'I am thankful to be free'

Students at St. Michael's Catholic School in Wheaton met someone who's thankful just to be alive. And that reminded them of all they have to be thankful for.

"I am thankful to be free," said Jacques Ntahoturi, a 16-year-old who spent 11 years imprisoned in a Tanzania refugee camp in southeast Africa.

"Your life is very good here," he told the students at a special cultural exchange presentation this week. "I am very happy to be in your country."

Jacques, now a sophomore at Wheaton North High School, came here eight months ago with his mother, sister and four brothers. Before then, the family had only heard of America, and they were elated when they were selected by a refugee relief group to move here.

"We were so happy to get out of Africa," he said. "But we were also very scared."

And rightfully so. None of them spoke a word of English; they has no money and came here only with the clothes they wore.

"What we did have was faith," Jacques said. "We were hopeful our lives could only get better.

"We lived like prisoners in Tanzania," he added. "Each day our goal was to survive. We lived in fear. We were hungry. And if we were caught trying to leave the camp, we would be beaten or killed."

Before that, Jacques and his family had to flee the village where they lived in the war-torn Congo. He paused before taking a deep breath, and with tears in his eyes, he told the most difficult part of his story.

"When we fled from our village in Congo, I was five years old, and my brother, Nahiyo, was seven," he said. "In the chaos of fighting and running, we were separated from our parents and our other brothers and sisters."

Jacques and his brother lived orphans for almost two years in a Tanzania refugee camp.

"My brother and I took care of ourselves and each other," he said.

At that moment, the class of sixth graders began to clap. As the applause grew louder, some kids stood up and others came up to Jacques and gave high-fives, as if to congratulate him for his bravery.

And his story did have a happy ending.

"One day my brother and I watched a boat of refugees unload at the shore of our camp, and off came my mother, my father, my sister and two brothers.

"It was the happiest day of our lives. I will never forget that day," he said. "I am still so thankful for this."