UNDER normal circumstances, the permanent orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps at Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos is a place where fresh graduates from Nigerian universities, polytechnics and other institutions of higher learning who are posted to Lagos State for the compulsory one-year service to their fatherland undergo their orientation.

But since Sunday, the place has turned an abode to another breed of men, women and children who are not university graduates nor youth corps members. Even those who attained this educational status, were not there for the purpose of service to their country. It is a nest for Nigerians and other nationals evacuated by the Federal Government from the war-torn Liberia where fresh fighting recently broke out between rebels and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor.

As you enter the vast compound, one is confronted with dejected people who should have been fending for themselves but have been forced by the negative effect of the bloody confrontation to near destitution. Hopelessness is evident on their faces as frustration is evident in their voices. As these returnees pour out their woes, it becomes glaringly apparent that they have been weighed down by two questions: where do we go from here? What is our future after this camp?

Any discernible visitor cannot mistake the gloom on the faces of these men and women who thought that going to Liberia would open up the doors of fortune that had been denied them in their home country. The traumatised inmates of the camp created by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) made up of mostly Nigerians and Liberians (it was gathered that Ghanaians had all gone) gather in groups at the camp to contemplate the next move.

Yet, it is not all about the promises that tomorrow holds. They are terribly haunted by the events in Monrovia and other Liberian cities that threaten to make them refugees in their own land of birth. When the elderly ones among them talk, one common phrase is: "we saw hell in Liberia..."

In the contrary, the children, quite unaware of the unfolding drama and the uncertainties that give their parents jitters, appear to enjoy the warmth of the environment unlike the seclusive lives that they were forced to live in Liberia of recent. Some of them were replaying the marching style of the rebels and/or the sounds of machine guns which reverberated through the streets of Monrovia.

These returning compatriots had been given N2,500 allowance with which to supplement their feeding in the camp or pay their ways back to their states or villages. They appreciate the government's kind gesture even though some murmur that the amount can hardly make any difference in their lives now.

But such worries are considered minor on this day. The biggest problem of these evacuees who are mostly from Delta State, is the safety of the missing members of their families or those who could not be accommodated in the aircraft that brought them back. And they do not conceal their hurt emotions that the Kabo Air plane which brought them back had to take them in batches.

When you hear them speak, it is tales of horror, anger and fear about their relations yet to return. Two days ago, virtually anyone spoken to had one horrifying story about how he or she survived from the lion's den. This aspect brings smile to few faces in the camp.

Meanwhile, at the NEMA office inside the camp, officials were setting up temporary structures to cope with the returnees and other evacuees being expected. The NEMA Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olagunjoye noted that the organisation has put in place everything needed to accommodate the returnees who arrive in droves.

And for the Lagos State co-ordinator of NEMA, Seyi Omotade, "it has been quite hectic but that's what we've been trained to do and we're always happy to assist people in need. We have been receiving the evacuees and doing the best we can to reduce their trauma.

"As soon as they arrived, we arranged for them to get relief materials and to provide them with funds to travel and meet their kith and kin. Again, we don't discriminate in the distribution of the materials. Everybody receives no matter where you come from. We must show our magnanimity to other nationals."

It was now time to listen to the returnees and what they went through in Liberia before their return.

Emmanuel Imobosan

I went to Liberia after graduating from Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Anambra State in 1994. I tried to find a job after graduation but there was none. At that point, a friend of mine suggested that it was better if we moved to Liberia where we could find something to do.

When I got there, I could not find a job in my area of specialisation which is civil engineering. So, I opened a shop where I was selling provisions. We used to get supplies from Nigerians who were into trans-country trade. We were doing the retailing. In a short time, the business started flourishing. Suddenly, the rebels struck.

As I'm talking to you, I don't have anything except the clothes I am wearing now. It's unfortunate. Both the rebels and Charles Taylor's soldiers looted our shops. They would come and loot what you've laboured for these past years.

The only thing I have now is Christ and I know that He will see me through. We saw hell in Liberia. Corpses littered the streets and you didn't know if you would become the next victim. My prayers are for other Nigerians who are yet to return. We thank President Olusegun Obasanjo for coming to our rescue and urge him to also bring back thousands still stranded in that country.

As for me, there is no going back to Liberia even if the war ends today. I now know that God wants me to live in my country.

Daniel Gary-Akpovebetan

I was on my way to Gambia when I ran out of cash in Liberia. That was how I came to live there. So, I opened a barbing salon which was doing well until the problem started. The borders were closed and nobody could come in or go out. Rockets were tearing away roofs, crushing building and killing innocent people.

It was one terrible thing to wake up and be unsure whether you will be alive the next five minutes. That was the situation that we faced in Monrovia. I may not go back to Liberia but I won't mind going to another country after I would have rested. Why do I have to stay here? Will you give me a job if I decide to stay in Nigeria?

I am afraid of the safety of other Nigerians still in that country. It's a pity that the plane which came to bring us home came in with more foreigners than anybody would have imagined. The reason was the greed of the Nigerian officials there who would allow other nationals board even before us because of few dollars. It is a shame.

