In May 2004 I called MONUSCO, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and they escorted me over the border to Rwanda. My brother had been killed by the government in a conflict with rebels in our region of South Kivu, and I was scared that I would be next. I spent 3 months in a transit camp then seven years in Kibwye refugee camp where I met my wife. In October 2010 the UK Border Agency came to the camp and selected 72 out of 20,000 people to come to the UK. In January 2011 we arrived in the UK and were helped to resettle by the Refugee Council’s Gateway programme.
In the Congo and the camp I didn’t know my future - will I live for tomorrow? Here in the UK I feel free, I can sleep easy and my children go to school. Next year I will be a British citizen and I will be able to get a student loan and return to University. I had the grace to come from the refugee camp to England and I must grasp the opportunity.
Roof of the Arts Tower, University of Sheffield