Samba Diallo grew up in a decent home, with loving parents, and access to education. On the eve of his 12th birthday, a rain of bombardments stormed on his city, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. In a matter of one night, everything he knew was taken from him, and he began what felt like an eternal journey under the rain. Between the ages of 12 and 17, Samba was attacked and left for dead, kidnapped and taken for ransom, forced to watch women and children being raped and murdered, and forced to traffick drugs. Somehow, he survived, but he will never be the same.Now, he invites you to take a look back through his eyes to see what he did - to see what thousands of children see on a daily basis around the world. Once you witness what he did, you also will never be the same...
Ben is a product of the street and an English learner. He grew up in violence, but he prefers tolerance and acts in silence instead. He is a humble young man of a few words. He has no advisor nor instructor. Only his good intuition guides him on the right path before he decides to do something. He is also a machine of positive thoughts that can turn all types of obstacles into opportunities for himself in order to help other people. He came to the United States in January 2017. He has no writing skills or diploma. Happy of being welcomed as a refugee in this great nation, he is considerate about his adoptive nation, and being aware of the injustice and suffering inflicted on refugees, migrants, and street children, he started learning the new language little by little before taking the risk to write in English in order to make their voices heard. He would like to be known for the talent of a youngster of the street, but not for all the bad reputation people have in mind about street violence.