The refugees, exiled during the Sudanese civil war, never voted in their country. As the first in their families to cast a ballot, they are educating Sudanese about the importance of voting to create change. This at a time when Sudan is about to hold its first presidential election in more than two decades.
“The Lost Boys always take responsibility and are always looking for changes,” said Peter Magai Bul, 27, a Lost Boy and community activist. “They are doing this as citizens of the United States. You will see them voting in every election.”
Many Lost Boys, orphans named for their trek across Sudan to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya during the war, voted early in the Chicago primaries, and those who didn’t said they would be at the polls Tuesday.
“It’s something that we don’t want to miss,” said Malual Awak, president of the Sudanese Community Association of Illinois.
Hundreds of Lost Boys from across the Midwest gathered at Truman College on Sunday to discuss Sudan’s upcoming election, call for an independent Southern Sudan and celebrate their birthdays. Because most of them do not have birth certificates, upon arrival in America they were assigned Jan. 31 as their collective birthday.
According to a 2008 survey by the United African Organization - a Chicago-based advocacy organizatoin - more than 90 percent of the estimated 30,000 naturalized African immigrants and refugees in metropolitan area vote in every election. They are interested in participating in every level,” said executive director Alie Kabba.
Voting is a way for refugees to become integrated into American society, and it also signifies freedom from the oppression many left behind in Africa, Kabba said.
“African refugees generally tend to come from countries with authoritarian regimes,” Kabba said. “One of the first things that they want to do here is demonstrate their yearning for a democratic society. It is a way for them to really call this place home.”
Voting has taken on an even greater significance for the Lost Boys, who hope to encourage their families to participate in Sudan’s first free presidential election in April after more than 20 years of single-party rule. “We vote to make a difference,” said Jacob Maker Dier, who became a citizen in 2007. “It’s setting an example (for our families). They have to show up.”
The Sudanese election was mandated by the 2005 peace agreement that ended the country’s 22-year civil war between the north and the south. The outcome of the election will have important significance. Some candidates are pushing for Southern Sudan’s secession, which will be decided in a referendum in 2011.
More than 150 Lost Boys have relocated to Chicago since 2001. They’ve made the city a stronghold for Sudanese activism, calling for a free and fair election in Sudan through organized events at universities and churches. Magai Bul, founder of Ayual Community Development Association, a non-profit dedicated to improving life in Southern Sudan, recently returned from a five-week trip to the country to educate residents about the voting process. Now he’s spreading his message through Facebook and Twitter.
“I’ve seen the consequences of when people are not allowed to participate,” Magai Bul said. “The consequence is war.”
Most of the population of Southern Sudan will not be allowed to vote, however. The Sudan government requires that voters present a passport, and many civilians lost any government identification they had during the war. The Lost Boys, who could theoretically vote in the Sudan election in absentia, also do not have Sudanese passports, but U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Akec Khoc said they will be able to apply for documentation at registration centers in Chicago in time to vote on the independence referendum next year.
Source:news.medill.northwestern.edu/
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