I have had an opportunity to interact with refugees and they all have sad tales about the life they left behind, there is no one who wishes to leave their home for a strange land, circumstances force them to do so, while some are political refugees, others are purely economic refugees.
Ibrahim is 53-year-old medical doctor from Ethiopia fled his country due to political persecution and had lived in Uganda for over two years at the mercy of his friends and fellow refugees, he just recently received his refugee and ration card from UNHCR and will now get a monthly stipend and ration, giving him some sort of independence. He, however, was searching for a job or volunteer position so that he can be somewhat productive. Back home, Ibrahim was a medical doctor, and Minister of Security, he had a wife and two children, he fled and left all that behind, he is still a wanted man at home, misses his family, but cannot even bring them over due to his condition, Ibrahim occupies a single room in a dingy guest house.
Tolu was a businessman in Ethiopia who fled after being accused of funding rebels. he left everything behind and crossed the border through Eritrea with only the clothes he had on his back, for the three years he has been in Uganda and has not yet been approved by UNHCR and is living as an alien who survives by begging along the streets of Old Kampala which are heavily laden with Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees, his efforts to get a job have been futile and begging as he says is the only option. He has not heard from his family since he fled and is not sure if they are still alive.
Uganda is home to refugees from several countries, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and several others, sometimes the locals get frustrated and complain that the refugees are living a better life than they, however, when you listen to their stories and the reasons why they are in Uganda, you cannot help but sympathize with them and be proud that we as Ugandans opened our doors to them to give them a home away from home. It is also true that for several years during the political turmoil of the 70s and 80s, many Ugandans were refugees all over the world and had they been shunned away, most of whom are our parents today, some of us wouldn't be alive today.
As we pray for global peace, let us continue to open our doors to these refugees remembering that we may also at one time be refugees in a strange land.
