NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 15, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- In a new book based on Thomas Kai Toteh's experiences as a refugee and immigrant, he outlines not only his personal story of his war-ravaged years, but also the story of millions of disadvantaged African children in African Child: From Wizard to Refugee (now available through AuthorHouse).
The first part of the book describes a man's previous life as a powerful hunter who was tortured and killed by antagonists in the dense forest. He was reborn as Kailuo, who witnesses the benefits of voodoo from his uncle. This sparks Kailuo's lifelong mission to become educated and change the negative perceptions of this mystical practice. As he matures, his dream of traveling abroad, studying and returning to teach his people fades away when civil war breaks out. He spends 10 years running from insurgents and lands in a refugee camp.
From the camp on the Ivory Coast, he applies for resettlement in the United States. Kailuo is accepted and sees his new life in America as a way to achieve his goals. After bouncing among various factory jobs in Jacksonville, Fla., he finds himself at the doorstep of the Florida Community College at Jacksonville, where he throws himself into his academic studies while still earning enough money to attend school and send financial assistance home to Africa.
A fascinating journey into the life of a brave man determined to see his dreams realized, African Child: From Wizard to Refugee portrays Toteh's story through the eyes of Kailuo, who represents "one of the millions of stories that are yet untold about the sufferings inflicted on the children of Africa by warlords, politicians, merchants of death and enemies of humanity."
Toteh is currently enrolled at Old Dominion University as a journalism major. He is a founder and editor for the African Refugee and Asylee Newsletter and was a student activist in Liberia before the country's civil war. Toteh is also the father of two children.
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