I was still hesitant to let myself let go, because I still believed in the fragility of happiness.

I believe that there is a God, and coming from an African tradition, I believe also that there are gods.

When I was young, my father used to say, ‘If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.’ I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn’t know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive.

This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy.

My teeth became sour as I listened to his story. It was then that I understood why he was quiet all the time.

Some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their family and communities...This was one of the consequences of civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely careful about how they related or spoke to you.

We must strive to be like the moon