was troubled to hear the hurdles Achuli had to overcome to get his visa.Ĭhris Friesen, chief operating officer of the society, said the U.N. He’s also writing a book called, “The Boy who Carried Books,” to give a voice to others displaced by war. 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. “”Where is home for you? That was a question.”Īfter many phone calls, it took another seven months for his visa application to be approved. “‘Well, James, we’re sorry, we're not going to give you a visa because you're a refugee,’” he recalled.
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“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.ĭespite his acceptance to the university with a full ride scholarship that covers tuition and residency, his visa application was initially denied. 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. His patience paid off when he won a scholarship to finish his high school diploma at the United World College in Armenia. So each day, he would run up to 20 kilometres to an internet cafe to apply for scholarships. These things are not guaranteed,” he explained.īut Achuli wanted to control his fate. “We were always worried about when and where to get the next meal. While he was no longer in the rebels’ grips, it was not the safe haven he had hoped for. 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. So it was really pretty tough, but I knew that was not my thing,” he said,Īchuli was just 10 at the time and could barely lift any of the weapons, so he never had to see combat.
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“It was horrible because we were trained on how to kill people and all that kind of thing. “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.īut it didn’t work, and he was snatched up and recruited to be a child soldier. His school became a target by the rebels but he tried to outsmart them. In 2013, a civil war broke out that killed his father and forced his family to scatter to find safety. “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.Īchuli was born in South Sudan beneath a tree as airstrikes flew above, he was told by his mother. Now an international student at UBC’s Okanagan campus, the 19-year-old knows he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.
James Achuli has spent the majority of his life not having a place to call home.
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