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Client Stories
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 Abdoulaye, Survivor from Ivory Coast
Abdoulaye arrived in Los Angeles after spending years hiding from his perpetrators. In 2002, the government of the Ivory Coast, under President Gbagbo, attempted to assassinate him and his family. Abdoulaye watched as his wife and brother were killed. Severely injured and fearing for his life, he left everything behind, including his three children. Seven years after escaping the Ivory Coast, Abdoulaye has rebuilt his life. With the help of PTV, he regained his physical and mental health, found a good job, and was finally granted asylum. Abdoulaye hopes to be reunited with his children. |
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 Leontine, Survivor from Democratic Republic of Congo
For 17 years, Leontine worked as the personal beautician for the wife of the former president. When the Rwandan Army invaded Congo in 1997, everything changed. Leontine was raped and tortured because of her ties to the president. When she arrived in Los Angeles, her attorney referred her to PTV where she received medical and psychological assistance and learned to cope with the emotional scars of rape. PTV has helped Leontine become a spokesperson for women in Congo. She hopes that by telling her story she can alert the world to the horrors of her homeland. |
"PTV helped me reclaim my identity. I now feel I am ready to fight for those who do not have a voice." |
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 Godfrey, Survivor from Uganda
When you first meet Aba Godfrey, you can tell he is unlike many people you have met before. His voice is soft and quiet, but his demeanor and story speak of confidence, resilience and determination. Godfrey grew up in an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda where he learned to survive in a world that was not built for people like him. Having been struck with polio, he has been in a wheelchair since he was three years old.
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"You have no idea how difficult it is in Uganda to do the most basic things, like go to school or ride the bus," Godfrey says. "The buses would charge me three or four times more just because I was in a wheelchair."
But Godfrey knew that having a disability did not mean an inability. He continued to pursue his studies and participate in sports leagues, even founding the Wheel Chair Sports Federation in Uganda at the age of 16. Because his school had no elevators and his classes were always on the second or third floor, every day at the bottom of the stairwell he would lift himself out of his wheelchair and use his arms to climb up, all the while holding his bulky wheelchair.
Godfrey was determined to receive an education, and after high school he went on to earn his Tour and Travel diploma from the YMCA University in Uganda.
Though he himself had been successful, Godfrey knew it was difficult for many people like him in his country. He says that in Uganda, disabled people are frequently taken advantage of, have limited opportunities and are sometimes even thrown in prison for just being different. Godfrey wanted to help give them a voice.
He met with local humanitarian organizations that sought to shed light on problems that plagued the disabled community. Together they organized a peaceful demonstration, but he was soon arrested, held in prison and tortured by government officials.
After being released from prison, Godfrey fled from his country, leaving behind all that he had ever known, including his family, friends and culture.
When he arrived alone in the United States, he was lost, angry and in pain. Godfrey found himself in need of a job and medical attention, and was desperate for an opportunity to share his story.
He began the asylum process in Los Angeles where he was referred to a lawyer who pointed him in the direction of PTV. After his first visit to PTV, "I realized I had found a place where I could freely speak my mind with therapists and physicians, where I could begin to recover from my physical and emotional wounds – a place where I felt safe and among people who really cared about me."
Before coming to PTV, he had been unable to sleep due to high stress, was apprehensive towards those around him and felt lost in a foreign land.
"[PTV] helped put a smile back on my face and calm the deep hate that had grown inside," he says. "I don't know where I'd be today if it weren't for all their caring and help."
Like most survivors and refugees, Godfrey has had a difficult time finding work. But with the help of PTV coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit, he was able to use his talents to turn a small amount of money into a lifeline. With $60 that PTV had given him, he was able to purchase and sell car fresheners at a wholesale price. In just two weeks, he had turned the $60 into $2,000, which he then invested in a computer software program to build web pages. Today, he sells car fresheners in the mornings and builds commercial web pages in the evenings.
During his time here, Godfrey also founded a nonprofit called Abilities Talent International (ATI) that recognizes and promotes the talents and skills of disabled people in the United States and Africa.
"Everyone on earth has talent," he says. For someone who has overcome so much adversity and still finds ways to give back, Godfrey is clearly a person who has many.
Godfrey is currently waiting for his asylum court date, which is set for 2013.
