story. Read more >>

Uganda: A long struggle 27 août 2012 Juba, 27 August 2012 – My name is Reuben* and I am a former refugee, now living back in my home country, South Sudan. I want to share my story and thank JRS for the service they provided to me over the years. In 1994, aged just six years-old, I fled with my mother from southern Sudan to Adjumani, Uganda as we tried to escape the terrible war. Read more >>

Among refugees, my heart found a home 24 juillet 2012 (Washington, D.C.) July 24, 2012 — Fr. Gary Smith, S.J., author of 'They Come Back Singing: Finding God with the Refugees,' has served refugees as a member of Jesuit Refugee Service since the year 2000. Here he shares some of his thoughts as he prepared to leave his most recent assignment with JRS last month. Read more >>

Ethiopia: Still going strong 17 mai 2012 Dollo Ado, 6 June 2012 – Sofia* is a Somali refugee living in Melkadida refugee camp, Dollo Ado District in southeast Ethiopia. Like many other refugees in this camp, she is faced with a mountain of challenges. A mother of six children, life does not come easy for her, and this is compounded by the fact that she recently lost her husband. Read more >>

South Sudan: a role model for students and teachers 04 mai 2012 Nimule, 4 May 2012 – Esther is a role model for her community. A secondary education teacher of commerce and accounting at Fulla Secondary School, Nimule, and a mother of three, she exudes happiness, confidence and professionalism. However, as a former refugee, the journey to this point has not been easy. She attributes her success to the support of JRS over a period of nearly 12 years, from 2000 to 2011. Read more >>

Ethiopia: recreation eases difficulty of camp life 03 mai 2012 Dollo Ado, 3 May 2012 – My first experience with refugees was in Mai-Aini camp in northwest Ethiopia. I worked with Jesuit Refugee Service as a Sports and Recreational Activities Officer there for just under a year. Eighty percent of the camp residents were young, male Eritrean refugees, most of whom had fled their country for political reasons. The life-affirming challenges I met there prepared me for my current role in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia. Read more >>

Ethiopia: laughing and learning in Dollo Ado 21 mars 2012 (Dollo Ado, Ethiopia) March 21, 2012 – Last year, in August 2011, the children in Melkadida Refugee Camp were struggling to survive. They were on the verge of death. I witnessed their agony and I saw the many pits in graveyards prepared in advance. Now, six months later, life is different and I am happy to watch them playing, dancing, laughing and learning. Read more >>

Kenya: Christmas in Kakuma 05 mars 2012 (Kakuma, Kenya) March 5, 2012 — Fr. Gary Smith, S.J., Jesuit Refugee Service Pastoral Coordinator at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, shares a reflection of Christmas in the camp, which is home to more than 85,000 refugees from several countries throughout Africa. Read more >>

South Sudan: On Christmas Eve in Palwar 28 février 2012 (Lobone, South Sudan) February 28, 2012 — Every Christmas, a number of Jesuit Refugee Service staff members volunteer to remain at work over the holiday period in order to keep the projects operating efficiently. Fr. Richard O’Dwyer, S.J., Project Director for the JRS Lobone project in South Sudan, reflects on what this experience meant for him during Christmas 2011. Read more >>

Kenya: Fleeing insecurity and starvation, 17 years on 04 août 2011 Kakuma, 3 August 2011 – Twenty-seven year-old Ahmed* from Somalia has lived in Kakuma refugee camp, north-west Kenya since 2004. As tens of thousands are fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia, he remembers what made him flee 17 years ago. Read more >>

Kenya: Escaping violence in Congo 28 juillet 2011 Nairobi, 28 July 2011 – I am a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and I came to Kenya in 2009. When I think of my past, I smile and cry at the same time. I recall that very night when my family was attacked while I was at work, doing the night shift. Read more >>

Kenya: Where is home? 20 juin 2011 Kakuma, 20 June 2011 – Kakuma refugee camp in north-west Kenya was set up in 1992 to host refugees fleeing civil war in Sudan. Today, it hosts more than 78,000 refugees from 11 different African nations. Somalis and Sudanese form the majority but the third largest group are refugees from Ethiopia. More than 5,000 live in the camp, and many have been there for more than 15 years. Hanna* is one of them; she shares her thoughts on life in the camp and her hope for the future. Read more >>

