Peter

From Sudan to Bolton

“I was born in Southern Sudan, in Bantiu. I was a student studying at school in my village, living with my parents. When I was 15, government soldiers came to our village as they believed there were rebels in the village. They came at 6am on foot, in vehicles and they carried guns. Everyone left their homes. Me and my parents ran away too but I got separated from them as people fled. I did not know where they were, I used to cry all the time thinking about my mum and dad.

“So life in the beginning was not easy, I moved around until I reached Juba, near the border with Uganda. I stopped there for two and a half years. I joined the church and tried to learn English, as I wanted to integrate with the community.

“Then the war came again but by now I was mature and had married my wife, Joyce. But soldiers came there too and began fighting. When we heard the guns, we ran away with the others as we were near the border with Uganda - but I lost Joyce. I got to the border and got some transport to Kampala where I informed the police of my presence and they sent me to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. My wife turned up too - that was wonderful.

“We entered the refugee camp in 1997. At that time we also had a son, Emmanuel, who was then three and we went on to have three more children, a boy and two girls. In the camp they firstly gave us tents and told us that this was our patch of land to build a shelter and dig a garden.

“The camp would sometimes be attacked by the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army and they would take people from the community, like boys, to fight for them and men to join them.

“I became a camp social worker, helping disabled and elderly people as well as being a camp chairman, organising meetings and helping the community. We would meet with UNHCR and have discussions and sort things out together. Some of the hardest things were the lack of medicines and food.

“UNHCR gave out forms for resettlement overseas. I filled the forms out in 2000 but wasn’t interviewed until 2004. All we knew is that America and European countries didn't have war, so we thought if we went there we could save our lives and our futures. We were screened, interviewed and medical checked by UNHCR until finally we were told we could resettle in the UK.

“We landed in Heathrow in 2006, and were taken to a hotel and given country orientation for three days before we were taken to Bolton. Some of the most surprising things I heard were that sometimes in the UK your neighbour might not greet you. They also told us that if children fight outside your house you can tell them not to but must then call the police. It did happen. My children were playing outside when some other children attacked them. I called the police and they came to get them.

“When I saw Bolton I felt very happy because the community here were so welcoming. When you come to the community you don't know where to find things. The help from the Refugee Action caseworker was especially good. Our caseworker showed us how things worked; which buses to get into town, how to register for college, how to pay bills, how to find a GP.

“My wife Joyce is now working as a cleaner, although she would like to become a nurse. In the future I would like to be a social worker and I would like to study international relations so I am studying at college. The children have made many friends at school.

“But we always remember the people left in the camp. The situation for them has not changed.”

Please don’t reproduce this story in any other format without prior permission. Some names have been changed.