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The lasting trauma of a civil war long ago still clouds Patricia Hagba’s emotions.

The woman was forced to flee a conflict-ravaged Liberia to the relative safety of a refugee camp in the neighbouring West African country of Guinea.

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“We had to escape — I lost my dad and sister who were killed,” said Hagba, 34.

While in that refugee camp, Hagba gave birth to her first son, Emmanuel, now a strapping 17-year-old and ace soccer midfielder.

When they first arrived in Canada in the late winter of 2007, their new country’s tranquillity was a godsend, she said. “I could no longer hear the sounds of guns,” said Hagba.

But that welcome sense of peace came at a price, of adapting to a new country, culture and economic realities, along with frigid weather that left her and her son cold. Those challenges were compounded by a marriage that turned rocky for Hagba.

Ensuring stability for Emmanuel was another concern.