WILLIAM: NOW, A STORY ABOUT HOW ONE MAN IS STARTING A NEW LIFE IN WISCONSIN, AFTER A DESPERATE JOURNEY FROM WAR-TORN CAMEROON.

JANE MCCAULEY OF PBS WISCONSIN HAS THIS REPORT.

OUR COST -- >> HE HAD TWO CHOICES -- FACE ARREST SEEKING ASYLUM AT THE U.S. SOUTHERN BORDER, OR POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN HIS HOME COUNTRY OF CAMERIN.

>> WE WANT OUR RIGHTS TO BE RESTORED.

JANE: SINCE 2017, A CIVIL WAR IN CAMEROON HAS TORN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN NATION APART.

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS DISPLACED.

THE INTERNAL CONFLICT IS A REMNANT OF FRENCH AND BRITISH COLONIZATION.

IT'S BEEN DECADES OF DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES FROM THE FRENCH SPEAKING GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE COUNTRIES ENGLISH SPEAKING REGIONS.

MORE AND MORE, PEOPLE LIKE HIM HAVE STOOD UP AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT, RISKING ARREST AND TORTURE.

HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER ASSUMED HE HAD DIED IN DETENTION.

THEY DIDN'T KNOW HE ESCAPED FROM NIGERIA AND FLED, STARTING IN COULD DOOR AND TRAVELING NORTH THROUGH THE DARIEN GAP, ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES IN THE WORLD.

OVER THOUSANDS OF MILES, THROUGH EIGHT COUNTRIES, HE REACHED MEXICO.

>> I LOOK LIKE -- THERE WAS A LOT OF POLICE DISCRIMINATION.

JANE: HIS JOURNEY WAS HARROWING, TAKING A TOLL PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.

>> I DID NOT TALK TO MY FAMILY ALL THE TIME I WAS TRAVELING.

JANE: FINALLY HE ARRIVED AT THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER.

>> WHEN I THINK OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH TO GET TO THIS POINT, I CAN'T EVEN FIND THE RIGHT WORDS TO DESCRIBE IT.

WHEN I GOT TO THE U.S., I FELT RELIEVED.

JANE: THAT RELIEF HOWEVER, TURNED TO REGRET.

>> WHEN THEY TOOK ME TO DETENTION, WHY ARE THEY TAKING ME TO THIS PLACE?

JANE: HE THOUGHT SEEKING ASYLUM MEANT BEING PROTECTED IN THE CUSTODY OF THE UNITED STATES.

INSTEAD, HE WAS ARRESTED.

>> I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO PRISON, NEVER COMMITTED ANY CRIME IN MY LIFE, APART FROM PROTESTING IN MY HOME COUNTRY.

JANE: AUTHORITIES TOLD HIM NOTHING.

WEEKS LATER HE FOUND OUT HE WAS IN A FEDERAL DETENTION FACILITY IN DODGE COUNTY, WISCONSIN.

>> THIS IS A HUMANITARIAN ISSUE.

JANE: AARON BARBADOS IS DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LAW SCHOOL IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CLINIC.

GUA SAYS EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN HE MET HER.

>> THEY ARE RISKING THEIR LIVES BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE.

WE HAVE LAWS THAT ALLOW PEOPLE TO SEEK PROTECTION HERE WHEN THEY WILL BE OR HAVE BEEN PERSECUTED IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY.

JANE: SEEKING ASYLUM IS ONE ISSUE.

PROVING YOUR CASE IS ANOTHER.

HIS WITNESS ACCOUNTS A TEST TO THE CHAOS IN HIS COUNTRY.

>> HE ALSO WEARS SCARS ON HIS BODY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE WERE LINKED TO THE PERSECUTION THAT HE SUFFERED FROM THE GOVERNMENT.

OBVIOUSLY OUR BACKGROUNDS ARE REALLY DIFFERENT.

JANE: TONY AND MARK MET GUA THROUGH BARBADO.

>> BUT WE HAD SO MUCH IN COMMON, VALUES AND BELIEF SYSTEMS.

JANE: GUA WENT TO LIVE WITH THEM AFTER LEAVING DODGE COUNTY JAIL ON PAROLE.

THEY BECAME HIS AMERICAN PARENTS , GIVING HIM A PLACE TO CALL HOME.

>> HAVING GUA IN OUR LIFE IS A BLESSING.

WE HAVE FOUND MORE FAMILY.

WILLIAM: AFTER DARK JANE: AFTER FOUR LONG YEARS, HIS WIFE STELLA AND THEN FIVE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER ANN RECEIVED THEIR DOCUMENTS TO COME TO THE U.S. >> I WAS LIKE, IS THIS FOR REAL?

I WAS IN SHOCK.

WHEN I SAW HIM I WAS SO HAPPY.

>> TO MAKE A LIFE IN THE U.S. AFTER WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH IS A HARD THING.

JANE: AFTER YEARS OF HARDSHIP, GUA RECEIVED ASYLUM IN 2021.

NOW HE IS FILING FOR CITIZENSHIP.

STELLA AND ANN AWAIT THEIR GREEN CARDS.

IN THE MEANTIME, IT MEANS EVERYTHING FOR GUA TO START A NEW LIFE IN WISCONSIN.

>> IT IS EVERYTHING FOR YOUR FAMILY TO BE HAPPY.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE AMAZING THINGS.

JANE: FOR PBS NEWS WEEKEND, I'M JANE MCCAULEY IN MADISON.