"I was at home with my father and younger brothers when they invaded Mubi. The town was in chaos as people ran for their lives. But my father, being an old man, said he wasn’t going to run or leave the town. I had no choice but to stay at home with him and my little brothers, because our mother wasn’t there, and there was nobody else to look after them.
When the armed youths came to our house and saw us there, they told me that I had to marry one of them. I told them no, because I couldn’t leave my father, who is old, and because my little brothers wouldn’t be able to look after him. That wasn’t their concern, they said, insisting that if I didn’t marry one of them, they’d kill my father. That was how I was forced into marriage with a member of their group; then they took me along with them to the bush.
My life in the bush was another word for hardship. My husband, who I’d married against my will, later abandoned the group’s way of life and beliefs by escaping to a nearby town. He was killed later when he came back to the bush to take me away from there.
After they killed him, they wanted to marry me off to another member of the group, but I refused and so they locked me in a room for a week. I was poorly fed during my week-long imprisonment, and soon after my release I was married off to someone else.
After this marriage, I became so sick that I took to my bed for about a month, with no one taking care of me. But I was lucky in that an old woman noticed what I was going through and decided to take me to her house, where she looked after me. While I was with the old lady, I recovered from my sickness, but I had no peace of mind because I was on the armed group’s watchlist.
It was raining on the night we left. I didn’t even think of taking anything with me – and anyway we had nothing worth taking. We escaped without even slippers on our feet.
When we arrived in Pulka, I had little clothing on. My feet were swollen and riddled with puncture-marks from thorns. I was so tired and sick that I felt dizzy when I stood up; at other times it felt like there was a blackout as my eyes could only see darkness.
I was taken to the hospital, where I met an MSF mental health worker. He has been so helpful and given me lots of advice. My condition has greatly improved since I came here. When I first arrived, my body was ashen white.
Now I regularly take baths, eat well and sleep soundly – I am back to my normal life. I am so grateful to the staff here who are taking care of us and making sure that our lives can get back to normal.
I don’t think I’ll be able to return to my home town to live with my people again, because of the problem of stigma, but I hope I can visit them often. Pulka is my new home.”