Pastor Ambrose Akebohun

I am from Ondo State and a pastor of Gospel Faith Mission International, Monrovia. Our headquarter is in Ibadan. To be frank with you, it was one hell living in Liberia and a bigger trouble leaving from the place. We will continue to pray so that God touches the heart of those involved in the conflict.

A lot of Nigerians and other nationals were brutalised by the rebels and troops loyal to Taylor. Look at my hands and fingers (with cuts and bruises) and that will tell you what we were subjected to. But my Bible tells me to give thanks to God in all things. I'll report to my church and await further directives.

Titi Oghenovo

I was a trader in that country before the problem started. We were screaming when we heard rocket blow up our house. I felt that we were going to die the next minute. Nobody knew what to do. We started to pray and to imagine if we had anything in common with President Charles Taylor.

Oh, it was such a pitiful sight to see Nigerians running from one place to another, like other nationals. Nobody knew where to go to because you kept hearing machine gun sounds and artillery bombardment. It was an experience which nobody would want to have again.

I have been living in Liberia for a long time. After the first problem broke out, we came back to Nigeria but returned after things returned to normal. I really loved the place. This time again, we've been forced to flee again. We thank the Nigerian government that sent an aircraft to come and pick us. We also plead with them to send more planes because there are more Nigerians stranded than the number that returned.

There is nothing for me to celebrate because three of my children are still in that country. I managed to come back with two of them. Please, remember me in your prayers so that the other children should come back very soon. I'll remain here until they come back. We left them at Monrovia airport because the aircraft could not take all of us.

A lot of people died in the current strife and there is no going back to Liberia for me. I've had enough of the bitter experience.

Rose Aromoro

It is nice to be home from a war zone but one cannot forget the fact that many Nigerians were killed. It will be selfish to celebrate your own escape and not remember that there were people who were not this lucky.

Besides, it's also very painful that the Nigerian officials in Monrovia boarded even Liberians before many of us, just because these people paid between twenty to twenty five dollars. I'm not against them but not at the expense of stranded Nigerians.

You needed to be there on the day that Ghanaians were airlifted. Everything was so orderly. But in our case, it was total stampede. Many people were injured in the process. Why are we like this?

Mabel Idioko

I lived in Liberia for eight years until the trouble started. I am a Nigerian from Delta State. We're happy to come back home alive because many people were killed. You could see corpses littering the streets and what that told you was that it could be you next, or could have been you. It was a terrible time for all foreigners in the land as well as even Liberians.

The soldiers would come to loot your shop and there is nothing you can do than pray that they leave you alive. The children you see with me here are not my own. They ran into the aircraft and their parents couldn't enter. I can do nothing but take care of them until their parents are back. My own children are not here. I am only hoping that they will be among the next batch of evacuees.

The place I lived is called Duala. The rebels were fighting from Lofa County through Duala while the other faction fought from Granville. So, Duala was caught in-between. We were in a very dangerous situation. We saw rockets hit the place and people were dying as if they were animals.

I want to believe that Nigerians seemed to be the target of most of these soldiers because it was always our shops that they looted. As I talk to you, I have nothing . Even my bag may have been forgotten at the air-field in Monrovia. I am eagerly waiting for the return of my husband and children so that we return to Warri.

Dolly Pearce (28 years)

In Monrovia, I was studying Medicine at the AGM, Orgo. We're twelve in my family and everyone can't be found now. Till this hour, I can't tell where my parents and other members of the family are. We've been told that another aircraft will bring another natch of evacuees soon. I just hope that my people make it then. Their absence worries me greatly.

It is when they make it here that we will decide whether to stay in Nigeria or go to Ghana. It's been a terrible experience and till now, I am apprehensive because of my parents and other siblings of mine. Have you given a thought what it would be like if they don't make it back here now? That would mean that I won't see them for a very long time.

How can I be talking of my education when my people are not here? I am actually worried that my education has been affected but that I will give a serious thought if and when my people are back. It will be difficult for anybody to paint the exact picture of what transpired in Liberia. To say the least, it was hell on earth.

Sophia Amos (23-year-old Liberian)

I was a trader at Princeville. The trouble in Liberia is just too much. There were stories of killings, torture and rape. In that mood, there's no person who would wait to be so treated. So, when we heard that the Nigerian government was sending an aircraft to evacuate its nationals, we all rushed to the air field to await the arrival of the plane.

When you're struggling to remain alive, there is no way you can listen to such things like this is a Nigerian plane sent to bring back Nigerians. It was a struggle to escape from death and we all pushed and pulled to make it.

I have a son and a daughter and with my husband, they are all trapped back home. I don't know what would have happened to them. I can only pray that they make the next flight. You won't know what it means to leave your family behind in a war situation until it happens to you. I am so depressed.

As you can see, I am a refugee who needs help. I can't be talking about my business which had since crumbled as a result of the war. For the Nigerians returning, they would soon rejoin their families. It is not so with me because I have no family here. That's why I'm looking forward to my own family joining me as soon as possible.