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 Kyaw, Survivor from Burma
A former political prisoner who was tortured six times by Burma's military junta, Kyaw continues to fight for democracy in Burma. But these days it is as a U.S. citizen. Through a referral from a friend, Kyaw received medical and psychological treatment from PTV. PTV helped him with his nightmares and chronic headaches as well as finding housing and a job. Kyaw now works for Los Angeles County. |
"When I escaped to the U.S., I felt my life was over until I found PTV. PTV helped me start again." |
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 Rossana, Survivor from El Salvador
Rossana fled her native El Salvador during the brutal civil war in the 1980s. Persecuted for trying to help farmers and teachers build a fair democracy, Rossana was imprisoned, raped, beaten and repeatedly tortured until she escaped to the United States in 1986. Arriving in Los Angeles alone and hopeless, she turned to PTV, which helped her heal her psychological and physical wounds and rebuild her life. Rossana is now a leading advocate for the rights of immigrants, refugees and women in Los Angeles. |
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 Leonid, Survivor from Kazakhstan
Leonid came to PTV in 2000 after he and his family escaped political oppression in Kazakhstan. Arriving with nothing but their will to survive, they lived on the streets for several weeks before they were referred to PTV. For several years, PTV provided the Leonid's family with psychological support, medical services and help finding housing, transportation and employment as they adjusted to life in the United States. Now, 10 years later, Leonid and his family lives with the comfort of knowing they are safe. |
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 Igor, Survivor from Armenia
Born in the ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan known as Nagorno-Karabakh, Igor has experienced persecution almost his whole life. After fleeing to Armenia with his family, Igor was arrested and beaten repeatedly for fighting against corruption in refugee camps. Several years later, Igor fled to the United States where he found help at PTV. He now credits PTV with providing him with the medical and psychological help he needed and legal assistance to win his asylum case. |
"PTV gave me hope that I could find another way to live." |
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 Fredy, Survivor from Cameroon
Growing up in Cameroon, Fredy lived a normal life. He played soccer with his friends and studied diligently in school in hope of one day becoming a doctor. He was raised by his single mother, a meteorologist, who worked hard to ensure that her six children stayed on the right track. Politics played no part in Fredy’s life until the day he was arrested and labeled a political dissident.
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He was just 17 and in his last year of high school when friends from his neighborhood disappeared after being arrested by government officials.
Looking for answers, Fredy and some of his friends attended a large demonstration, hoping to hold government officials accountable.
“I had no idea about the political situation in my country. I was young and naïve and wanted justice for my friends,” says Fredy, now 26.
At the march, Fredy was arrested by government officials and taken to a prison. For four months he was repeatedly tortured and questioned about his political affiliation.
hrough the help of a family friend in the military, Fredy was able to escape his torturers. He went into hiding for several months, living with friends who would soon plan his escape to the United States. Police were constantly looking for him, making his stay more dangerous for his friends and family.
Fredy was finally able to leave the country, but his welcome to the United States was anything but cordial. He landed at LAX and then languished for the next two months in a Lancaster detention center, placed there by immigration officials.
“I came to the U.S. to have a second chance, to flee the violence and persecution. I thought that I had left prison behind but when I came here I found myself in another prison.”
With help from a family friend who hired a lawyer, Fredy was released from the detention center. His lawyer recognized that the quiet, withdrawn and obviously troubled young man in front of her needed treatment and referred him to PTV, where he found sympathy, understanding and the therapeutic and medical help he desperately needed.
“When I got there I still didn’t really trust people, but the PTV staff made me feel safe,” says Fredy. “They did that by the way they talked to me, always very kind words. You can tell when someone cares for you because it comes from the bottom of their hearts.”
Now, almost nine years later, Fredy still finds it hard to talk about what happened. He is full of regret and grief, but feels lucky to be alive today.
The remarkable progress he has made in rebuilding his life, learning to trust people again and finding the strength to finish high school and college is testament to his determination not to be destroyed by torture.
It is also a transformation he credits to the long-term medical treatment, psychological care and financial support he received from PTV.
After seven years, Fredy was finally granted asylum this year and has just finished a radiology technology program at California State University Northridge. Next year, Fredy will be a fully licensed radiology technologist and hopes to give back to PTV as a professional medical volunteer. |
"I am very proud of the life I've built here. But I couldn't have done it without the help of PTV." |
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 Bibianne, Survivor from Congo
"When I arrived in Los Angeles, the Congolese community of Southern California referred me to Program for Torture Victims, where I met people who wanted to help me. My life began to change. The competent and caring staff immediately took me under their wing. I received the medical care needed. My anxiety eroded to a thin line of nervousness, then to nothing at all. With the help of these professionals, I was able find my feet, my self-esteem, and my passion once again." |
" I have come from a shell to a seed and from a seed to a small flower. PTV saved my life." |
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 Robert, Survivor from Cameroon
A promising new career awaits Robert, a 36-year-old from the African country of Cameroon. He has begun a doctoral program to be a pharmacist. Considering his past trials, this is no small feat. Even now, his attention drifts to scars on his body that remind him of a different, and difficult, time in his native country. .Now in Minneapolis, Robert attributes PTV with strides he has made along his difficult journey. And he is spreading the word. Read more. |
"It was difficult to express exactly what had happened to me. Each time I tried to talk to [PTV therapist] Ken Louria, I burst out in tears. He helped me overcome my emotions." |
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 Gikunja, Survivor from Kenya
“I had no idea what PTV was or what it could do for me,” Gikunja said. At his first interview with former case manager Noemi Rossler, Gikunja told his story and began to cry. “Noemi hugged me and said that everything was going to be alright, and that I should not be scared.” When he’s at the West Hollywood restaurant where he works, Gikunja dreams of starting his own catering business, or going back to school. But some evenings, vivid reminders of the past haunt him, and the large scar that transverses his upper right arm from a severe beating by a gang of Masaai, will never let him forget. Read more. |
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