Sudan refugee tells of perseverance

During the 1,000-mile walk from his war-torn village to safer locations in Ethiopia and Kenya, Dau, who was 13 years old, and about 27,000 other refugees encountered countless trials, including starvation and crocodile infested waters. As one of the older boys, he led a group that grew from 50 to 1,200. He said they ate mud and drank urine to stay alive, and those who survived were faced with the gruesome task of burying the bodies of the thousands who died on the journey.

Despite the hardships Dau has faced, he believes he is fortunate and credits his Christian faith for seeing him through the incredible challenges that began the night he awoke to bombing and whistling gunfire in the Dinka village. He said “giving up” has never crossed his mind, and encouraged others to live the same way.

“Don’t let yourself be held hostage to things that happened to you years ago,” he told the crowd.

Dau, who emphasizes the important role that education has played in his life, said he didn’t start schooling until reaching Kenya in the early 1990s, and was 20 years old in the third grade.

After coming to the United States in 2001 with help from a sponsor, Dau and other refugees faced the challenge of adapting to an entirely different culture while working multiple jobs to raise money for themselves and friends and family in Africa.

Despite the heavy subject of Dau’s hour-long presentation, he injected humor by pointing out differences in the American culture and that of his homeland, and the misconceptions he had before coming to New York.

He said just learning the controls of the electrical appliances and plumbing in his new apartment was a challenge.

“It was very difficult to comprehend all of the twisting and pushing,” he said.

He had been told by others that if a green card was placed around your neck in America, you could walk into a restaurant and eat for free. Not to mention, American technology, he was told, allowed for people to push buttons at their tables and food would appear out of nowhere. He also was told to be careful of American girls, because they “carry small bags with guns in them.”

“If you mess up with them, they will shoot you.”

Since arriving in New York, Dau has created foundations that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for refugee causes and medical care in Sudan. He also has co-authored a book that resulted in a documentary and is working on his second degree from Syracuse University. He also has gained attention from Hollywood personalities. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $100,000 to the medical clinic Dau opened in southern Sudan and Nicole Kidman narrated the documentary “God Grew Tired of Us” that was based on his book.

With the help of the American Red Cross, his mother and two sisters were located and also have moved to the United States.

Dau described Sudan, which is about one-fourth the size of the United States, as a land of milk and honey, and said Nebraska’s wide open spaces reminded him of his home. Prior to the event, Dau had dinner with students from Africa who attend CSC and the Pine Ridge Job Corps.