Ethiopia: Fleeing pain and hopelessness 08 juin 2011 Addis Ababa, 8 June 2011 – In early May, Hawa*, a 45-year-old Somali woman, and her four children aged between four and 12 came to the JRS Emergency Needs Programme office in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, asking for help. Read more >>

Kenya: Escaping forced marriage 08 avril 2011 Kakuma, 8 April 2011 – My name is Sarah and I am 24 years old. I have four children and I was born and raised in Southern Sudan. Read more >>

Eritrea: A country like a prison 01 avril 2011 Mai-Aini, 1 April 2011 – My name is Kidan* and I am 33 years old. When I was five years old my family offered me to the Orthodox Church to serve the Lord all my life. As a result, I attended all the training necessary and became a priest**. Read more >>

Kenya: Students’ voices from Kakuma 21 mars 2011 Kakuma, 21 March 2011 - Almost 60 refugees now have access to higher education in Kakuma refugee camp, after JRS officially launched a distance-education project with Jesuit universities in the US. Here are some of the students' reactions on the day of the launch: Read more >>

Kenya: Widower counsels community while looking after five children 07 mars 2011 Kakuma, 7 March 2011 - In May 2010 my wife passed away and left me five children, all underage. I am 64 years old and have no other person who can take care of them if today I pass away. Read more >>

Kenya: Life continues in spite of pain 28 février 2011 Kakuma, 28 February 2011 – My name is Tumaini*. I am a boy from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and live in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. My country has gone through wars and fighting but for me the 25th October 1996 marked the beginning of great suffering and the death of hundreds of thousands of people. Read more >>

Uganda: Moving back home 25 février 2011 Kitgum, 25 February 2011 – Paul* is 45 years old and lives in Kitgum District, northern Uganda. He is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who were displaced into camps while the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) terrorised Uganda’s north for more than twenty years. Read more >>

Kenya: A story of resilience 18 février 2011 Nairobi, 18 February 2011 – I am a Congolese refugee married with three children. Back in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) I was a farmer. Being farmers, we were disadvantaged since rebels could come when crops were ready and take away food and herds of cattle. Read more >>

Kenya: Refugee helps local child reunite with family 27 janvier 2011 Kakuma, 27 January 2011 – I fled Sudan in 1996 because of the war. I made my way to Kakuma refugee camp across the border in north-west Kenya and was registered as a refugee. Read more >>

Kenya: Life in a camp is always the same 20 décembre 2010 Kakuma, 20 December 2010 – I was forced to leave Ethiopia eight years ago because of political reasons. My father was a business man and was accused by the government of supporting a rebel group. Since 2002 we don’t know my father’s whereabouts. He was sent to prison three times and the last time he didn’t come back. Read more >>

Kenya: Rwandan refugee glad to receive higher education in Kakuma 13 décembre 2010 Kakuma, 13 December 2010 – Thirty-one year-old Rwandan refugee Joel is one of the first students to take part in the new JC-HEM distance-learning programme, scheduled to begin official courses in January 2011. Still an asylum-seeker, Joel has had a difficult time finding opportunities for higher education. Read more >>

Kenya: New distance-learning programme provides hope for Sudanese refugee 25 novembre 2010 Kakuma, 25 November 2010 – Every day Bol, a 26-year old paraplegic man, pedals his hand-powered tricycle an hour each way from his home through Kakuma refugee camp to attend the first introductory training sessions for the new JRS distance-learning university courses. Read more >>

Ethiopia: In search of peace and security 17 novembre 2010 Addis Ababa, 17 November 2010 – My name is Aziza, I am 30 years old. I had a husband and bore him five children. Two of my children died because of diarrhoea while they were babies. The other three, two boys and a girl, are alive. Read more >>

