BEN

"Born into slavery, as a child of a slave, you grow up to believe that slavery’s a normal thing."

Ben has been living in exile for nearly a decade now. With his family stuck back home, he has missed out on seeing his children grow up.  "This is not the way a human being should live. Southern Cameroonians have realised they’ve been in captivity for a very long time, they’ve been surpassed for a very long time and now they need to be free."

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Without being able to secure a permanent residence in South Africa, he is forced to live as a perpetual asylum-seeker. "For the past ten years I haven't had a home. I’m still under refugee status, which makes it very difficult to do certain things. It’s like you’re in an open prison. You feel that you’re free but you’re not free because you’re limited in so many things... your career. It’s very difficult and hard when you turn back and you can’t go home, even if you have the longing. Without a home, you are just like a leaf that’s withering and the wind can blow you to any direction at any time."