This study examines the experiences of child refugees who fled the former Yugoslavia and temporarily stayed in Czechoslovakia during the early 1990s. Adults who were once these child refugees share their exile experience and how this shaped their later life paths. In 2023 and 2024, we conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 19 former child refugees to understand their perspectives. All participants had spent several months in the former Czechoslovakia during the Yugoslav wars, and they were between 7 and 17 years old at that time. While attempting to discuss the effect of exile on child refugees’ well-being, we delve into three different phases: remembering home before leaving, positive and negative experiences while being in exile, and responding to return. We found that all of these experiences differed based on children’s age. However, other children and teachers were an important resource that helped them build their resilience and deal with the uncertain months in exile and after that.