Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Ruba Final
Evening Standard
Follow
12/10/2024
Ruba Final
Category
š
News
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
I am Ruba and I come from Sierra Leone.
00:03
I got blind at about three years as a result of measles
00:08
and fortunately I was integrated to a school for the blind.
00:14
Ruba was a disability rights activist in Sierra Leone.
00:17
He faced harassment and death threats due to his work and progressive political views.
00:21
In 2019, Ruba attended a conference in London.
00:25
During his visit to the UK, the situation back home worsened.
00:29
Activists, journalists and politicians were being arrested,
00:32
their houses burnt down and extrajudicial killings were reported.
00:37
Unfortunately, the situation in Sierra Leone got worse,
00:41
wherein the government continued to arrest,
00:45
intimidate, detain and even kill opposition members
00:50
and civil society activists who could not be silenced
00:54
over the human rights violations in the country.
00:58
Having suffered, my house was attacked on about three occasions.
01:04
I was advised not to take the risk of returning back
01:09
since the situation had become more toxic.
01:12
So I decided to seek asylum in December 2019.
01:18
Ruba had been relatively well off with an influential job back home
01:21
and had no idea what he was in for.
01:24
He suffered homelessness, hunger, was barred from work
01:27
and had feelings of deep depression
01:29
as he struggled to find purpose for his new life in the UK.
01:33
I am the sole breadwinner of my family.
01:35
So imagine at a time when I had to survive on Ā£39.60 per week.
01:42
How would I look after myself and I have a family back home?
01:47
I did not leave them based on choice.
01:50
I did not leave them to be an economic immigrant.
01:54
But the situation back home forced me to stay away.
01:58
You find out that a lot of refugees,
02:00
with all their education, their qualifications,
02:03
they end up to divert from their careers.
02:07
That shatters their lives because people come with master's degree,
02:13
first degrees in various disciplines
02:16
and they end up working just as somebody
02:19
who has never had a university education.
02:21
Fortunately now, Ruba is in a much better position
02:25
and has found his calling.
02:27
Fortunately, I'm studying an MSc,
02:31
a master's degree in international development
02:35
and I'm focusing on environmental studies
02:40
with environmental policies, racism and environment
02:47
and social justice
02:50
because I have always been an advocate for social justice,
02:55
especially for women and persons with disability.
02:59
And over the years, being a refugee,
03:02
having gone through the system,
03:04
knowing how people have suffered,
03:06
how people can be sometimes humiliated
03:10
because of their backgrounds,
03:12
I am thrilled to pursue that aspect of being an advocate
03:16
for asylum seekers and refugees.
Recommended
9:21
|
Up next
final sra emi
NotivisiĆ³n
1/16/2025
0:32
TheGrefg Previa Final
meristation
4/20/2024
1:03
Soko Final
essencemagazine
12/23/2024
3:02
Dan el uĢltimo adioĢs a Rubby PeĢrez
Diario Libre
4/10/2025
3:27
Uni-S Final
Al-Anba Newspaper
9/17/2024
2:13
TrƔiler de Destino Final (Final Destination )
3djuegos
3/31/2025
0:21
Manhunt as woman in 30s raped in Walthamstow town centre sparking huge police response
Evening Standard
yesterday
0:18
Pro-Palestine group protest at Wimbledon
Evening Standard
yesterday
0:42
Rod Stewart at Glastonbury
Evening Standard
yesterday
1:10
Wes Streeting says Israel need to get their 'own house in order'
Evening Standard
2 days ago
2:06
Wes Streeting says chants of ādeath to the IDFā at Glastonbury were ārevoltingā
Evening Standard
2 days ago
0:57
Car flips onto roof after smashing into Piccadilly Circus roundabout leaving two injured
Evening Standard
2 days ago
2:16
Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain insists she āwonāt be gratefulā after BBC cookery show is axed
Evening Standard
4 days ago
0:48
'Britain has gone to hell': UKās ninth richest man moves business out of London
Evening Standard
4 days ago
1:06
Commander Kevin Southworth speaking about the Child Q misconduct hearing
Evening Standard
4 days ago
4:18
Amber heat warning issued as London set to bask in temperatures of 31C
Evening Standard
5 days ago
0:40
Gregg Wallace reveals new career after BBC probe into claims of inappropriate sexual comments
Evening Standard
5 days ago
1:00
Starmer makes Commons statement about welfare reforms
Evening Standard
5 days ago
2:31
The Bear Season 4 trailer
Evening Standard
5 days ago
2:31
John Hunt speaks for the first time since the murder of his wife and daughters
Evening Standard
5 days ago
1:21
Louise Thompson reveals who her brother Sam should date next
Evening Standard
6 days ago
1:24
Mother who lost arm and leg in horror Tube fall brings High Court compensation claim against TfL
Evening Standard
6 days ago
1:03
'Ever-rising' council tax in London: Angela Rayner challenged on funding shake-up set to hit boroughs
Evening Standard
6 days ago
1:41
Angela Rayner defies 120 Labour MPs by refusing to pull showdown Commons vote on benefit cuts
Evening Standard
6 days ago
2:15
Bizarre video posted by Liver King leads to his arrest
Evening Standard
6 days ago
