I have just finished the most incredible book. One that stayed with me long into the night after I read the last few pages. One that haunts my thoughts and brings random tears to my eyes. The story of a man called Deng Thiak Adut.
In short: a man born in South Sudan, taken away from his mother to go fight in a war that had no real winners and have been raging on and off for years. He became a child soldier at the age of 6, the same age my oldest son currently is. He was marched off to Ethiopia for training, a journey that took 33 days. Many boys died along the way. The rest of his story reads like a nightmare of unspeakable horrors. At the age of 14, through superhuman efforts of an older half brother he arrives in Australia as a refugee. He could barely speak English and the only schooling he ever knew was military training.
Let’s face it: the odds against him were stacked up higher than Mt Everest. Yet he overcame those odds by teaching himself to read English, did various TAFE courses and eventually enrolled in Western Sydney University and received his law degree in 2010. These days he runs his own law practice with a partner, does numerous pro bono work for refugees and immigrants and started the John Mac Foundation, in memory of his brother who rescued him. A charity working to educate and empower refugees and people whose lives have been interrupted by war. He has recently been nominated for the coveted prize of Australian of the Year, 2017.
His life still isn’t rose coloured. His mother remains in South Sudan and he fears for her safety on a daily basis. He barely sleeps and when he does, there are always nightmares. The war still follows him around. He experiences racism regularly. People struggle to look past his blackness and accept him for the amazing human being he is. But it doesn’t stop him from getting up every morning and changing lives.
Deng’s story touched me in more than one way. Firstly I was reminded again of how grateful I should be that I have always been able to raise my children in freedom and away from war. That I can go to bed at night not having to fear someone will come and grab my child and force him to become a soldier. That my boys don’t need to know just yet what an AK47 is. That they haven’t been on a battlefield, haven’t seen death.
I was also inspired by his sheer determination. Nothing could stop him once he knew what he wanted. Like me, all of you reading this have been born into “privilege”, so if a war boy from Sudan could realise his dreams, surely we can too? Surely we can silence all the negative voices and look past the excuses and boldly go in the direction of our grandest dreams? His hard work and determination is an example to all of us and I know it has inspired me.
Lastly: let us not forget to have compassion. Let us try to make everyone feel at home. Just because people have skin darker than anything you have seen before, or wear a headscarf or speak a very foreign dialect doesn’t mean they are to be feared or pushed aside or judged. Break out your biggest smile for them and just try to look past your preconceptions.
In some ways I could relate to parts of his story, simply because we are both immigrants in Australia. I really liked what he said in one interview: “You aren’t an Australian because you were born here, but rather because Australia has been born inside you”. Just as this Sudanese man now feels more at home in Australia than in the country of his birth, I trust the same will be true for me and my family one day. That Australia will be born in all of us and that we will call it home with no reservations whatsoever.
ps. if after reading this you feel touched at all to donate money to the John Mac Foundation, follow the link: https://johnmacfoundation.org It will take less than 2 minutes, it can be as little as $10, but collectively it can make a difference in someone’s life.
migratingtomotherhood 