Author(s): Terry Whitebeach

Teen Fiction

Obulejo dreams he is standing by the stream with his friend Riti, hauling in spangled tilapia fish, one after the other ...Tat-tat-tat-tat! Brrrmm! Rrrrr! Ul-lu-lu-lu-lah! Obulejo slams awake, heart racing, and scrambles up off his mat. Gunshots and screams jab the air. Flashes of light pierce the darkness. The Rebels! Run!..Obulejo's name means 'trouble tomorrow' in the Ma'di language, and there is plenty of trouble for sixteen-year-old Obulejo when his town is attacked by Rebel troops. Separated from family and close friends, Obulejo flees into the hills and then makes a terrifying journey, full of danger from wild animals and pursuing soldiers. Once across the border in a refugee camp, he is safer but has no future - until he joins a pioneering peace education program and begins to find ways to create a more hopeful life for himself and others.