The speed and power Karwhin has displayed on the wing in a handful of games for Wests Tigers' under-20s were still years away from forming in his skinny legs and the school's quick-thinking principal saved him from Patriotic Movement rebels as they opened fire.

"It was hard, man," Karwhin said while recalling the nightmare before a Tigers training session at Concord Oval. "I was five years old, at school and the gunshots started.

"My principal was going to take me to his house, but I saw my cousin running across the intersection through the gunshots near his home. I was fortunate she saw me and I ran with her because if I went with the principal I would never have seen my family again."

The first Ivorian Civil War started in 2002 and the country was divided between the government-held south and the rebel-controlled north. Even though French and other UN peacekeepers were sent in to stop the slaughter, it is estimated at least 1600 people were killed.

Karwhin, who bagged a hat-trick of tries on his debut for the Tigers in their round four victory over Canterbury, joined the army of refugees who trekked through the jungle for a month - surviving on fruit and very little sleep - to reach the safety of neighbouring Guinea.

Fifteen years later, Karwhin says the horrors he witnessed have scarred him, but in his next breath he says the experience sparked a desire to ensure his mother wants for nothing.

"Looking back, it hurts," he says. "People you knew ... dead. I was terrified, but I was also lucky.

"There were rebels who were cannibals; it was a ritual if you have an enemy you kill them and eat them. One rebel killed a woman who was in front of me.

"And I was five. I like to keep it to myself. I don't like to visit that past. I really just want to get on with my career, I want to take care of my family. Mum has been my rock, really looked after us and it isn't easy for her."

Karwhin admits his desperation to succeed runs so deep his emotions swamped him when he was overlooked by coach Brett Kimmorley for the third round of this year's National Youth Competiiton.

"When I didn't get picked in the first three rounds, I was down on myself," says Karwhin, who works as an apprentice plumber. "Then, when I didn't get picked in the third round, I burst into tears out in the middle of the training ground.

"I was thinking to myself, 'How can I be the first [full-blood] African to make it when I don't get selected in the team?'

"Coming to Australia when I was eight represented a new opportunity, a fresh start, but I wasn't that kind of person who thought 'now we're here I can sit back and relax'. My mother did a lot to look after me and it is my turn to help her."

While Karwhin says his mother's first impression of league was that it is "too violent", he credited the Blacktown PCYC Spartans for allowing him to escape the criminal gang life some of his African-born friends in Sydney's western suburbs embraced.

"Most people who saw that kind of stuff we did as kids don't know how to deal with it," he says. "Some of them have ended up being gangsters on the street and many of my friends are in jail because they couldn't deal with it.

"I was lucky enough to screw my head back on. When I first started playing it was for fun, but when I trialled for the Parramatta Eels I really wanted to make it. I wanted to be the first full-blooded African to make the NRL.

"I tried out for Parramatta on four occasions, but didn't make it. I was fortunate, I played well for the Wests Tigers in a trial and got a two-year contract. There was a lot of pressure on me. I had a lot of people telling me I couldn't make it: I'm African, don't have the talent or skills."

Blacktown PCYC Spartans manager Steve Warwick says Karwhin and Penrith's Fairouz Elkander, who can play second row, centre or wing, are the forerunners for league's next talent pool.

He predicted players from Ivory Coast and West Africa would add their athleticism, size, power and speed to the NRL ranks. He says Karwhin's younger brother Samuel, who is in Parramatta's under 14 development squad, is a future star.

"I've watched Obed struggle with memories from his home, but he's turning into an ambassador," Warwick says. "There's quite a few people who are taking an interest in him, especially in the African community and looking to have him help out with a few projects."

Karwhin is well aware footballer's can inspire change and give hope. The Ivorian Civil War effectively ended when the national soccer team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and skipper Didier Drogba, surrounded by his teammates, fell to his knees on national television and begged both warring factions to lay down their arms. Within a week, Drogba's incredible wish was granted.

"I tell people I don't want to be a superstar, although I do want to be the first full-blooded African to play in the NRL, in the State of Origin and for Australia," Karwhin says. "But I want to play consistent football and I know if I make it others will follow me."