New recruit chases league dream after escaping civil war horror

OBED Karwhin has survived unimaginable horrors but reckons he has much to be grateful for — a chance to live life away from civil war and the chance to chase his rugby league dream.

Redcliffe Dolphins’ new recruit Obed Karwhin.

OBED Karwhin has survived unimaginable horrors but reckons he has much to be grateful for — a chance to live life away from civil war and the chance to chase his rugby league dream.

The 21-year-old moved to Woody Point in November and will play for the Redcliffe Dolphins this season after stints with Wests Tigers and North Sydney Bears.

It’s a world away from Yamoussoukro on West Africa’s Ivory Coast, where he was forced to run for his life as a four-year-old.

Obed remembers vividly the moment he knew he had to run.

“I was in school when it happened and the only person that was left there was me and the principal (others had been collected by family members),” he recalls.

“My cousin rescued me.”

Obed says the family had to hide in the bush for a month before they could escape to Guinea as refugees. They had limited food supplies but survived by sharing what they had with other families.

“When you’re running for your life, you don’t have many options,” he explains.

They lived in a refugee camp for four years before starting a very different life in Sydney in 2005. “To me, at the start it was strange and a bit scary but after a few months we got used to it,” he says.

He was introduced to rugby league as a 14-year-old and shrugs off any suggestion he had exceptional natural ability to make the Wests Tigers under -20s side aged 18.

“I was fortunate enough to have good people around me and good coaches,” he says. He predominantly plays on the wing, is handy in the centre and fullback positions, but will line-up wherever Dolphins coach Adam Mogg wants him.

Pre-season training has been tough but Obed says he has already learned so much.

“He (Adam Mogg) is tough, he’s hard but that’s the way I want it. I want to unleash my full potential,” Obed says.

Ultimately, he wants to play in the NRL and he firmly believes his time with Redcliffe will help him get there.

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