Tindy fled Rwanda having been kidnapped when he was 13 and forced to become a child soldier. All of his family had been killed in the genocide and he arrived in the UK as a refugee, aged 16. Tindy met Emma at a Refugee Council Christmas Party in December 2003 when he was 16. He remembers the first time he saw her was when she was serving the food!  At that time, Tindy was in need of both friendship and family and little by little he became part of Emma’s family – it wasn’t something that happened over night.

Tindy: “Upon arriving in a new country you have to quickly adapt and accept that you have to learn new things and incorporate your background with the new environment. That’s how you survive really. Those who have been most successful have tried to integrate, they’ve not completely left their background but they’ve accepted that life has gone on. It has been a long journey, home is always best, but it just happens in a snap when things are difficult and sometimes you are forced to move away. It is a constant learning experience.”

Refugees. Ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Share their stories.