Former child soldier now UBC student, with plans to help others displaced by war

James Achuli has spent the majority of his life not having a place to call home.

Now an international student at UBC’s Okanagan campus, the 19-year-old knows he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.

“I felt like this is the right place because I knew that my opportunities will be waiting for me out there as a student at UBC,” he told CTV News.

Achuli was born in South Sudan beneath a tree as airstrikes flew above, he was told by his mother.

In 2013, a civil war broke out that killed his father and forced his family to scatter to find safety.

His school became a target by the rebels but he tried to outsmart them.

“I was hiding under the table and I had to smear myself with the blood of my friend who was already dead, and I pretended to be a dead person,” Achuli said.

But it didn’t work, and he was snatched up and recruited to be a child soldier.

“It was horrible because we were trained on how to kill people and all that kind of thing. So it was really pretty tough, but I knew that was not my thing,” he said,

Achuli was just 10 at the time and could barely lift any of the weapons, so he never had to see combat.

He managed to escape three years later by joining a group of people and walking, while carrying all of his books, to a resettlement camp in Uganda.

While he was no longer in the rebels’ grips, it was not the safe haven he had hoped for.

“We were always worried about when and where to get the next meal. These things are not guaranteed,” he explained.

But Achuli wanted to control his fate. So each day, he would run up to 20 kilometres to an internet cafe to apply for scholarships.

His patience paid off when he won a scholarship to finish his high school diploma at the United World College in Armenia. It started a domino effect that led to his school later nominating him for UBC’S Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award, which he won.

“I never thought in my life that I would actually go to college and get a college degree because you know, coming from my background, it was just something that we never thought would happen,” Achuli said.

Despite his acceptance to the university with a full ride scholarship that covers tuition and residency, his visa application was initially denied.

“‘Well, James, we’re sorry, we're not going to give you a visa because you're a refugee,’” he recalled. “”Where is home for you? That was a question.”

After many phone calls, it took another seven months for his visa application to be approved.

He’s now studying to earn a double major in international relations and political science, and hopes to one day use his degree to help other refugees.

He’s also writing a book called, “The Boy who Carried Books,” to give a voice to others displaced by war.

REFUGEE CRISIS ‘UNPRECEDENTED’

Immigrant Services Society of B.C. was troubled to hear the hurdles Achuli had to overcome to get his visa.

Chris Friesen, chief operating officer of the society, said the U.N. has three solutions to solving the refugee crisis: local integration, repatriation, and resettlement.

He believes a fourth should be added, and that’s education.

“Without education there is very little hope. And so the situation that you've highlighted is one of many,” he said.

Friesen said the current global refugee crisis is “unparallel" to anything the world has seen before.

“There's a heightened number of conflicts around the world. And against that is, of course, our climate. Climate change crisis has more people internally displaced and seeking asylum in other countries,” he said.

Globally, there are 89 million refugees displaced or fleeing war-torn countries, Friesen said.

World Refugee Day comes around every June 20, and for Friesen, it is a day for reflection.

“Canada is far from perfect, it is a nation that is evolving. We have a lot to be thankful for … those that grew up or (were) born in this country,” he said.

“These are unprecedented times. There's large numbers of refugees seeking a new home here in British Columbia. I'm reminded that they are coming with tremendous assets, resilience and life experiences. They want to contribute. They want to give back.”