I believe we all know how all pervasive
fear can be I’ve experienced how it can
keep with one’s life how absolutely
debilitating it can be physically and
mentally my struggle which first started
on a very quiet night in December 2013
when members of the Boko Haram terrorist
group attacked the city of Maiduguri
I was woken by the terrifying sounds of
massive explosions accompanied by great
flashes of light and the scream of
machine-gun fire which can really cut
through the silence as soon as I woke I
was gripped by a paralyzing fear I
couldn’t do all the things that I now
clearly think I should have done to try
and keep my younger siblings and the
rest of my family out of harm’s way I
pull of old friends and relatives living
in other parts of the city to warn them
or to hear from them so I could assess
the situation better I could have
realized that the ditch I jumped into to
hide from the terrorists was also as
dangerous as it would very likely have
been harboring snakes broken glasses and
other harmful objects I didn’t do all
this because my whole being was taken
over by fear it was the kind of fear
that takes away your ability to make
sensible decisions it was the kind of
fear that takes away your ability to
focus on what matters for a long time
after that attack I pretended I wasn’t a
fleet because it wasn’t cool to be
afraid I tried to convince myself that I
wasn’t afraid but deep down I knew that
for the past six or so years almost
everyone inmate agree in one way or the
other has experienced here as a result
of the ongoing insurgency in the region
people were deeply traumatized by the
violence and the uncertainty of living
every single day in fear of another
attacker and that’s keeping people from
being productive leading them into
depression and just freezing them in one
place and preventing them from being
alive I found out that it’s very easy to
conflate pre-existing issues things in
our lives that we had been afraid to
face I will say to myself I will start a
small business I will read more books or
I will henceforth engage in healthy
eating practices but I will do all this
after everything has gone back to normal
all I had to do was to be honest with
myself and so that there was nothing
holding me back
you care for too long and you will begin
to think that whatever you bench venture
into will go horribly wrong
I came to realize that its second a toll
on my ability to live a reasonably
normal life and so I had to come face to
face with my fears I had to do something
about it I pulled myself up I found a
hobby and I started a visual
storytelling and photography as
counter-narratives I knew I was afraid
for a reason so I try to use my fear to
my advantage I try to use my fear to
control myself and others it could no
longer control me so now to rebuild our
wounds we have to accept that fear
a serious problem we need to deal with
and to not live in denial because in
denial fear will thrive and consume us
we can help each other by sharing our
experiences whether they are positive or
negative we can learn a great deal from
each other because we each have unique
experiences and that’s the only way we
could survive and do their promising
future for the next generation I found
out that many people just need a little
encouragement and support to enable them
overcome their fears and the act of
storytelling is quite therapeutic so now
engage yourself do something find a
would-be and just make sure you don’t
slip yourself into inactivity because
that’s how fear will consume your soul
and diminish your spirit I came to
realize all this and I can’t tell you
that
it has helped me much thank you [Applause]
fear can be I’ve experienced how it can
keep with one’s life how absolutely
debilitating it can be physically and
mentally my struggle which first started
on a very quiet night in December 2013
when members of the Boko Haram terrorist
group attacked the city of Maiduguri
I was woken by the terrifying sounds of
massive explosions accompanied by great
flashes of light and the scream of
machine-gun fire which can really cut
through the silence as soon as I woke I
was gripped by a paralyzing fear I
couldn’t do all the things that I now
clearly think I should have done to try
and keep my younger siblings and the
rest of my family out of harm’s way I
pull of old friends and relatives living
in other parts of the city to warn them
or to hear from them so I could assess
the situation better I could have
realized that the ditch I jumped into to
hide from the terrorists was also as
dangerous as it would very likely have
been harboring snakes broken glasses and
other harmful objects I didn’t do all
this because my whole being was taken
over by fear it was the kind of fear
that takes away your ability to make
sensible decisions it was the kind of
fear that takes away your ability to
focus on what matters for a long time
after that attack I pretended I wasn’t a
fleet because it wasn’t cool to be
afraid I tried to convince myself that I
wasn’t afraid but deep down I knew that
for the past six or so years almost
everyone inmate agree in one way or the
other has experienced here as a result
of the ongoing insurgency in the region
people were deeply traumatized by the
violence and the uncertainty of living
every single day in fear of another
attacker and that’s keeping people from
being productive leading them into
depression and just freezing them in one
place and preventing them from being
alive I found out that it’s very easy to
conflate pre-existing issues things in
our lives that we had been afraid to
face I will say to myself I will start a
small business I will read more books or
I will henceforth engage in healthy
eating practices but I will do all this
after everything has gone back to normal
all I had to do was to be honest with
myself and so that there was nothing
holding me back
you care for too long and you will begin
to think that whatever you bench venture
into will go horribly wrong
I came to realize that its second a toll
on my ability to live a reasonably
normal life and so I had to come face to
face with my fears I had to do something
about it I pulled myself up I found a
hobby and I started a visual
storytelling and photography as
counter-narratives I knew I was afraid
for a reason so I try to use my fear to
my advantage I try to use my fear to
control myself and others it could no
longer control me so now to rebuild our
wounds we have to accept that fear
a serious problem we need to deal with
and to not live in denial because in
denial fear will thrive and consume us
we can help each other by sharing our
experiences whether they are positive or
negative we can learn a great deal from
each other because we each have unique
experiences and that’s the only way we
could survive and do their promising
future for the next generation I found
out that many people just need a little
encouragement and support to enable them
overcome their fears and the act of
storytelling is quite therapeutic so now
engage yourself do something find a
would-be and just make sure you don’t
slip yourself into inactivity because
that’s how fear will consume your soul
and diminish your spirit I came to
realize all this and I can’t tell you
that
it has helped me much thank you [Applause]
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