Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

When Arop Deng was born in southern Sudan in 1963, his country was already in turmoil.The north and the south had been in conflict for political reasons since 1955. In 1983, that conflict turned into a religious war that killed between two and three million people.

From 1988 to 1992, Arop attended law school at Cairo University, Khartoum Branch in Khartoum, Sudan. He obtained his license and began to practice law in the northern part of the country. In Sudan, lawyers are general practitioners, handling criminal, civil, and family law cases. He handled all kinds of cases, including defending those who were arrested for political reasons.“The situation was not safe for educated people who defended others,” said Arop,“There was a lot of harassment in the courtroom. Security may come to your house and arrest you or take you to an unknown place to question you.”

Arop practiced law until 1999, when he fled Sudan. Armed with a passport that identified his occupation as a waiter, he crossed the border into Egypt. He had sent all of his proper identification to someone in Egypt two months earlier so it would not be found when they searched him at the border. He applied to the United Nations for refugee status. His resettlement assignment was Rochester, NY. Having done some homework communicating with other Sudanese refugees already living in the U.S., Arop heard that Rochester was not safe. Contacts in New Hampshire said, “it was quiet and safe but cold.” “I’d rather be someplace cold if it is safe,” he said. So he requested resettlement in Manchester, NH. On the day he arrived in late 2000, it was snowing. “I had only seen snow on TV, never felt it or saw it before.” He moved into an apartment on Chestnut Street. His first heating bill arrived, and for 53 days it was $999.“The thermostat was set at 85 degrees and I was still cold!” he said.

Not knowing English was very hard for Arop. He remembers the frustration,“When you don’t speak the language and you are an educated person who has ideas and can’t express them. That was a bad experience for me that encouraged me to learn English.” Now he is fluent in English, as well as Arabic and his tribal language, Dinka.

Within six months of arrival he found his first job as a bank teller at Citizens Bank in May 2001. He worked there for three years and then found employment in customer service at Budget Rental Car. In 2005 he began working with Hertz Rental Car.

That was also the year that Arop was elected as president of the Southern Sudan Community. The largest African refugee community in New Hampshire, the Sudanese officially formed a community and held elections for the first time in 2001. The elected leaders sat down to develop a clear vision of what they want for the members of their community. Their top priorities are: learning English, addressing health problems and lack of health knowledge, helping people understand the law and addressing domestic violence in the community.

While employed full-time at Hertz, Arop continues to serve his community as a board member and to help develop programs to address the top priorities. In the past year, the Southern Sudan Community began sharing office space with the Somali Development Center on South Willow Street in Manchester. They are offering computer classes, English classes, workshops on legal issues and other services through a completely volunteer effort.They have yet to secure any grant money, but are able to pay their part of the rent through monthly donations from board members.

“The Sudanese are quiet people, hard workers who want to participate and be helpful for the city.That makes the city rich of culture,” said Arop. Nearly 99% of Sudanese adults are working and all seven of the Sudanese youth who graduated from high school last year are enrolled in college this fall.“The families are talking to kids (and telling them) the only way to succeed is to go to college and get a degree.”

Valuing education as a way to further himself, Arop has returned to school. He is pursuing a Masters of Leadership in Organizations at Southern New Hampshire University. He will be able to use the knowledge gained in this degree program to further his career and to strengthen the Southern Sudan Community.