This is a story of a refugee of somalia. 

Kenya has a huge area of refugee camp. Since African countries have had a lot of wars, there were people from many kind of countries in that camp. The camp was called Daddab. 

Omar Mohamed was a boy who was living in refugee camp in Kenya. He was living with his little brother Hassan. And their Foster mom Fatuma was taking care of them.

In that camp, there were a lot of people from somalia who fleed from civil war of somalia. Many people died at somalia and they had to escape from death or hunger. They didn't want to leave their home. Omar and Hassan lost their father and mother. Their father was killed by soldiers and they haven't found their mother since they left home with neighbors. Their only hope was to meet their mother again and to go back to home.

Living in that camp was terrible. Refugees were not allowed to go out of the camp so they called the camp prison. There was not enough food. They were given a few of flours and oil sometimes and there was no explanations. Somalis didn't know about flours and how to use them. Some of them thought they were milk, so they mixed the flours with some water and gave them to their babies and some of the babies died. 

A little tent was given per one family, but there was no floor. They had to live on the dirt. And every night, there were moanings and yelping in the camp since they were having nightmares of terrible war. 

The refugee camp was supposed to be a temporary place to stay until the war is over. But they have lived there for seven years.

To live in the camp was very boring thing to children. Every day is the same. Every day work of him was morning prayers and getting water from one spigot which was opened for a few hours. So there was always a long line.

Most of children in the camp went to school. But Omar didn't go to school 'cause he had to take care of his little brother Hassan. Hassan had disablility of speaking. Only he can say was one word 'Hooyo'. Omar loved Hassan so he always took care of his brother. But sometimes he wondered how the school was where his friends went to. When he was playing soccer with his friends after school, he wondered what they were saying and asked them what it is. He learned numbers and English from them and while he was playing with his brother, he tought numbers and English to Hassan.

One day, Salan the leader of the somalis refugee came over to Omar and suggested him to go to school. Omar didn't accept that. He thought he had to take care of her little brother Hassan. Hassan has a little intelligence of his age and he always wanted his big brother. Salan had a passion to persuade him.

Salan said that Omar had to go to school to have a chance. He said that if he's not prepared he won't have a chance when the chance get to come.

Furthermore Hassan had already another helper Futama and all of the people nearby will take care of him. 

Omar thought he was the only helper of his little brother and he couldn't go to school but he also wanted to go to school like his friends.

So he finally had decided to go to school. He had to promiss his little brother to come right back to him after school. It was just a few hours.

Salan believed Omar is smart, and he gave a note and a pencil for him. When he got to school, he found he was the one of few students who had a note and a pencil. All of the teachers in the school run their classes in English. There were various kinds of nationality of student in the school. So English is the only solution to teach them. Omar didn't speak English so the classes were very difficult to understand. He felt hurt his brain from all the listening and concentrating and new facts shoved inside it. However he was pleased with the fact that he was going to school like his friends.  Even girls of his camp were going to school.

He knew Maryam and Nimo of the girls. Maryam and Nimo were the best students and they answered right when teachers called on them.

The girls' life was not easy. They had to go back to home at school lunch time to prepare lunch for their family while boys were playing soccer at school. And then they went back to school to finish classes and back to home for a work. They worked all day long instead of boys. But they had dreams.

Omar found they were studying early in the morning even while they were waiting to fetch water.

Every one in the camp had a hope to resettle to America. United Nations office reguarly expressed the list who will have a interview for resettle. The refugees believed in that to go to America guarantees to earn much money. They said if they get to America, they would have a car and a big house. 

Omar's friend Jeri was the one of them. One night, he told Omar that he might go to America. His father worked for U.N. office and he gave some bribe to U.N. officer to push their case to the top of the pile. Omar was jealous and he felt dispair that he had no money and he would never go to America.

However the girls had a different plan. They had decided to earn a scholarship to go to Canada. Top students in Kenya could earn the scholarship and refugees could apply it too. It was the best way of getting out of the refugee camp than just waiting for being on the list of U.N. But Maryam's father was considering that he made her to get married. So they worked very hard so their dreams come true. Their dream was not only getting out of the camp but they wanted to be a singer or a actress or a doctor. They thought they could do anything they wanted.

