Ok.
Ok. Uh, my name is Janny Deng. Uh, Jany and Deng
or, you know, and New York, that's tribe. I'm from.
So the town I was born on, called Joong. So it's under its border of Opia.
So that's why I,
I was not born in the hospital. So we didn't, to begin with. We didn't
have a record, so we don't have any birth record. So birthday in Sudan in
southern Sudan when I was growing up, it's just when, when you born as a
child, that would be the celebration. That's it. We don't celebrate
birthday. So either the parent or the elderly person in the group in the
village will remember because of either um, uh, something that happened
and that's when they able to know that. Oh, you were born in spring. We
don't know the date and we don't know the month. So we, so we, so like
five years ago, actually I able to ask my brother when I able to connect
with my family in Sudan. No, no, eight year, I take that back. Yeah, eight
year now because I've been here for 17 years. I was the first one was
crazy. I've been here for that long. Um So I able to ask my brother and my
older sister because they're the one who was holding me when I, when I was
little. So, and I said, do you guys remember at all when I was born?
Because I, I need to know when I could, we come to the different country
now. They have us all the time, you know. So, so, so my sister said, let's
see,
I think you were born in, I said you think correctly. But yeah, so, and
then I had brother the same thing. They, so my brother, he was, he was
right on it. He like, he was born in Spring, I think sometime in March,
either March 15 or March 28th, 1975. So it may be like, I'm 35. So that's
my, so that's what they said. I kept that. I said, hm. So, so I tried some
stuff that, that I remember before I get out from Sudan, before I, before
we run away, you know. So I thought that I remember when my mom died, I
think I was a fight. I remember she, you know, when she would, she would
die, she was sick first and then she, before the war get rid of it. So she
died for natural cold disease. I don't know what she died for. I remember
that, you know, I'm like, that was around like, like 19 eighties. So I
remember that. That was exactly eighties because right after that, the big
war, you know, that's when the big, you know, three years after that, the
big war happened in 1983. So I kind of tried so either 70 so 79 now that
when my mom died. So I'm trying to try to know I'm not, that made a lot of
sense. So I kind of tried to know myself well in the camp when I was, when
they were given us. So they just look at you. Oh, you look skinny, you
look, you look like 14 or 15.
So I was given March 3rd, 1979.
Yeah.
Yes. So African family is crazy. They're like Latino family in this
country, you know, and, and you know, so we go big, you know, so well, so
I take that back. So the reason why I have so I have four. So to answer
your question, you just straight up to the question. But I just thought so
I have five brother. No or you know, with six brothers. So one of my
brother get killed here two year after we arrived in Phoenix. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's another story. You know, I can tell you
more about it and stuff and more in, in de but um and then we uh I have
four brother left now. No, five left and then I have five sister
when I left my village, I was only probably an eight year old eight when I
left, when, you know, to walk, went to the whole nine yards of the lost
voice. So now me, you know, that we have to just run away from the war.
You know, that was, you know, we have to fight our own way to get,
eventually to get in trouble. Camp in Kenya in Ethiopia first, then the
civil war from, from there and then we move back to Sudan again and then
we come back again and then we it it's, it's like a movie. I was like we
were just running with our life, whatever it said it will be many people
have died, you know, many kids in UN met. And so um you know, so we were
one of the Children, lucky one from Sudan. We decided to walk to King and
that's one pro scam in Kenya called dada pro scam. I didn't come from K
but many of the people that yeah, they were dada ad D I think ma I think
so. This is one of uh this reason this came, was on the news recently not
too long ago for Somalian. You remember the Somalian kids was in coming. A
lot of them were just dying the time and there's no food and all that. The
came I was in for it. It's, it's one of the largest before couple, one of
the largest refugee camp in the world. Pretty much Yeah. Um, that's ac, I
get to get there first and that's when I will find out that I'm gonna be
coming to the United States. I'm gonna be moving to the United States
because I have no idea what was going to be, what I had and what, and what
, and the way that you have to move, you kind of just said, oh, I just
want to get a ticket, just go to Dallas Texas and just go and hang out
with friends that
you, that you say, I know it. Um I wish it would be that way at that time.
But um, so I got to this that up camp like 94. So I didn't get to come
the processes you have to go through, you have to have interview why you
want to go to us, what is called you from your home? They have to ask you
every everything. These are the US consulate from the State Department
have to ask you all these questions. Long application, 30 page of
questionnaire that you have to answer still have to match. You have to go
to the front of the church. You have to swear in, you have to go to
medical checks. You have to, that's before you even post when go.
