Malou now helps other refugees adjust to a new life in City Heights
My Name is Majur Malou, and I am originally from the country of Sudan, formerly the largest country in Africa. On July 9th, 2011 Sudan split into two nations – Sudan and South Sudan. Sudan has been a jungle of tragedies for more than 39 years because of war between the northern Sudan and south Sudan. A war that killed more than 1.9 million people.
In 1994, I was accepted to the University of Juba, in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, to study economics and social studies. At the time, however, the current military government seized power through a coup and imposed Islamic law in the country, including upon Christians and other non-Muslims. Students protested against the government’s policies of Arabization and Islamization of the non-Muslim population. Other students and I were detained in military headquarters for nearly two months. During my detention, I was tortured night and day. All for simply expressing my political and Christian beliefs. Thankfully, with the intervention of human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, I was released. I decided then to escape Sudan via the border with Eritrea, before landing in Ethiopia. From there I ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, where I was interviewed by a U.S. immigration officer and was found to be eligible to be resettled in America. I now serve as executive director of the Episcopal Refugee Network and help refugees fleeing from such countries as Sudan, South Sudan, Myanmar/Burma adjust to life in America by aiding them in their resettlement process.
I am now a U.S. citizen and a commercial pilot.
I came to the U.S. in June of 1995 and settled in San Diego. Coming to America was an exciting moment of my life, but I was vulnerable and unable to gain access to various services such as an education due to my limited English and lack of knowledge about Western cultural norms. I often was intimidated by the bureaucratic maze to access crucial services. For example, upon my arrival I decided to enroll in college and I did not understand how the system functions. I filled out a number of forms and completed a series of paperwork, but it was a difficult process. In fact, it was the worst possible thing for someone like me to go through.
To get an idea of the challenge, say you were born and raised in America. Suddenly you have to leave behind your family, your friends, your belongings, and then find yourself in Moscow. You don’t know anyone there. You don’t speak Russian. You have no one to guide you through your resettlement process.
This is how life in America is for a refugee. Whether you are from Sudan, Somalia, Burma or Uganda — all of us went through some difficulties.
I now live and work here in City Heights, a place where many refugees feel at home because of its diversity and affordable living — many of the homes made affordable because of nonprofits such as Price Charities. It is really a melting pot, and I feel good when I see other refugees like me.
In conclusion, even though we as refugees are faced with many challenges, we must have faith and strong self-esteem to overcome them. I strongly believe that success does not come through hoping and wishing, but through hard work. If we are to function as good citizens of this great city and country, then we must know what is good for us and what is bad and do always the good for our families, friends and our neighbors.
Majur Malou is a refugee from Sudan and current resident of City Heights. Malou is the executive director of the Episcopal Refugee Network
Dear editor,
My name is Mihoko Kawada, and I am a temporary visitor to San Diego. I live in Tokyo, Japan. I happened to read the article written by Mr.Majur Malou in your newspaper, which made me feel deeply impressed. (June issue)
Since I was born in Tokyo, Japan has been very peaceful. For the present Japanese people, it is very difficultu to imagine that ordinary citizens are persecuted by their government even though they do not commit any crimes.
I am now introducing several Japanese cultures to students at America’s Finest Charter School in City Heights, such as origami ( paper-folding), folk-tales, Japanese writing, tea ceremony and so on. Before I met the students, its director had said that 90 % of students were placed in poor environments. At that time she did not add any explanation on the reason why their lives were so poor. I just imagined their parents might not be concerned about their children’s education. I thought that way from Japanese perspective points of view.
In Japan more than half the elementary and secondary school students in big cities go to cram schools for passing the entrance examinations towards better schools. Regarding the parents’ average income of college students, the survey shows the highest is that of the most prestigious university students’. Education costs a lot of money and more rich parents can spend more money for their children and tend to be intense in education.
I still clearly remember how I felt while doing my first lesson in each classroom from K to 8th graders here. I immediately noticed there were many smart or talented students. Especially I was surprised to see students were eager to learn new culture. Then I learned that most of their parents were immigrants or refugees. That was the reason why the children were placed in financially poor situations.
One time I cooked Japanese pan-cake with the children. 12 attendees comprised 2 female 1st graders and older boys. I asked them if they woud like to join in some part of cooking process such us mixing ingredients, slicing bananas and baking pan cakes. Except for the young girls, all the boys were willing to serve their roles saying “I can do it”. I asked them if they helped their mother cook at home. They said,”yes”. I felt they have been raised with a lot of love and their family tie was tight.
Today the average number of children in a household in Japan is less than 2. The parents expect their children to spend more time in studying rather than helping houseworks. As mentioned the above, the Japanese children spend very busy life. It is likely that each family member eats dinner at different time due to their life schedule. I think financially rich life does not always bring the children the true happiness. However, I want all the children live their life in a peaceful society at least.
It was by pure chance that I was born in a peaceful country. If I was born in a politically precarious country, my life must have greatly changed. It is much easier that people placed in secure society can be good persons. The real challenge is how people in terrible situations could be good as humans. Mr.Malou emphasizes that success does not come through hoping and wishing, but through hard work. I agree with his opinion, but I also imagine such hard work he mentions is tougher than I imagine.
Thank you, Mr.Malou. Your article and my experience at a charter school in City Heights gave me a great opportunity to rethink how I should live from now on.
Mihoko Kawada