Deng Atem
Age: 27
Region: Bahr al Ghazal
I was seven years old when militia came into our village and started to take our cattle. When the militia
came, they burned down our town. They started killing men and boys. My sister and little brother were
captured by the militia and taken as slaves. Many years later, my father paid the militia to get them
back.
When I traveled, my cousin and I were together, but unfortunately, he died along the way. There was
very littler water, and you would stop when you found some. All the traveling was done at night to avoid
the heat and the animals. When we passed villages, we asked the chiefs of the area for food. Sometimes
they gave us goats, cows, and corn, depending on how many people there were in our group. I was not
used to waking such a distance. My feet were all bloody and I tied my shirt around them for protection.
Crossing the rivers was difficult.
I stayed in a camp in Ethiopia until 1991, when the government of Ethiopia was overthrown and the
rebels forced us out. I then went to Pochalla, Pokot, Boma, Kapoeta, Narus and Lockichokia in Sudan.
Eventually, I made it to Kakuma and staued there from August 12th, 1992 to April 9th, 1994. After staying
with family members in Nairobi and in a camp in Ipo, I was able to arrange to come to the United States
on September 27, 1995.
Since I was only seventeen, I stayed with two different families in foster care when I came to the U.S. I
graduated from Horizon High School and I’m in my final year studying political science at ASU. I am preLaw student and I am taking Arabic Classes, as well as studying for the LSAT. I would like to be a lawyer
or a diplomat and perhaps attend Georgetown University.
I work at Wal-Mart as a stocker and Cashier since November 27th, 2001. Before that, I worked at Circle K
and Bank of America. The thing I like most about living here is the health care that’s available and that
there is a lot of respect for other people. Here, I feel safe.