On the path, he watched his young friends either be eaten by a lion, attacked by a hyenas or trampled by a heard of wildebeest. A Sudanese boy, orphaned by war, ultimately finds himself ‘rescued’ in America. Now he’s a bag boy in a San Diego supermarket with a profound sense of clarity in our confusing world. Alepho Deng knows a great deal about the path one can find one’s self on.
“I grew up happy, living with my family in a village. Sure, I knew there was danger of wild animals but there was a different kind of danger. The mankind danger. Man going to war,” says Alepho whose family was murdered by the Janjaweed.
Our conversation about living in the USA went as you’d expect – he found a number of challenges adapting to the American culture. Learning English, acquiring new skills and even the typical daily routines of getting up, going to work and closing the day with some family or friend time. He said something we know, but forget. “A lot of people don’t appreciate the grocery store so close. You can’t go hungry – there are food banks. Water is readily available. You can’t walk the street in Sudan and find water or food. American’s have the basic things but don’t seem appreciate them.” Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.
I asked Alepho what he takes for granted. He said, “Education.”
He described present day as his “third page” in his life. First page, his poetic family life in an African village. The second page, the horrors of being one of the orphaned boys of Sudan, escaping the Janjaweed’s ethnic cleansing. This, the third page in the US is his present day path. A path of more self-discovery.
Alepho became aware of the magic of education at an early age. In his words:
“One day a silver shape appears high in the blue sky and my father tells me : “There is another land and the people who live there are white. They like to live in the air, and that is the big American bird that carries them. The big bird is flown mostly by American girls. There is a huge body of water where birds fly until they get exhausted and fall. But this bird can cross it. They control it with magic power that is called education.”
I imagine these Americans with their magic power and I think…. I would like to cross the water and go there some day.”
With education he describes a higher route of an “open mind and heart to better connect with human beings. In school you grow as a person. You can make a career out of it. Yes, you can pay rent and pay for shoes and clothing. Better yet, it opens your heart and mind.”
(To experience Alepho's story alongside an a master story teller... read below.)
How will you embrace the magic of education? What is the next page of your life? Where are you on your path?
Until next week, it's full speed ahead,
In 2011 Alepho Deng came to Thanksgiving dinner at our home in Encinitas. He walked straight into our hearts and has never left.
A significant portion of the proceeds will go to support the Sudanese Community Center and the International Rescue Committee
Please mark your calendar and join us on Friday night July 19th... for a unique multimedia, lecture/theater event that utilizes the symbiosis of storytelling, music (live and recorded), still photography, animation and video to evoke emotion, stir the intellect and move attendees to positive action.
See you there!
Dr. Jeff Salz
PS: This event is one performance event only. To guarantee yourself a seat (and save money!) you can purchase your tickets online now at: Across Worlds Tickets