But the things had gotten worse. Maryam's father decided to make her married. Their family was desperate for her to stay in school. Her father found a nice man for Maryiam. And the money from U.N. would help the family. Maryam couldn't go to school anymore even though she was the best student in the camp.

One day Hassan went outside of the camp while Fatuma went asleep. And he didn't come back. Everybody in the camp went off to find him and they found him hurt terribly. Omar felt very sorry to his little brother. He thought he must quit school to take care of his brother. 

Maryam went over to him to see if he really wanted to quit school. She said he had to go to school and take the exam to go to the middle school.

She said that Omar has a chance she didn't have. Only who pass the exam can go to middle school.

Part 2.

Omar passed the exam with Jeri and Nimo. They were studying hard at the school. But they still wanted to get out of the camp.

Jeri's father didn't work for U.N. anymore and he failed to be on the list of U.N. He lost his job and was wandering the market cursing his circumstance.

However not all of the refugees stuck in the camp. Sometimes one of the refugees got on the list and got to go to Canada as a resettlement. Omar thought it was unfair. Why they got to leave and he had to stay there. He was so jealous and he wanted to leave the prison and so the most of the people did.

Someone who rejected by the U.N. didn't handle that and he killed himself.

One day when he was studying in the school, the friend of him interrupted his class and brought the news that he and Nimo were on the list.

Omar was so glad that he thought he could go to America. He was supposed to have a interview at U.N. Office. Nimo was next.

Omar, Hassan went to the office with Fatuma as a guardian in the before day of interview. The officer asked him some questions like "What's your name?; Where are you from?; What happened to you?". He had to explain what happened to him in his homeland.

It was very severe things to remember, so he hadn't thought about that since now. However he had to remember and explain the memory to pass the interview.

His father was a farmer and his family used to have fun under a big tree while dad was working in the farm. He was only 4. 

One day a group of soldier apeared and yelled at his dad and shoot him in very front of him. 

He ran away from there and got to his mom. He had a hard time to explain what happened because he was just 4. 

But his mom undertood what happened and she asked him to get back to home with his brother Hassan. She promissed him to right back to him but it didn't come true.

Another soldiers were attacking their villige and they're killing people. A woman who was living near them fled from there with Omar and Hassan.

Since then, they've never met their mom. 

A long line of refugees went off to Kenya. Some of the people knew there's a safe place in Kenya. While they're traveling, they'd met soldiers and bandits and many of the people died of hunger, gun shot and exhausting. The woman from their homeland died too.

They were just 4 and 3. The traveling was too harsh to stand for them. When they finally got to the refugee camp, they fainted and were sented to a hospital.

Adults could understand that they fainted of hunger and hard walking. Omar couldn't remember what did he do for a year. He just lost his memory for a year.

After they got better, U.N. officer sent them to Futama in the camp as a foster mom. They deadly missed their mom but they haven't heard about her ever again.

After the interview, Omar believed in that he could go to America very soon. He dreamed about getting out of the camp just like prison and having a car and big house in America.

However, He was not chosen for resettlement. Nimo was chosen instead of him. 

Nimo was going to Canada. It was not her fault that she was chosen but she felt so sorry and guilt for she was the chosen one.

Omar was so jealous and he didn't talk to her for a while.

But he made up with her and he wish she will doing fine in Canada.

Omar and his friend Jerry went up to high school in the camp and they're like celebities. 

Omar studied and worked hard. He didn't get stuck in the useless dream of being chosen by U.N. He just worked hard and prepared for the future which he didn't know when it comes.

All of a sudden, U.N. informed him to have a interview again. 

He spoke English well at that time, so he had the interview easily. 

After the interview, he didn't think about the result of interview anymore. He just worked hard, graduated from high school and took care of his brother just like usual days.

And the result was pass. Omar and Hassan passed the interview and they could go to America. 

However they couldn't leave with Fatuma since she wasn't their real mom. 

Omar and Hassan went off to America. Omar worked hard for his brother and graduated from university of Arizona.

He majored in development of Africa. Now he is working for U.N.

He had never given up finding her mother and he contacted all the refugee camp if there was a woman who was finding her child.

He could finally meet his mother at one of the camp. His mom have never given up on him too even though neighbor told her that her children were all dead.

Now they were waiting for admission of living together in America.

He founded a project REFUGEE STRONG and he is helping refugees to continue their studies especially for girls.