Yol Muk
Age: 42
Region: Bahr al Ghazal
I was born in Lagowa. When I was fifteen, I went to Abyei. When I was I was seventeen years old, I went
to Khartoum. I worked as a driver for Alamo Associates for twelve years.
I want to leave Khartoum because I saw people from South Sudan being put into jail. In 1999, I took a
train from Khartoum to Halfa and then took a boat to Egypt. The trip was long and I had my pregnant
wife and six year old son with me. I went to Asuan in southern Egypt, and then took a train to Cairo. I
stayed with my sister in Cairo for a year. I didn’t have a job. My wife delivered a baby boy, but it died the
same day.
I filled out paperwork to come to the U.S. I was interviewed three weeks later. Four weeks later, my
family and I were told we were going to the U.S.
My family and I stayed in an apartment in Phoenix for three months. The IRC gave me food stamps, $370
cash assistance, and paid for my apartment for one month. They told me I needed to get a job. I told
them I couldn’t speak English. I worked at the Doubletree Resort Hotel in Scottsdale. I drove a golf cart,
picked up blankets and towels from the pool, and mopped the lobby. I worked with someone from Iraq
named Jabba, who taught me English. I then worked at Land Beef for one months because I wanted to
send money back to Sudan and I thought the job would pay better. It was a hard job and it was cold, so I
got a job cleaning airplanes for two and a half years.
I wanted to learn English, so I quit my job to go to Maricopa Community College. My wife and I weren’t
working and be without a job is not good. I left school to work at Budget Rental Car and then at the
PetSmart Warehouse. I have been looking for a job for about a year. I have filled our applications but no
one has called me back. My wife works at the Arizona Biltmore.
I like living in the U.S. It is a very good place. Your kids can go to school. I have five children. There is
nothing I don’t like about living here. I feel like this is my country. If you have trouble, people come to
help you.