Ethiopia: An avalanche of challenges 17 septembre 2010 Addis Ababa, 17 September 2010 – My name is Fatuma and I am one of the thousands of refugees who had to flee Somalia due to the deadly security and humanitarian situation. Especially women and children are driven to neighbouring countries. I am one of them and I face a lot of challenges. Read more >>

Kenya: Education is my mirror 15 juin 2010 Kakuma, 15 June 2010 – I am a 35-year-old male Ethiopian refugee and have resided at Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya since 2001. I fled from my homeland with some of my colleagues in search of protection after we had been harassed, intimidated and imprisoned and, more generally, deprived of our personal and academic rights by the Ethiopian government. Read more >>

Ethiopia: I came with empty hands 16 avril 2010 Addis Ababa, 16 April 2010 – In 2005, I fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with my wife and three children because of the civil war. It took us weeks to arrive at the Ethiopian border after having crossed Uganda and Kenya. When we finally reached the capital, Addis Ababa, our clothes were tattered and we were weak. We presented our cases and sought asylum. Read more >>

Kenya: Riding on the back of a tortoise 01 mars 2010 Kakuma, 1 March 2010 – Abebe Feyissa Demo, an Ethiopian refugee who lived in Kakuma refugee camp for 16 years tells his story. He wrote this article before he was resettled to Australia. A longer version of the article was previously published by the Forced Migration Review (www.fmreview.org, Issue 33). Read more >>

Uganda: Abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army 13 novembre 2009 Kitgum, 13 November 2009 – I was 18 years old when I was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The rebels came at 10 o’clock in the morning. We all ran away but they had positioned one of their groups on the other side of our village and we ran right into their hands. Read more >>

Southern Sudan: Key to a better future 13 novembre 2009 Kajo Keji, 13 November 2009 – In April 2004, less than a year before a peace accord ended the 22-years civil war in Sudan, I left the refugee settlement in Adjumani District, northern Uganda and headed for my home village in Kajo Keji County, Southern Sudan. Read more >>

Ethiopia: A child, overwhelmed with adult duties 12 novembre 2009 Addis Ababa, 12 November 2009 – Jemila* is a ten-year-old Congolese refugee living in Addis Ababa. She speaks the official local language, Amharic, fluently. Since her mother died a couple of years ago, she has been forced to assume adult responsibilities, looking after her father who is an alcoholic. Read more >>

Southern Sudan: Vincent’s struggle for education 15 octobre 2009 Nimule, 15 October 2009 – “I am proud to inform you that I have successfully completed my studies and I wish to express my sincere gratitude to JRS who has tremendously supported me in my struggle for education.” These were the words JRS recently received in a letter sent by Vincent, a former refugee, from Southern Sudan. During a visit to our office, he shared his story. Read more >>

Kenya: Carrying the burden alone 16 juillet 2009 Nairobi, 16 July 2009 – In 1994, when I was 23 years old, I had to flee from Rwanda because of the genocide. Together with my husband and two children we fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but since we did not feel safe in the refugee camps we moved to Kenya. Read more >>

Kenya: The forgotten Anyuak community 15 mai 2009 Nairobi, 15 may 2009 – I fled from my home in the Gambela region of Ethiopia because people from the highlands who belonged to the ruling government were killing us for reasons which I don’t know. Read more >>

Kenya: Left alone, persecuted, detained 15 avril 2009 Nairobi, 15 April 2009 – I was born in 1983 in Rwanda as the first born in a family of three. My sister drowned when I was eight years old. My father was a politician and my mother was a businesswoman. In 1993, when I was 10 years old, my father left the country due to a political controversy, which resulted in threats and intimidation for him. Read more >>

Uganda: Surviving in the city 15 avril 2009 Kampala, 15 April 2009 – My story is like that of many women who married across the thins and precarious ethnic divide in Rwanda and who became victims of both sides. I am a Tutsi; my husband belonged to the Hutu tribe. We lived in Butare province with our seven children. Read more >>

Southern Sudan: Starting over 15 avril 2009 Lobone, 15 April 2009 – I was born in 1971 in the Eastern Equatoria state of Southern Sudan. When I was 14 years old fighting erupted in our area. I walked 70 miles to Juba where my parents lived for some years, spending the nights outside. Read more >>

