Rubina.

INTRODUCTION

“I'm called Rubina. I'm from South Sudan, Eastern Equatoria state. We have been there living okay until this war came, interrupted us and then we had be this way.We took refuge here since 2015, but we were arrested in 2016. At first we came and then we were basing in Arwa,and then because of the insecurity for us and my husband we had to relocate..For my family, for the case of myself and my family, I miss my parents. I didn't see my dad, but I saw only my mom. I heard my dad died when I was two months, then just lived with mama who died 16 years back. I go with my elder sister. She took care of me. Also, I have uncle,he was a Bishop, but he died. He was the one who took care of me since my infancy at the time he passed away.We have dependents here,our family is very big.We are all 16 family members.We came with some dependants from South Sudan.Let me say my children, we came with some dependants from South Sudan, like his sister's daughters and son, also my brother's son children.”

“When we were in South Sudan, we were living okay, because with the little education I got I managed also to have some work where I could also work and earn something.I was working with the organization CAFOD under Catholic church, CTTY. I was working as an admin and also finance. I was working in the accounting department.When I was young, I was like I want to study. The name of secretary general, I liked it so much. I didn't even know what do they do. I said I'll become a secretary general. A secretary general moves here and there, all over the world, so I will become a secretary general. I told my uncle, Bishop , so he told me that is work is not okay for me. I said, "Why?" He said, "That work, you will be working for people. You will not work for yourself.I said, let me take accounting to be an accountant, to work in the bank.My husband was also working in the office of the governor, he was a corporate director. But when this war came, because it started with them, with the governor whom he was working for. He was called to Juba and then he was arrested.When the war started heavily, because they were also hunting for him in South Sudan, since he was next person to the governor's office, they wanted also to arrest him. We were not all that safe there and reported it, and then said we have refuge, so we came.”

Rubina,Counsellor.

EXIT ROUTE

“Actually, it was not all that easy for us, because that time there was no airport to move here and there. It was only this UPDF. At that time they were still working in the border of South Sudan and Central Africa. Then from there, when they were coming from Central Africa,because they were operating in Central Africa mostly but the way goes via South Sudan to South Africa. When they were coming back, those UPDF, they are trucks, so we had to communicate. My husband had to go to the place where they were staying, the UPDF barracks. He had to go there. We also shared with them. We also showed them the letter, because he was also threatened. They wanted to kill him. They even came home three times during that time to pick him and slaughter him. We could not sleep at home, today we sleep in the neighboring place, even we could also sleep just outside where there is a shed, like near a banana, where there is something where they can't see. For us, we could sleep at a neighboring place.

“We had to go and share with the UPDF then from there, the commander who was there for the UPDF in London,he promised me,he organized it.He took the telephone number. He said their VFO will be coming from Central Africa .If he agrees we will then call him,then we will meet with him,so that they pick us this way.The barracks of UPDF were in Nizara County,when they arrived in Nizara they had to call my husband, they came and they picked us from there to proceed. We spent three to four days on the road coming to Uganda. Then we crossed the border to Uganda.When we arrived in the border,we had to register as a refugee.We were taken to a certain place which was called Keri,which from there we were taken to Rhino Camp. There we stayed for some one month, two months.The security was still not very good,so we had to find our way here. Though as we came, we didn't come direct to the camp.We had to first rent,because ther was no place where we could stay. We had to find some place in town. Still, those people could follow him.I don't know how it was, they sent him text messages, "We know where you are, so you just come back. We need you." This and that. "If you don't come we'll come and do bad to you." From there he came and reported to the police and they also documented it. They said there is not safe for us.We have to find a place and come herewe have to hide within the camp here. He had said we should be near to police but if anything,then they will contact us.Whereby we got to this place and settled here.”

Life in Kiryandongo…

“It wasn't actually easy at first. It was not easy the time we came to Kiryandongo. Feeding was a problem because that side feeding was okay for the children .Here we depended only on the food ratio which was given to us, and same type of the food. It wasn't easy. We just managed and we just took it normal. There's nothing we can do. We can't also go back, and that's how it is upto when we had a friend, we had talked to the friend, the friend send some money which made him to put this structure for us and stay in.”

“For my husband,he can't go to South Sudan because he has that fear if he goes back something will happen to him. But he's well educated, he has papers.He's not working.Thats the challenge that we’ve got. Sometimes,it makes him run mad because you know he's a man. You'll see your children, you have big family, taking care of them. It's not easy. That is it.It has taken long to talk to him about it.Sometimes only it's frustration which can make him, only to me, sometimes very stubborn. Because sometimes when I started talking to him, he turns, "This is what you have been telling me and there is no change. I'm trying this, it's not working. What do you want me to do?" Sometimes when I tell him, "Okay. May you also try to talk to our colleagues so that maybe you can also listen what he can tell you." He turns, "What will even be the change?" But one time he really appreciated.He was happy about it. He really appreciated it. He said they did not leave word to go out of the hand. They made him come together again. I always come by his side and talk to him about it. That's not the end of the world. We have to keep on living. Maybe one day one time we'll be in the situation back home will come to normal and we shall go back. Because here he has also trained, maybe it's the system of the Uganda, they don't allow refugee to work but i like our organization because they allow us to work for other refugees.Okay,for other organiations,the work they offer to the refugees is like when they're bringing this food to the camp, how do you call, loaders, only those people. The casual work and all this. If maybe advertisement, you go and mobilize the community, to work just in the community.That's what is happening here.”

