Paul, a 19 year old Liberian refugee living in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Development. LURD: LiberiansUnitedforReconstruction and rebel soldiersofthemovementknownas soldiers ongoing fightingbetweengovernment Paul cannotreturnhomebecauseofthe For themoment,thosecarefree daysare over. was caughtinoneofthetraps.” the joyoneveryone’s facewheneverananimal We usedtolaytrapsforanimals. Iremember the midstofbirds, causingthemtoflyup. go. Itmadealotofnoisewhenitlandedin twirl itaround three timesandletthestone the fields.Iwouldputastoneinmyslingshot, I usedtoenjoydrivingthebirds awayfrom to goschoolandsocouldhelponthefarm. to stealtherice.Onweekends,Ididnothave the seasonofabundance.Birds wouldcome rice farm.Hereminisces, “Thedryseasonis of homeistheharvestseasononhisfather’s Paul isareal countryboy. Hishappiestmemory side. third childoutofsixchildren from hismother’s 50 childrenbymanywives.Heisthe born strong familyties.InPaul’s family, there are The communalvillagelifeisstrengthened by trees shelterthevillagefrom storms. season, mudswirlsthrough thevillage.Large village andiscovered withgrass.Intherainy on arocky hill.Thelandslopesdownfrom the houses intheentire villagewhichissituated from Monrovia, inLiberia.There are only52 Yaindawoun, situatedabout200kilometres Paul comesfrom asmall village called to Yaindawoun.” hosts forlettingmestaywiththem,andreturn pack mybag,express mygratitudeto is peaceandsecurityinmycountry. Iwould to Liberia.“Iwillgobackimmediatelyifthere He waitseagerlyfortheopportunitytoreturn a decentfuture.” I amnotdoinganythingthatwillhelpmeearn idler here becauseIamnotgoingtoschool. responsible positioninsociety. Ifeelaman means Icanbecomeself-reliant andholda nurse. Iwouldliketogoschoolbecauseit to school,Iwouldlikestudybecomea now. Icannotafford togo.IfIcouldgoback materials totakewithme.Idon’t gotoschool time topackmybooksandotherlearning go toschool.“WhenIfledLiberia,hadno Like somanyrefugeeto youth,Paulyearns his familyandforus.” tobuyfoodfor He usesthemoneyheearns also sellssoftdrinksaswellcoldwater. I spendhourswaitinginthequeue.Myhost The tapisoftenovercrowded andsometimes neighbours. Itisverydifficult togetthewater. then putintothefreezer forsaletothe packet thewaterintoplasticbagswhichare the nearbystreet pumpand helpmyhost anymoney.earn “Ihavetofetchwaterfrom Paul worksduringthedaybuthedoesnot hear anygunshots.” am happytobeinFreetown where Idonot alive anddoingfinesomewhere inLiberia.I other membersofhisfamily. “Ihopetheyare does notknowwhathashappenedtothe Sierra Leoneandliveswithahostfamily. He Paul wasabletomakehiswayneighbouring had fled.Jerrydecidedweshouldleave.” happened. Besides,Icouldseethateverybody to goonthevillagefindoutwhathad gunfire inthedistance.It was tooriskyforme to returnMonrovia. We couldhearheavy passengers onthebuswewere travellingin Fleeing civiliansadvisedthedriverand Yaindawoun cameunderheavyrebel attack. Monrovia todoshopping when thetownsnear “My elderbrother, JerryandIhadtravelledto