Uganda: Out of the pan into the fire 18 mars 2009 Kampala, 18 March 2009 – Bakola* is a Congolese refugee woman living in Uganda. Like many others she was forced to flee from her country in 2000 and sought refuge in neighbouring Burundi. Read more >>

Uganda: The struggle to be human again 13 février 2009 Kitgum, 13 February 2009 – A better life is not something I just want. It is something I struggle for. I wish I had an easy answer to my life’s struggles but I don’t. I am also very skeptical of any one who claims to. Living in this state of uncertainty will probably continue for some time yet I have to learn to love these struggles and live my life again. Read more >>

Uganda: Two years with the LRA 13 février 2009 Kitgum, 13 February 2009 – I was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) when I was 13 years old. I remember very well that it was on 17 January 2002. While we were sleeping they came and abducted me, my father and some of my siblings. Read more >>

Southern Sudan: Becoming a child soldier 12 février 2009 Yei, 12 February 2009 – In 1983, when the second civil war started in his country, Salomon* was only 11 years old. That year the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) was established and immediately they began broadcasting on the radio, a very powerful war propaganda tool. At the time, he was far too young to be able to understand what was going on. Read more >>

Ethiopia: Hope never dies 14 janvier 2009 Addis Ababa, 14 January 2009 – Nimo* is a 46-year-old Somali refugee woman who has lived with her disability for 15 years. She came to the JRS office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, carried on a stretcher by her own family members. Read more >>

Uganda: More than conquerors 18 décembre 2008 Adjumani, 18 December 2008 – I was born in 1988 in Juba, which is now the capital of Southern Sudan, in the middle of the war but old enough to remember the burning of houses and bullets passing the ears of innocent children. Read more >>

Uganda: Education - a tool for development 18 décembre 2008 Adjumani, 18 December 2008 – I was born in Loa in 1963, during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955-72) and I was only two years old when my family fled to Uganda. Read more >>

Uganda: Educated in Adjumani 18 décembre 2008 Adjumani, 18 December 2008 – I was born in the Eastern Equatoria State in Southern Sudan. In 1984, when I was 11 years old, I started my primary education in Anzara. When the civil war between north and southern Sudan intensified and reached Anzara area in 1991, I was forced to leave with my family. Read more >>

Kenya: Education is everything 08 décembre 2008 Nairobi, 8 December 2008 – Armel* was 13 years old when he first came to Kenya in 2001, fleeing the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with his sister and his elder brother. Read more >>

Uganda: One day in the life of an asylum seeker 14 novembre 2008 Kampala, 14 November 2008 – Festus*, a Rwandan man, who sought asylum in Kampla 10 months ago, considers himself lucky because he has found ways to survive in the Ugandan capital. Read more >>

Ethiopia: Counselling saves lives 24 octobre 2008 Addis Ababa, 24 October 2008 – Elizabeth*, a 24-year-old Congolese refugee, arrived in Ethiopia in 2004 after crossing the bushes and forests of Uganda and Kenya. She was forced to leave her homeland because of the civil war. Read more >>

Ethiopia: The cost of war 17 septembre 2008 Addis Ababa, 17 September 2008 – In current Somalia there is little hope for an improvement of the situation. Thousands have become victims of the war, are displaced and exiled, killed innocently, wounded or disabled. The JRS team in Addis shares about one of their encounters with a 24-year-old Somali asylum seeker. Read more >>

Uganda: English lessons give new perspective 17 janvier 2008 Kampala, 17 January 2008 – My name is Danny and I am 24 years old. I am a Congolese refugee in Uganda where I arrived in 2000. Before I came to Uganda, life was fine. When we arrived in Uganda everything was new to me. I had friends and neighbours, but couldn’t communicate with them. Read more >>

Uganda: Life in the bush with the LRA 17 janvier 2008 Kitgum, 17 January 2008 – I was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in May 2004 from Alua refugee settlement in Adjumani [northern Uganda] at around midnight. Read more >>