“If he could be working, it could be better, but the system here is very poor. It's like they don't consider refugee to work. But in South Sudan any foreigner can work in any position, but I don't know why it's very hard here to employ people. It’s just there.  I don't know what to really say, because it always disturb us, especially for these young children. They are starting in the PG school. The PG school is not totally for free, we pay some money. Those ones who are in primary, they pay 500 for, how do they call it? There is something they pay. Then also they pay 5,000. In one term when you calculate all for someone, it can even reach 70 something there when you calculate all. Also, those ones who are in secondary school, they open up a school just called Kiryandongo High School. But still it's not all that free, then we pay 42,000, 43,000 there per term to their requirements. Had it been maybe school time, I don't know what could be happening. We had some goods for sale, we started our little business, but it's the main thing which also feed and all this, so it also got down. That's the thing. But maybe with God we shall survive. Then with the little I get from Y Global, it will sustain us. Because I don't know what we can do. I'd wish he would also be working. That's the challenge. Also, here, getting sponsor is not easy for the children to pay them to school. There are others who finished senior four, so they are just home. Had it been school time now, they could also be maybe there just at home. There's only one girl who finished senior four, and what next? Other young ones are coming. That's the thing.”

Maybe one day one time we'll be in the situation back home will come to normal and we shall go back

Impact of Y Global

“About Y Global,that time it was called YWCA.  I had a friend who is Lucy,when this Y Global came to Trinidad and Tobago, not to Uganda actually, she was the one who informed me, because that time I was staying in Buyale. We met with her in the church. We went for prayer and we met with her. She also told me about it and said, if you wish you can come for some interview and then training which will take place. Then I went for it.It was good for me because of the way I went through life, it helped me because when she explained more about counseling, for sure I fit here in this position. Because according to my lifestyle, I fit to be in counseling department.I also received the counseling(before going into the training) there was our facilitator who could come, Christine,she did a lot. She could also counsel most of us. When we went another training, and then after she could come to visit us and she had also to do some counseling with us. I even like it so much, and it has also helped me so much in my life, since I've also gone through a lot of challenges. but the training I got, it's helping me in so many ways.”

“Before when I didn't go through the training of the counseling, when I got a problem or when I can get a problem like this one, it can frustrate me the more. I can even give in for it. I can think of so many things which cannot even lead me to do something which can help me. But since I got the training, I've been going through the training, even if I come across any challenge which is huge, I can console myself and I can move on. I don't give in like that. I can move on with life.For sure, it means a lot to me, because it has really helped me so much, so so much. I could not think positively of what to do, how to push my family. It has helped me a lot.”

Plans for the future

“My dream now, I don't know what to tell you now about my dream. Right now, actually I don't have much for sure, but I'm still struggling. I'm even schooling. I'm paying for my course online,I'm doing business administration, bachelor.That's what I'm trying to do. I don't know whether I will also finish, because I had a friend who supported me for my first semester, so I don't know whether I will still continue because I have not heard from her.What is disturbing me mostly is my husband's case, because he's not working and the responsibility as he's now working. The little money I'm getting cannot sustain us, because we are getting less money, it cannot help us. It cannot pay for our two children to school. I don't know what maybe my future plans will be. Of course, as I said, I was trying to pursue my school, my degree, but I don't know whether that friend will still continue to support me. I don't know. If she continue to support me, maybe one day one time when I finish,God will bless me and I will get job. I don't know. I'm also praying God to give us some money. In His own way that he also blesses us, we can start a little business here and then they push us with the children.”

Maybe with God we shall survive

Conclusion

“Many thanks also goes to Y Global because they are doing a wonderful job, especially here in the settlement. There are a lot of things which were happening here in the settlement, like domestic violence, a lot of complaints here. But today it's not all that there. Children abuse, so many things. Even this tribal fighting, these days you can't hear about it, but before you can hear Dinkas and Nuers are fighting over little issue, killing other people, but in the camp here. But Y Global came in with the people they trained, they went to the field, to the community, to try really to harmonize. That's why today you can see this settlement it's calm. Before, in a month you can even hear so many cases happening in the camp. But with help of Y Global, it really worked so hard.'“ 

“My humble request to them, they should continue supporting the community here, because back home there we don't know when our peace will come so that we go back home. Also, there's livelihood issues here, life is very hard for us. They can maybe also give us some, let me say, set up kits for people, how they can settle their life, how they can push on with their life, because it's so so hard for some of us. Even if we came long time ago, you see us, this is the only garden we have. It can't sustain us.“

“My many thanks goes to them for supporting us, and as a counselor I also say thank you, they take good care of us. We are so stressful down here. Like what we're doing, we really appreciate it, to come and listen to our problems and take it to them, and let them support us. We are looking to them to support us in so many ways. Let them think of us. We really appreciate them. Their work, the impact is there. Thank you for coming.”