Thread by @QueensChristine

The UNHCR are offering shelter to refugees across the world. Most of those crisis are forgotten emergencies. 236,000 Congolese refugees have fled in Uganda so far. With @Refugees I visited a settlement there, got to meet some of them, and they all had stories to tell. #refugee

Sammy : now blind after he has been persecuted and tortured in Congo. Now lives in a small house in Rwamwanja (the refugee settlement) with his wife. Speaks with a soft voice. Told me he likes to take walks at dusk, because there's less stridence.

Ashaka : young, promising dancer. He told me that there's a sense of violent interruption when you have to flee - your life's suddenly shattered, and then all you can do is wait. He often meets with other teenagers at Rwamwanja's Youth Center for music workshops.

P. Diddy (he's actually a longtime fan). Young rapper, spitting words at the Youth Center, made to own the stage. Persecuted in Congo cause he's albinos (being one in Congo is often linked to accusations of sorcellery). There's no way he could come back.

Josephine, sixteen years old. Sings gospels at the Youth Center. Dreams to make it big one day - "I'm going to be a star". Lots of wit. Now lives in Rwamwanja with her young sisters and older brothers. Insisted on how it would actually be useful to come back, not to be forgotten.

In Rwamwanja, two realities often cohexist : one of survivors finding some meaning again in personal initiatives and helpful businesses - and one, harder to witness, of refugees just arriving from war zones, famished, waiting to be taken care of. #refugees @Refugees