Martha Kumsa says it's the "little things" that really make her appreciate her life in Canada.

Those include being able to take a leisurely stroll without fear of being kidnapped and put behind bars for her political beliefs.

Kumsa, 48, spent 10 years as a prisoner of conscience in her native Ethiopia after writing for a newspaper that was critical of the brutal military regime that had overthrown the country's monarchy.

"I'll never forget the day it happened," said Kumsa. "I was blindfolded and taken away and the interrogation began right away. Over a period of time I was hung upside down on a pole and beaten up. I would get hit on the soles of my feet. People would disappear and I'd never see them again. There were executions."

But the worst, she said, was the fact she was separated from her husband and three young children.

"It was pretty much a living hell. I didn't see the children for seven years until the governing faction allowed visiting," she said. "They were toddlers when I was taken away, so it was very, very painful."

She survived where others didn't, and was eventually freed from prison following international pressure spearheaded by P.E.N. International as well as Amnesty International.

Still searching for her husband, who was also being held by the military regime for his part in organizing the paper, Kumsa attempted to start post-secondary education in engineering, but to no avail.

When the unstable political climate forced the closing of the local university several times, Kumsa realized it was time to leave.

Arriving in Canada in 1991 as a refugee — her husband was finally freed and eventually joined her — she attempted to find employment as a journalist but just kept hitting brick walls.

Finally, she came to Skills for Change, a non-profit organization that assists new Canadians with job training. After taking a course in life skills and job searching, Kumsa decided to refocus her life by returning to school to study social work.

Now finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, she recently accepted a teaching position at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.

"I'm just so happy and just so grateful to all the people who helped me get this far," she said.

Kumsa has published articles, essays and poetry and has also presented papers at conferences in Toronto, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. As well, she has participated in panel discussions on human rights and freedom of expression.

She's an active member of P.E.N. International, P.E.N. Canada, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the Oromo-Canadian Women's Organization and a founding member of Oromo Global Communities Network. She is also a volunteer for Amnesty International.