(Part 1 of 2) Armed struggle started in Eritrea in the month I was born. Growing up, I remember we had to avoid the Ethiopian soldiers because they would rape you and kill you if they saw you. Most of my family was influenced by politics, including my older brothers –...
I began to question the existence of God when I was 16. It was a challenge for me, in the family as well as in the community – I had to be very tactful and diplomatic. Then, I heard that some religious extremists had made a list of non-believers to be killed,...
5 years ago, while I was working in my uncle’s hotel in Aleppo, we had an Australian guest called David come to stay. One day, he broke his leg when he fell on the street. As a result, I went to the hospital and later, I brought him back to the hotel and took care of...
When I was 11, my village came under attack. It was a very bad experience – I saw people dying, and some of them were children my age. Everyone just ran for their life into the bush. I couldn’t find my parents or any of my brothers or sisters, but I joined a group of...
In early 1975, there was still very little bombing in Saigon. Although my father was a well known politician, I was protected from the realities of the war, as my parents always kept us wrapped in cotton wool – I was 18 years old, and preparing to go to France to go...
