ASU’s Student Advocates for Global Justice hosted a dinner and panel discussion Wednesday about the journey of African refugees to the United States and their contributions to life in the Valley.

Members of the panel, most of whom are African refugees now living and working in Arizona, shared stories of violence and struggles in their home countries as well as how their lives have transformed since reaching the United States.

History professor Matthew Whitaker moderated the panel and said the event was a great way to shine a different light on immigration in America.

State Press Television
By Jessica Goldberg

“Immigration is a huge issue right now and this [event] is to remind people immigration isn’t just from Latin America. There are people coming in to the United States from all over the globe,” Whitaker said. “A lot of them are from Africa and are fleeing from oppression and war and poverty in their homelands and seeking a better life in the U.S., just as people have been doing since our founders.”

Several of the panel members were refugees from Sudan, known as the Lost Boys.

These young men were the main inspiration for members of Student Advocates for Global Justice to host the event. The group was formed last semester by a group of students who wanted to address how global issues affect people locally, said Riki Meier, the organization’s educational outreach officer.

“The Lost Boys talked to us at a meeting last semester and they were so inspiring we wanted to bring this to a bigger, public event,” Meier said. “It’s important for people to know what’s going on and how it effects all of us.”

After introductions and a brief explanation of the history of the war in Sudan, discussion focused on the individuals’ stories of their new lives in America.

One of the Lost Boys, Kuol Awan, said the transition was long and at times difficult, but also extremely rewarding.

“We were excited to come [to America,] but it was a shock when we got here,” he said. “We were living a life of difficulties and didn’t expect the things you can do here.”

After adjusting to the culture, the Lost Boys have grown attached to their new homes and want to contribute as much as they can.

“We are not boys anymore, but we want to try to be part of the communities we live in and contribute to them,” Awan said. “We are giving this country what we have.”

Gabriel Bul, another Sudanese refugee, said he wants to use what he has learned in the U.S. to help people here and back home.

“Change doesn’t come all at once, but it does come little by little,” Bul said. “We’re trying to learn the culture here so we can go back to Africa and show them a little too, and make a little change. One of the problems in Africa we have is a lack of education. If people learn to work with their differences we can get along. That’s what I want to take back.”

Political science junior Sarah Baine attended the event and said she was intrigued by the refugees’ optimism.

“I love the positive attitude that the Lost Boys have and their determination to both learn our culture and share their own with us,” she said.

The Lost Boys also sold handcrafted cow sculptures at the event to help fund their education.

Cows are important culturally and economically in Sudan, and as children, the Lost Boys learned to craft the sculptures out of mud. They now craft similar sculptures out of clay and sell them.

“Young boys over here play with fire trucks and American footballs, but for us, we grow up looking at cows,” Bul said. “We look at the mud and we look at the cows, and we make the cow we see. Now we make them at the Center [for Lost Boys in Phoenix] and sell them for scholarships for the Lost Boys.”

Awan said his experiences in Arizona have given him a new life and changed him into a new person.

“We are not Sudanese anymore,” he said. “This really is a melting pot because we came as Sudanese but now we are Sudanese American.”

Reach the reporter at keshoult@asu.edu