Abraham Atem Bol
Age: 24
Region: Southern Bahr al Ghazal
I was eleven years old when the trouble started. Every two months, for about three years, the Arabs
came to our village. They took everything. They took goats and cows. They raped the young girls and
took the young boys to be servants. They killed people and burned our houses. They killed our leader,
Kondokdit. He was a healer and everyone cried for him.
One night when I was fourteen, the Arabs came into our village and were killing the people. We were all
scared. Everyone ran in different directions. I left my village and traveled with my uncle and others. We
walked for three months from Sudan to Ethiopia. I went to Panyido, in Ethiopia, and stayed there until
1991 to 2001. In Kakuma, I was an evangelist pastor. I was a teacher of family in Kakuma for almost
eleven years.
In 1997, I found out that my dad died in 1987 and my mom died from sickness in 1988. I received
information in 2001 that my youngest brother, whom I had last seen in 1987, died in Khartoum. His
name was Aguer Bol.
I came to the United States in 2000. I feel bad when I see the homeless on the street. It makes me afraid
that it can happen to you, because you don’t have family here. In my country, we don’t have homeless.
What I like here is having security. No one can kill you and I feel safe. I have a lot of friends here, both
Sudanese and American. I also like that you can get a job. Education is free here; you can study and go
to school. Education is the key for your life.
I work full time at PetSmart in the warehouse. In 2002, I started ESL classes at Phoenix College. I plan to
finish the ESL program. I want to study the Bible. If you make a mistake, you go to God.
In our country, people are suffering and need medical clinics, good sanitation, and schools. If we help, I
can go back to help out people. I want to bring the will of God and give them medical care. I have a wife
and two boys in Nairobi. In September of 2005, I found that their paperwork was approved to join me in
the United States.