Sudanese supermodel ALEK WEK still struggles to believe she managed to escape the hell in her homeland - because her identification details were all wrong.
The in-demand catwalk star left the Sudan as a teenager with her sister Athieng for life in London with another sibling, Ajok.
But she had no idea what her birthdate was and officials listed her as male on the I.D. card she needed to travel.
Wek recalls, "I needed an I.D. card and a passport to go to England... We had to choose a date (for my birthday). We decided on April 16.
"A street photographer took my picture, which my brother Wek took to the police office in the Khartoum business district to get my I.D. card.
"They never saw me in person and, looking at the photo of a tall, skinny kid with short hair, assumed that I was a boy. My formal I.D. card listed me as male, with an invented birth date.
"My world has always been a bit unpredictable." But, even with passport and I.D. card in hand, Wek almost didn't complete her trip to Britain - she and her sister were left confused when their plane landed in Frankfurt, Germany.
She adds, "A stewardess took us to our next gate, which we never would have found otherwise. The airport was vast, and we spoke only Dinka and Arabic."