My Journey to Safety
From South Sudan
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Where are you from?" "Do you like it here?" "Will you go back there (to S. Sudan)?" "What made you come to America?" These are all the questions that I have been asked by anyone that I have met since my relocation to America. In this story, I will be able to answer all of these questions and in more depth then I have been able to do in person. The story that you are about to read is the story of my life. In mypersonal experiences, these are my experiences and may not be the same as another Sudanese "lost a boy". It is my hope that by telling my story, it will bring me some much needed closure. I have struggled within myself to come to terms with some of the things that I have gone through. I can assure you that it was much harder to live. Writing them down has helped me work through these difficult times of my life. I must warn you that the retelling of my journey may be graphic and hard to read. It may also be difficult to understand due to some of the language that I use. Some of the things such as names of places, games, or names of people are in my native language, Dinka. Other times I may use my language because I don't know the English word for it. “Do not be frustrated with these non-English words you might come across through your reading. Just tries to analysts the message I’m trying to yell out to the world.” I have asked for help from some of my family members back in S. Sudan in order to fill in some of the holes of my memory. Some of the things that happened in the beginning are harder for me to remember because I was so young. My older brothers and even my mother have been able to help me with this part. The war that forced me out of my home in South Sudan to other countries, the desert that I crossed to Ethiopia in 1988 and To Kenya in 1992, and the time when I came to United Stated of America are the moments I remember. "For me to find a word Will describes all these places is obvious." Color-coding is the best word I can think of to label all these places base on the fact events that have had happened on those days. I picked out a color for each of these places to symbolize my emotional feeling. I decided to put more information and details into this book so people can understand and know more about my past life. There are even some reflections, which you will find at the end of the book. The red color represents the danger of war that I escaped from South Sudan to neighboring countries. I pick this red color to described the pain that this war had caused me. The tan color reminds me of the long desert that I crossed on bar foot to Ethiopia in 1988. It was very hard moment; every bad thing you can think of, happened to me on my way to Ethiopia camp and to other refugee camps I had been to. The green color represent the time when I was arrived to United States of America and the time when I was still in Kalthok South Sudan before the war broke out. I pick this color green as a sign of freedom and happiness. This color remind me of those old good days that I spend with my family and friends back home in Kalthok, south Sudan. "Life was good back then and I’m not forgetting that moment even though I didn’t enjoy it for long." And even though I didn’t really remember any of those good times due to childhood lack of memories, I’m very sure those days were very fantastic.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
My life was full of many unexpected experiences. Some were good, and some were bad. During that time of war, mostly bad times occurred more often than good times. Those good times didn’t last longer. I think there is a reason why things happen to people, and as always there are results afterward, either good or bad. My hope all these years of war in South Sudan was that someday, there would be a joyful moment for me as the outcome of my horrible suffering. I do not have many good times to remember in my past life since the day I left South Sudan until the day I arrived in the United States of America. However, even then still, I always felt like I was missing something. Of course, indeed, part of me is missing: my whole family was not with me. I never gave up on myself when I was in that horrible situation. I resisted the pain I was facing. I wish of no ravage that I should do against my foes for what they did to me. “I wish for the bad day to get over and hope for better tomorrow.” I never except the weakness to engage my mind. Instead, I wish to preach the word of peace to my enemies for the sake of freedom in order to save the lives of the innocent. I wish to just speak out only the word of unification. I want to make the world aware of the war situation that was going on in my hometown and convey peace among the people and avoid more lives to be lost. War is wrong; we are all human beings with only one common goal: the soul. However, the only message you should be saying to your enemies is peace. Bear in mind that when you are torturing someone, you are torturing yourself as well. You might not feel it physically but emotionally, maybe not at the moment, but afterward, in the near future, when peace comes and when justice prevails. “My parents used to tell me not to be afraid but to brave and strong. The fear one is the one got kill first in battle because they panic and run randomly into ambush.”
About the Author
Majuch Abui was born in a small village called Kalthok in South Sudan. He left his home town in 1988 to Ethiopia when he was six years old because of civil war. Majuch spent most of his childhood in refugee camps as a refuge. Majuch is one of the lost boys from South Sudan who came to United States of America on 2001 as a refuge from Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. He attended vocational school in Don Bosco Training Center in the Kakuma camp to become an electrician after he finished class 8 primary school. Majuch’s first job when he came to America was janitor at UVM. He went to high school full-time here in America and worked full-time. He graduated from Essex High School in 2005. Majuch went to Vermont Technical College as an apprentice student to become an electrician through a State of Vermont apprenticeship program. He was working for Omega Electric Company at the time; Omega was paying for his class fees while he was going to school. Majuch graduated from Vermont College on 2009 with an electrical certification. He then got his Vermont journeyman electrician license in 2012. Majuch is working on his master electrician license, and he is still working for Omega Electrical Company. Majuch is thinking of having an electrical company to his native country, South Sudan, in the near future if the situation is calmed down. That’s his dream: to help people back home by offering jobs and skills to feed their families. “I’m still alive today because I was helped by caring people, so I have to do the same thing as well to others who need help like I needed it,” Majuch said. Majuch has a lot on his mind. He worries much about the future of the orphans in South Sudan. He does not know what to do first.