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Ruba Final
Evening Standard
Follow
12/10/2024
Ruba Final
Category
š
News
Transcript
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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 £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.
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