Uganda: Fleeing persecution, seeking freedom 01 janvier 1900 Kampala, 1November 2010 – I fled Rwanda in late 2009 because I was afraid of the ruling government, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). I used to live in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, with my wife and four children. Life was difficult for us because I faced many problems with the government. Read more >>

Sud Soudan: Un modèle pour les élèves et pour les enseignants 04 mai 2012 Nimule, le 4 mai 2012 – Esther est un modèle pour sa communauté. Elle enseigne le commerce et la comptabilité à l'école secondaire de Fulla, à Nimule, et elle est mère de trois enfants. Elle transpire le bonheur, la confiance et le professionnalisme. Ceci dit, son ancien statut de réfugié ne lui a pas facilité la tâche pour y arriver. Elle attribue sa réussite au soutien que le JRS lui a apporté pendant une douzaine d'années, de 2000 à 2011. Lire la suite >>>

Ethiopie: La récréation aplanit les difficultés inhérentes à la vie dans les camps 03 mai 2012 Dollo Ado, le 3 mai 2012 – J'ai vécu ma première expérience auprès des réfugiés dans le camp de Mai-Aini au nord-ouest de l'Ethiopie. Je travaillais avec le Service Jésuite des Réfugiés comme Responsable des Sports et des Activités récréatives depuis un peu moins d'un an. Quatre-vingt pour cent des résidents du camp étaient de jeunes hommes Erythréens qui avaient fui leur pays pour des raisons politiques. Les défis existentiels que j'y ai rencontrés m'ont préparé au travail que je fais actuellement à Dollo Ado, Ethiopie. Lire la suite >>>

Sudán del Sur: Un modelo para estudiantes y maestros 04 mai 2012 Nimule, 4 May 2012 – Esther es un modelo para su comunidad: maestra de secundaria - imparte comercio y contabilidad en la Escuela de Secundaria de Fulla, Nimule - y madre de tres hijos, desborda felicidad, confianza y profesionalidad. Sin embargo, como ex refugiada, llegar a este punto no ha sido fácil. Ella atribuye su éxito al apoyo del JRS durante casi doce años, de 2000 a 2011. Leer más >>>

Etiopía: las actividades lúdicas suavizan las dificultades de la vida en el campamento 03 mai 2012 Dollo Ado, 3 de mayo de 2012 – Mi primera experiencia con refugiados fue en el campamento de Mai-Aini en el noroeste de Etiopía. Allí trabajé con el Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados como responsable de Deportes y Actividades Lúdicas durante algo menos de un año. El ochenta por ciento de los residentes del campamento eran jóvenes varones eritreos la mayoría de los cuales habían huido del país por razones políticas. Los desafíos vitales con los que allí me encontré me prepararon para mi actual papel en Dollo Ado, Etiopía. Leer más >>>

Sud Sudan: un modello per studenti e insegnanti 04 mai 2012 Nimule, 4 maggio 2012 – Esther è un modello per la sua comunità. Insegnante di commercio e contabilità presso la Fulla Secondary School di Nimule, e madre di tre bambini, emana felicità, sicurezza e professionalità. Eppure, da ex rifugiata, arrivare fin qui è stato tutt'altro che facile. Esther attribuisce il suo successo al sostegno avuto dal JRS per quasi dodici anni, dal 2000 al 2011. Segue >>>

Etiopia: la ricreazione rende più accettabili le difficoltà del vivere in un campo rifugiati 03 mai 2012 Dollo Ado, 3 maggio 2012 – La mia prima esperienza con i rifugiati l'ho maturata nel campo di Mai-Ain, nell'Etiopia nordoccidentale. Ho lavorato per quasi un anno con il Servizio dei Gesuiti per i Rifugiati come Responsabile per le attività sportive e ricreative. L'ottanta percento dei residenti del campo erano giovani maschi eritrei perlopiù fuggiti dal proprio paese per motivi politici. Le sfide che mi si sono poste nel tentativo di affermare il valore della vita sono state in un certo modo propedeutiche al ruolo che svolgo attualmente. Segue >>>