My siblings and I were sitting in our home discussing how you can talk to your parents to make them trust you more. My sister Maria said, ‘Our parents think that we wouldn’t have the strength to walk away from a bad situation. We have tried telling them that we have already walked away from bad situations, but that is not good enough for them.’ My elder sister Jeanne argued that the issue of trust can be a source of considerable tension between youth and parents. My younger brother Christopher, my elder brother Nelson, and I all agreed.

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In the middle of our discussion, our parents came back from the market. They bought me shoes, and I was happy because I did not have shoes for going to church.

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Jeanne said, ‘Today, I will prepare a good meal. You will enjoy it.’ Nelson said let us wait for what you shall prepare for us. After a brief time, Jeanne brought beans and rice to the table for our evening meal. As we ate, our father said to Nelson and me, ‘We shall not be with you for a while. Make sure you take care of yourselves.’ 

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‘Where are you going to be?’ Nelson asked. 

 

My father answered, ‘We are going to Kampala, Uganda to see whether we can get a job, and move away from this miserable life of eating green vegetables.’ 

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Nelson agreed, saying, ‘I hope when you will reach there, everything will be okay. And  you know how much we love you. We cannot spend even twenty-four hours without seeing you. How long are you going to stay there?’

 

‘We shall be away for only one week,’ my father answered. 

 

My brother Nelson said, ‘I wish you a wonderful journey.’ 

*

 

When my parents started their journey from DRC to Kampala they were very happy about the city. My father made a friend called John and asked him how he might get a job.

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John answered, ‘You have a chance. My boss is looking for another person who will replace me.’

 

My father asked, ‘To replace you? What have you done?’

 

‘Nothing wrong. I need to see my children in Ghana,’ John answered, ‘one of my children is very sick from malaria.’

John said that he was leaving the next morning, and he told my father, ‘let us go and see my boss now.’ 

*

 

After his first month of work, my father sent some money to us. 

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My elder brother Nelson told our father on the phone, ‘First, one week passed, and now it has been one month. When will you come back?’ 

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My father and mother wanted to remain there due to the beauty of the city. So my father answered, ‘We shall send you money for transport. Meet us in Kampala.’ 

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After one week, our parents sent the money and we took the journey to Kampala. We loved the city so much. There were many kinds of foods like matooke and cassava and a lovely, mild climate too.

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My brother Nelson made many friends as we adjusted to our new home. He started smoking and drinking alcohol with a new crowd of friends. After some weeks of this behaviour, my parents called a family meeting. 

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My father began, ‘Our children, we trust you. Your friends, we don’t. We are afraid of the problems they’ll bring into your life. Look for a good friend who will advise you to follow a good path. A friend that can help you in your future life.’ 

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‘We love you,’ my mother continued, ‘We do not hate you. From today, we don’t want to see these kinds of friends anymore.’ 

*

Early one morning, my parents woke us up and told us to pack everything. Nelson asked where we were going and my parents answered that we were soon going to Nakivale, a refugee resettlement in the southwest of Uganda. 

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I was very annoyed with this information. What I did not know at the time was that my parents did not have good jobs or enough money to stay in Kampala. Once again, we were forced to take a journey. I wondered how I could make good friends in the Nakivale refugee settlement. I thought, if I am angry, I will need someone to vent to. If I am sad, I want someone to tell me it is going to get better. I didn’t want to leave my friends and have to adapt to a new environment once again. I had my family, but I would be alone without friends.

*

I still live in Nakivale with my family. For now, I am happy to have my best friend called Charles. He comes from a poor family of beggars and he is very humble and clever. 

I don’t feel okay when I don’t have friends, because friends help me with ideas and advice and cheer me up when I’m sad. Life made me leave many friends in many different places throughout my journey. But I am here now, and I love my family so much and I am happy to have a supportive friend that guides and sustains me.