John Tong
Region: Barakazar
Age: 25
I was ten years old when he left home. I traveled by foot to Ethiopia with friends and elders. This
journey was difficult because there was no food or water. I stayed in Ethiopia for three years, in
Penyetto and Dema. When war broke out in Ethiopia, I walked back to Sudan and lived there for another
two to three months before going to Kenya in 1992. The journey to Kenya was difficult because I don’t
know how to swim, and we had to cross a river. During my journey I was shot at and the Northern
Sudanese government bombed us.
When I arrived in Kenya, I stayed in the Kakuma refugee camp with others from Sudan and neighboring
countries, too. I lived in Kakuma for almost ten years.
When it was finally time to go to the United States, I wasn’t afraid, I was happy and excited! Though
everything was strange when I first arrived, it’s no longer strange anymore; I have learned a lot about
American culture. I like that I am able to go to school now, that I can learn about technology, and make
a good life. One difficult thing about living in the United States is that sometimes people don’t trust each
other here.
I want to finish college and become a pharmacist. I would like to go back to Sudan and help my people
get medicine. Right now I attend Phoenix college.