Well, it took us almost a year and a half sometime it can take like up to
10 year, I mean up to five years to get this process going. So I was very
lucky. We were one of the first one you back in the 1990 to, after we went
through all this, we passed every single test that they give us either
written test the story. The you have a full aroma, 15 people interview you
with different. It's like how are you guys did it, you know. Yeah, that's
how it was. So they, they still have to be consistent, have to match all
that stuff. Get it good, you know, and make sure the medical check is
passed all this, you know. So answering your question, I wanna just move
just one, just one move. And so I have to go because it was a desk but
place we had to go somewhere better and we didn't know, you know, I don't
know much about this country until I get to walk into airport, into this
airport to New York. That's when I first left. So after all the process,
they put your name and they put your name, they say you go. So the first
thing you go to phonics, that's what people, they didn't know how to say
it.
Now we look back all this is so funny. They call for no Phoenix.
And so you will see your name on the list and you like, you're so excited
but you have no idea where you're going. It's like, you know, so we like
we go to Phonic, they're so excited. We go to phonic, you know, we play
the bar by friend, you know, um, June of 95. I able to, uh, we able to, to
get everything and able to come here. So I came, June of 95 here in
Phoenix. That's when the, it was the, when I came, it was one of the
hottest in the summer in so, uh, I remember right shortly after we, we
landed here. So I think the next day it was 100 and 22 for those of you. I
don't know if you guys from here, but it's hot. I mean, it's hot. I'm
gonna do an airplane, couldn't land at that time. When, when I came here
it was hot and then to make it even more worse, I come from the camp. It's
hot desert. No food, nothing. Well, I came in, it was different kind of
experience or hot here. So my, to make it even was my air condition. So I
was undermined when I came, I was 16. So they, they put me in a foster
home. So how the work is for the government. Uh If you undermine minor
kids, so they will find a foster home for you to live until you graduate
from high school. And that's what I did. So I was very like, meanwhile, my
brother, he was 22 he would be considered dull. He was living it by
himself. And that's how to believe that good thing was just too
overwhelming for him. And that's what many are, it's cha, it's very
challenging. It's here for many, all of us all over the country. Uh, and
post medic stress daughter. And then not only that, some of these people,
they serve it as a child soldier also, I was lucky didn't get to serve and
my brother did. All they know is to go fight the child soldier. You guys
see the invisible Children with K in 2012 kind of saying some of these
kids are, are from Sudan. Not only just you can. Yeah. Uh so uh post match.
So has become a big, you know, there's a lot of challenging right now um
with a lot of it because it just can its lot better on coming from the war.
This is many, many of the refugees when they come over here, this is the
life they come from with that packet they bringing with them from wherever
because this many people, they see people getting their head cut off in
their front of them, they blow on people in front of them, you name it,
their mother, father maybe getting killed in front of them. You name it so
many. Um And, and you know, the trauma it it doesn't if you, if for many,
you know, if you, if they don't get it for the first generation, it go to
all the way it can pass on to your own kids and that's one of the struggle
, many properties and they come from their continental. Now we get people
, all of them from Iraq, from Afghanistan to, I mean, you name African,
other African country. Uh, a few years ago, one of the Ethiopian refugees
, he, things were the same way. He just burned all his family.
Yeah. Absolutely. And, yeah, and that's, and that's the thing. And even,
and then one of our guys get shot at the dps on I 17, right. Like this
were like in 0506. He just, nobody know. That's when we just got our old
center. That was just 2003 right before we, that's when we just started,
we just try to figure out how we can get them in here to just come
fellowship kind of thing. All these people, guys, you know. Well, one guy
just was wandering around in the I 70 right on between Bethlehem. So they
call the dps. He's on the media on the highway, you know. Yeah, welcome.
So the dps, you get the rug, you know, you pick up the rug, he drove the
dps in the car and they just shoot him.
Yeah. Well, where about, yeah. So that's why we have to share all this
that, you know, people don't realize they think all these people, you know
, that's what people always call these people. They came here. Look, there.
No things are not, things are not created at you, people are always just
think. Wow, we are so excited. I come from America. Welcome to America.
And you have a good life now. Yeah. Very, very, very dull here because now
you get to have flag. It's a different kind of war. You get to, uh, either
people sometimes look at you different, you look different. Oh, yeah.