Name: Rosy
Profession: Community
worker
Address:
1.
Feelings upon return/ changes:
On the way there I was so afraid to be arrested, but on the way back I wasn't
because nothing bad had happened. I'm very happy with the gathering because I
learnt a lot. I met women from many other ethnic groups, which made me realize
there were many kinds of people from our country, and we can work together,
have a network, be friends. Back here though, I do not feel any changes because
I am still afraid to go from one place to another and be arrested by the police.
2.
Why? I do not
have a migrant card.
3.
Would you travel if you had a
card? Yes.
4.
If you had a card, would it be a
good thing? Yes. I could travel.
5.
Isn't it amazing that such a small
piece of paper can change how you live your life? Yes.
6.
When you still lived in , did you travel?
Yes. I went to , , , and many places. All
the small villages around
state.
7. How
did traveling affect your perception of the world? I cannot
remember, I was too young but now the world feels very narrow. Especially with
the attacks in
the area, the
safety area is decreasing.
8.
How do you feel about not being
able to travel? Very sad. I have to stay at home all the time.
9.
Would you go back home if there
was democracy? Yes.
I would
make sure first that it is true, that the government had really changed. After
confirmation, I would go back.
10.How would you go back?
By train, plane or walk? Here there are no trains or planes, but the
border is so close, I would walk, or get on a truck.
11.How long far is your home?
One week journey.
12.Would you travel after you got home?
I might. I think I'll work and earn some money.
13.If you had money, would you travel again?
Yes.
14.How do you define yourself?
I'm a refugee.
15.What is a refugee?
Some one who has problems, no home, no territory, and no money, nothing to eat.
16.There are many people is this situation who
are not refugees. Why do you call yourself a refugee?
Where are these people?
17.In slums, in the streets. When did you
become a refugee? I don't remember. When I left
home.
18.Your parents named you Rosy, who named you
a refugee? If you stay in a refugee camp you're a
refugee.
19.The day you left home you became a refugee?
I had to leave because there was no place to stay and work. It became too hard.
20.How would you define yourself when you
lived at home? I don't know.
21.Were you a person?
Yes.
22.What would turn you back into being a
person? A house, a place, security, work.
Woman coming through: well you can get that in a
refugee camp!
23.What makes you refugee when you are in the
camp? Not having the right to travel.
24.What makes you feel like a person is the
right to travel? Yes.
The other woman: We want the right to be a person.
25.What do you mean?
I mean that if refugees can travel, they can find
work, take care of their families. Then they'd be human beings.
Name: Alis
Profession: Medic
Address:
1.Feelings upon return/ changes:
On the journey, I was so afraid I didn't even dare go to pee. When I arrived in
, I was very
scared. I'd never been there; we arrived very early so no one was there to
welcome us. They arrived a bit later. They showed us how to use everything. I
learnt about women's rights and politics. It is important for young women to
get this kind of exposure. Until now I only knew about health. Now I know that
women from can
be involved in women's rights as well. Family planning is not only the women's
responsibility! On the way back, I was not afraid, I could go to the toilet! I
have a card but before I never went any where alone here.
2.And now? Well, I
came here alone! I am quite a confident person but after coming back from I feel more
confident. Before I didn't know what to say to the police in case something
happened, now at least I can think about what to say.
3.You were in camp before coming here? I
have always moved around a lot.
4.How did it make you feel to move so many
times?
I did not enjoy it because I had to be afraid all the
time, I couldn't not finish school, I missed my parents. I had to leave my
parents when I was 7 or 8. There are things I do not want to talk about.
5.Did you enjoy the gathering?
A lot.
6.Why did you enjoy the trip to when you did not
enjoy moving before? In we had a lot of freedom; we could do what we
felt like; meet other ethnic groups, see people wearing different traditional
clothes, meet different people. It was done in a natural way, women just being
themselves.
7.In the past, was it your choice to move? As
an adult I chose, but as a kid I would have rather stayed in each of the places
I lived.
8.Did you choose to be a medic?
Since I was a child I wanted to be a nurse or a doctor.
9.How do you define yourself?
I am a person who wants to be useful to my country, and work for myself too.
10.Did you think of yourself as a refugee, a
migrant, an internally displaced person? I think of
myself as an illegal person. In this country it is easier for people from my
ethnic group to stay. The government makes it easier.
11.Is this the reason why you do not see
yourself as refugee like Rosy, although you are from the same ethnic group? I
think of myself as an illegal person because if there was democracy in , I could go back.
As a child I thought of myself as a person in
hardship. I would not have come here if I hadn't needed to.
12.Could you explain me the reason why you
have a different sense of who you are than Rosy? A refugee
is some who leaves in a camp, who cannot go anywhere and who has no rights.
13.What about you, Rosy?
I think I am a refugee because of the place I belong
to. Where ever I happen to be, my house and my family are in the refugee camp,
therefore I am a refugee.
14.
15.How important is traveling for you?
If we don't travel we will not know anything, if we travel we can learn and see
new things, meet new friends. I really want to travel every day, and to go
abroad.