Ruba Final
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NewsTranscript
00:00I am Ruba and I come from Sierra Leone.
00:03I got blind at about three years as a result of measles
00:08and fortunately I was integrated to a school for the blind.
00:14Ruba was a disability rights activist in Sierra Leone.
00:17He faced harassment and death threats due to his work and progressive political views.
00:21In 2019, Ruba attended a conference in London.
00:25During his visit to the UK, the situation back home worsened.
00:29Activists, journalists and politicians were being arrested,
00:32their houses burnt down and extrajudicial killings were reported.
00:37Unfortunately, the situation in Sierra Leone got worse,
00:41wherein the government continued to arrest,
00:45intimidate, detain and even kill opposition members
00:50and civil society activists who could not be silenced
00:54over the human rights violations in the country.
00:58Having suffered, my house was attacked on about three occasions.
01:04I was advised not to take the risk of returning back
01:09since the situation had become more toxic.
01:12So I decided to seek asylum in December 2019.
01:18Ruba had been relatively well off with an influential job back home
01:21and had no idea what he was in for.
01:24He suffered homelessness, hunger, was barred from work
01:27and had feelings of deep depression
01:29as he struggled to find purpose for his new life in the UK.
01:33I am the sole breadwinner of my family.
01:35So imagine at a time when I had to survive on £39.60 per week.
01:42How would I look after myself and I have a family back home?
01:47I did not leave them based on choice.
01:50I did not leave them to be an economic immigrant.
01:54But the situation back home forced me to stay away.
01:58You find out that a lot of refugees,
02:00with all their education, their qualifications,
02:03they end up to divert from their careers.
02:07That shatters their lives because people come with master's degree,
02:13first degrees in various disciplines
02:16and they end up working just as somebody
02:19who has never had a university education.
02:21Fortunately now, Ruba is in a much better position
02:25and has found his calling.
02:27Fortunately, I'm studying an MSc,
02:31a master's degree in international development
02:35and I'm focusing on environmental studies
02:40with environmental policies, racism and environment
02:47and social justice
02:50because I have always been an advocate for social justice,
02:55especially for women and persons with disability.
02:59And over the years, being a refugee,
03:02having gone through the system,
03:04knowing how people have suffered,
03:06how people can be sometimes humiliated
03:10because of their backgrounds,
03:12I am thrilled to pursue that aspect of being an advocate
03:16for asylum seekers and refugees.