Theophylline Mulbah has had a protracted journey to Tunisia, however he’s discovered hope — and music — alongside the way in which.
Theophylline Mulbah is in no rush. “I’ve issues to do right here,” he says from a rain-soaked alleyway in central Tunis. “I’m critically pursuing my musical profession. I’m a rapper.”
Two years in the past, Mulbah left his house in Liberia in West Africa and took his time travelling earlier than arriving in Tunis in August. Mulbah moved by means of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali and Algeria on foot, spending a while in every nation as he raised funds for the subsequent stage of his journey.
His longest keep, he says, was in Algeria — a go to that lasted a yr and 4 months. “There have been so many issues and experiences I wished to get acquainted with, so I needed to keep for a while.”
“I did a few songs in Algeria, and I’m planning on doing a pair extra right here,” he says of his music. “I’ve recreation, and I do know that my recreation will do me effectively. I’m a hip-hop rapper. I speak about my previous, my current, issues I really feel troubled about, my state of affairs, my childhood.”
Whereas some individuals within the alleyway are fleeing conflict and revolution, 28-year-old Mulbah says a failing financial system and excessive inflation led to his flight.
“I began dreaming of bettering myself and gathering cash,” he says. “I utilized for a Schengen visa for France however couldn’t receive it.” After just a few failed purposes, he determined to journey by highway, realizing the journey could be tough however hoping his Liberian passport would see him by means of.
“Once I received to Algeria, I got here to know that it wasn’t what I assumed,” he says of the day by day difficulties confronted by 1000’s of foreigners there with out documentation. “I began gathering info on how I might proceed my journey [to Europe via Tunisia], and my mates would inform me, ‘That is the method.’”
Since arriving in Algeria and Tunisia, racism has been a day by day drawback.
“That’s one thing I had anticipated and ready my thoughts for. In no matter setting you end up in, you both give up or abide,” he says, “So I made a decision to return and abide.”
This text is the fourth of a five-part collection of portraits of refugees from completely different nations, with various backgrounds, sure by shared fears and hopes as they enter 2024. Learn the first, second and third components right here.