Tag: South Sudanese in America

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Family fled violence of Sudan’s civil war only to have sons gunned down in Armory Square

By Rylee Kirk | syracuse.com

Syracuse, N.Y. — Mary and Peter Lual decided to leave Sudan in 2000 to escape a years-long civil war. They took their two boys — Akok, 7, and Lual, 5 ― and made the treacherous trip to Egypt. The family lived in a refugee camp there for five years before moving to the United States.

Mary and Peter Lual made a new life in Syracuse, working three jobs and buying a home in Eastwood. They joined a church and Peter became a deacon. Their family grew to six children.

On Friday night, the couple’s lives were shattered when Akok and Lual were shot on a crowded street in Armory Square along with three other young men.

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African Food

East Africa is responsible for America’s favorite morning brew


By Simran Sethi | npr

For most people in the United States, coffee is synonymous with chains like Starbucks, or third wave cafes boasting Panamanian pour overs — not necessarily the continent of Africa.

But the place where coffee originated, and where the most diverse varieties of coffee thrive, is Ethiopia and South Sudan, as recently confirmed by a research team led by coffee genetics expert and president of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance Sarada Krishnan.

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Uncategorized

Nyakim Gatwech | South Sudanese model Sudanese Model Speaks Out Over Offensive Tweet from Columbia University Professor

By Kavontae Smalls | Atlanta Black Star

Nyakim Gatwech, 29, is a model from South Sudan who has been modeling professionally for about four years, but she’s found herself in a different kind of limelight after a Columbia University professor’s tweet many on social media found offensive.

Continue reading “Nyakim Gatwech | South Sudanese model Sudanese Model Speaks Out Over Offensive Tweet from Columbia University Professor” →
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US increases number of South Sudanese who can seek asylum in America

By Sudans Post

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is expanding the number of Sudanese and South Sudanese immigrants in the US who can apply for temporary protected status, which shields people from deportation and allows them to obtain work permits, according to Department of Homeland Security officials.

The decision to newly designate Sudan for temporary protected status — and redesignate South Sudan — comes several years after former president Donald Trump sought to take away the protections, but a federal court judge blocked him in 2018.

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African Politics

Peter Biar Ajak | South Sudan activist flees to US
  • By CARA ANNA | Associated Press

A prominent South Sudanese activist has fled to the United States with the help of the U.S. government, which issued emergency visas to him and his family after he said South Sudan’s president ordered him abducted or killed. Peter Biar Ajak arrived in Washington late Thursday after weeks of hiding in Kenya and an anxious departure complicated by coronavirus restrictions.

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Sports

Makur Maker : Kenyan-born South Sudanese chooses Howard University to continue career

BY JERRY BEMBRY | The Undefeated

It was seen as somewhat of a tease when Makur Maker made a recruitment visit to Howard University last fall, before shifting into a serious discussion: What if a five-star recruit opted to play college basketball at a historically Black university?

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Movies

Guor Marial: From Sudan To New Hampshire To The Olympics, ‘Runner’ Recaps An Incredible Journey

By Erin Trahan | wbur

About seven years ago, Bill Gallagher was sipping an afternoon coffee, casually flipping through the news. One story grabbed his attention: Marathoner Guor Mading Maker had qualified for but declined a 2012 London Olympics bid because he couldn’t represent the newly formed nation of South Sudan.

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Communities

Becoming American: How refugees become US citizens in Las Vegas

By Feven Kay

The number of people around the world who have been driven from their homes is at a record high. Refugees are forced to leave their native countries, escaping violence, war and persecution. Thousands have resettled here in Las Vegas in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

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Uncategorized

Sudanese gang prevention specialist works to inspire Omaha youths

Galat Toang was about to join the US military when he was recruited by the Omaha Police Department as a gang prevention specialist. His goal is to help Sudanese and other immigrant groups with struggles they may be facing.

By Alia Conley

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Immigration, Sports

Austin’s basketball rebirth: Sudanese have given, received so much

By Pat Ruff

Moses Idris was asked what his life might look like once he’s finished high school.

Idris is a 6-feet-3, 190-pound Austin High School senior and starter on one of the top basketball programs in the state. Like the majority of the players on this team — three of them starters — Idris is of South Sudanese descent.

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South Sudanese refugee turns harrowing experience into remarkable new video game in America

After 22 years in a refugee camp, Lual Mayen has designed a game to share his epic journey with the world.

By Anthony DiFlorio/Video by Danny Welch

Lual Mayen was 14 years old before he even saw a computer for the first time.

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Uncategorized

CROSS COUNTRY: LOMONG BROTHERS RUN TO BETTER LIFE IN U.S.

By Marcus Horton

At the Big Ten Cross Country Championships in 2018, then-junior Ohio State cross country runner Alex Lomong ran the third-fastest outdoor 800-meter time in program history.

Nearly three decades earlier, his brother Lopez Lomong ran for his life, escaping entrapment as a child soldier in South Sudan during the Second Sudanese Civil War.

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Communities

Former NBA star, Luol Deng, helps South Sudanese forge a path in America

Deng, the son of a former Sudanese education minister who has returned to Africa, has become an economic force as well as a substantial taxpayer.

By Neal St. Anthony

Luol Deng, a 15-year NBA veteran and former Minnesota Timberwolf, was hanging with a bunch of South Sudanese immigrants and their kids one weekend last month.

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