Ayik, pictured, was stunned to come across the man who tortured him. Credit:SBS Now – as he glared at his tormenter across the aisle – he plotted his revenge. "Why don't I just kill him?" he thought. Then he got up and walked out, unsure if he'd ever return. "I didn't want to see him again," he says, "because I didn't know what I was capable of doing to him." So when Ayik spotted a casting call on Facebook, he was intrigued. It was for Look Me In The Eye, a new SBS series hosted by Ray Martin. The format is simple: two estranged people come face-to-face. Without speaking, they stare into the other's eyes for five minutes. Afterwards, they decide whether to start a conversation. The show features a couple who have separated, a son who cut off his mother and a father who abandoned his daughter. Of course, Ayik and Anyang don't fit the traditional definition of "estranged", as they had never been close.

Ayik, left, confronts Anyang on SBS's Look Me In The Eye. Yet Ayik was determined to seize this opportunity. "I didn't know if Anyang would turn up, but I didn't care," he tells Fairfax Media. "I just wanted to talk to Ray Martin. I was going to forgive Anyang [even if I didn't see him] so the memories wouldn't haunt me." Ayik weeps as he speaks with Anyang. Credit:SBS What eventuated was a gut-wrenching scene, almost painful to watch.

First, Ayik detailed his abuse to Martin. When he was small, his father was killed in the war. At 13, he enrolled in military training in Ethiopia, to fight for his people. The Red Army, as it was known, trained boys as young as 10, equipping them with AK-47s. But Ayik didn't anticipate the deprivation of food and sleep. He made 15 attempts to flee. Each time, he was captured and tortured. From hatred to forgiveness: Ayik, left, embraces Anyang. Credit:SBS Then we learned that Anyang, though older than Ayik, also joined the military as a boy. He had little choice; having lost his father, mother and two siblings. A few years later, Anyang was given a "promotion": the authority to punish escapees by tying them up and lashing them with a cane. Had he refused, he would have been beaten. Anyang, right, breaks down while hugging Ayik. Credit:SBS

With the cameras rolling, Ayik and Anyang take their seats. Ayik weeps, Anyang doesn't shed a tear. "My mind is just looking, looking at his eyes," a devastated Ayik says afterwards. "I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel he's sorry." Ayik, left, and his son Freeman are open to a friendship with Anyang. Credit:SBS Even so, he insists on speaking with Anyang. He tells him he'd wished for his death. How rage once consumed him, making him smash windows and televisions. "I prayed to god you were killed in the war ... no one hurt me like you did, no one." Then Ayik mentions his son, Freeman. The safe childhood he's worked hard to give him. His desire to live for the future, instead of being traumatised by his past.

While Anyang says the right things, he seems curiously unemotional. Only when he requests a parting hug does he break down. He has to excuse himself, knowing he won't stop crying if he doesn't. Since filming that episode, Ayik has seen Anyang twice. "I wouldn't call him a close friend now, but if he wants to be friends in the long-term, I'm happy to accept that. "Of course I'll see him again. I've learned something in life: you can forgive anyone." Remarkably, he introduced Anyang to Freeman. "When I was in the army, I wouldn't leave anyone next to Anyang," he says. "Now, I could leave my son with him for a day and not worry."

Ayik can see that Anyang is scarred by the war, but hopes he finds contentment. Loading "Out of millions of Africans, we got to come here. Australia saved my life and Anyang's life; Australia gave me a new life with my little boy. I couldn't think of any other name for him except Freeman – because he is a free man." WHAT: Look Me In The Eye

WHEN: Wednesdays, 8.30pm on SBS