Chased from their homes, risking it all, these girl and boys had to
cross forests, deserts and swamps with or without shoes. Escaping Boko
Haram-related violence in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, they all
have one thing in common: they managed to break free from violence.
“We are nomads. We were not in the camp when it was attacked by Boko
Haram. I was out riding a camel with my father and saw people running
away. He told me to start screaming if I saw any danger. The first night
I slept on a tree. I was too scared.” Tahar Mohamed, 8, Chadian returnee from Niger.
“The gunshots woke me up. 18 people got killed and everybody was
terrified. I could not walk as fast as my brothers, after some days, I
was too tired and hungry to walk, especially with these slippers”. Fatime Hassan, 7. Chadian returnee from Niger.
“I didn’t have time to take my shoes. I had to walk all the way barefoot
on the hot sand. After three days walking, we arrived in a village and
sold what we had left in exchange of some cooked rice.” Ahmat Ali Makai, 12, Chadian returnee from Niger.
“They were all dressed in black and wore turbans. They destroyed
everything. We ran. My feet were badly injured from walking in the bush
barefoot with all those thorns. I had to go to the clinic so they could
pull them out with pliers” Khadija Kaku, 15, Nigerian refugee in Chad.
Is Boko Haram actually defeated?
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