Bellevue now home to refugees
By Debbie Grayson

Bellevue Leader - December 11, 2001

Abraham Garang is 21 years old. He works part-time at Albertson's supermarket, goes to school, plays basketball whenever he has the chance, loves pizza and likes to listen to the music of pop artists, Shaggy and Nelly. His life is pretty typical of most American young men until you take a closer look.

Abraham has a deep scar on his forehead traced there with a knife when he was about 7 years old. The scar doesn’t remain from a horrid accident or as a sign of abuse. The scar is a symbol that distinguishes Abraham from other tribes in his native Sudan, and given to him in a tribal ceremony.

After seven years of life in a refugee camp, where he was separated from his family, Abraham came to the United States Sept. 29 as part of a program sponsored by Lutheran Family Service and Thanksgiving Lutheran Church. The first group of six young men came to Bellevue in June. A second group came later.

The group Abraham came with nearly three months ago brought the total to 21.

"When I first came here I was very lonely," Abraham said. "I would go for walks out on the streets and they seemed so empty. There were very few people out. Back in Sudan there were always many people and vehicles on the street. It’s so different her. It’s so quiet. At first I was lonely. I wanted to go back."

Today Abraham feels much differently about life in the United States. He loves it here. He loves the quiet community that has embraced him, and the people who made it all possible.

"They are like family to me now," Abraham said of the congregation at Thanksgiving Lutheran Church and his co-workers at Albertson’s.

While Abraham is happy with his new life and new family, he still misses his first family - his mom, dad, brother and sisters in Sudan.

"I want them to come here," he said, "but it is such a difficult process, it would be so hard."

For now an occasional letter is the only communication Abraham has with his family.

Abraham knows the chances are slim that his family will be able to come to the United States. He said it took five years of planning and preparation for him to come here. Unfortunately the problem has, for the most part, been offered only to young males, 20-25 years old, hoping to leave the refugee camps.

Arlis Scanlan, one of the sponsors from Thanksgiving Lutheran Church, said for now priority status is given to young men seeking higher education and ones they believe would be able to adapt more easily to American culture.

"That may soon change," Scanlan said. "In 2002 they might begin allowing young women into the program.

Meanwhile, Abraham is taking advantage of the opportunity afforded him. He just completed his G.E.D. requirements for a high school diploma, recently applied to take his ACT collegiate entrance exam. His is seriously looking at colleges, and plans to study chemistry and accounting.

"I want to be connected to the field of biochemistry and I want to be able to handle my own finances," he said.

Gabriel Dut was among the first group to arrive in Bellevue in June. He will turn 21 on Jan. 1. One of the 21 young Sudanese men now living in Bellevue, 14 celebrate their birthdays on January 1.

Scanlan explained that because these young men were separated from their families at such a young age, many of them don’t know when their actual birthday is and so somewhere in the application process to come to the United States, they were assigned Jan. 1. Likewise, most of the young men do not carry their given name. They are known now by Christian names they chose while studying with missionaries in the refugee camp.

Gabriel took his ACT test Saturday and is anxious to begin studying medicine to become a doctor. He said his experiences in the refugee camp led him to his calling.

"People were losing their lives because of poor treatment," Gabriel said of the conditions in the camp. "Depending on who you were, if you were a person of stature, you were sent to Nairobi for treatment. If you were no one, you were left to lay there and die."

Gabriel said there were four clinics and no real doctors to care for 75,000 people. He said the clinics were staffed mostly with nurses who had undergone four years of schooling, but were led by what they termed doctors, who had studied medicine for only three months.

"There were people dying from complicated diseases," Gabriel said. "And so I would like to become a doctor and go back and help my people."

With the holiday season approaching, both Gabriel and Abraham are somewhat homesick, but at the same time excited to celebrate Christmas American-style, although only a small artificial table-top Christmas tree sits in the living room of the apartment Gabriel shares with four Sudanese roommates.

"Christmas is a very special time," Gabriel said. "It’s a time to prepare your house, but mostly it’s a time to prepare your heart for our Savior’s birth."

Abraham agrees, and has begun his Christmas preparations while he walks the streets of Bellevue.

"I love to walk," he said. "I love to look at everything around me and it gives me time to think and to pray."

And while he’s adapting well to American culture as he walks the sidewalks of the community, Abraham is not too thrilled with the climate. Coming from such a warm climate, Abraham said it is very cold to him when the temperature drops below 50 degrees.

"And snow," he said, "I don’t know what to think about snow. I fear it. I’ve never seen it. What does it feel like?" he asked.