Fred’s Story, Uganda
Photo by UNHCR / F. Noy / June 2014
51 year old Fred* used to be a wealthy government official back in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after he was captured and tortured for a week he ran to Kyaka II refugee settlement in Uganda with his family of 11, where he now lives in a mud hut trying to make ends meet.
“I came to Uganda 5 years ago with my family. In the Congo I was a rich man; I worked for a local counselor as his secretary. They came at 2pm on June 30th 2009 to take away my boss, and then later they came for me. From that day onwards we have not really enjoyed life. I was taken to the bush by government soldiers. I spent a week in the bush and it was terrible. I was sodomised and tortured. I was tortured in three ways – psychologically, morally and physically. In the bush I slept with dead people; among them and with them. Finally I managed to escape in a miraculous way. There was firing of guns some way away and my captors ran there to see what was going on and I was able to escape.
I don’t ever want to return to the Congo as I could be killed. Even now I suffer from mental problems. I’m on medication for it, but when I remember what happened I suffer and I’m not even able to take my kids to school, I’m not able to move or do anything. Sometimes I think to living and dying is the same thing. But for my kids I try hide my negative feelings and my own stress. I show them only positive feelings and I only wish for them to be happy. I teach them that you cannot lose hope, I want to show my family you must live in hope and have a positive outlook about the future. I want to show them I’m strong.”
(*name changed for protection reasons.)
