Bahati Ernestine Hategekimana is a student at Moi University in Kenya and a winner of the 2016 Many Languages, One World international essay contest organized by ELS Educational Services, Inc. and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). She has lived in Kenya for 20 years as a refugee from Rwanda.
I'm Not Broken, Just Bent
Once driven out of their homes, away from all that is familiar, and everything they have has been taken away, refugees struggle to find any kind of connection to their motherland. Through language and culture, they hold on to the memories of their departed loved ones and ancestors. When everything around them is changing, refugees can only ask for their hearts to remain true to who they are.