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African Rights Monitor-ARM is honored to have Franco Majok as our keynote speaker this Thursday April 28, 2011 at the screening of The Last Survivor.  Mr. Majok, a native of South Sudan, is the Executive Director of Village Help for South Sudan, a 501(c)(3) non-porfit. He became a refugee in 1983 when the civil war began between the North and South.  He lost family members in that war (which sometimes called the first genocide in Sudan). He credits his education for helping him escape and survive, first to Khartoum, then Egypt, and then to the US in 1998.  In 2000, he began working with the "Lost Boys of Sudan" as a bilingual, bi-cultural Case Manager with Lutheran Community Services. Mr. Majok became a US citizen in 2005, and, with his US passport, returned to his village of Wunlang for the first time in 23 years.  He found the entire village desperately in need of food, medical care and education, and decided to raise money and build an elementary school in Wunlang.  He has been featured in stories by NPR and the Boston Globe.  Mr. Majok lives in Lynn, MA, with his wife and three children. Below is his personal story. 

Franco's story

My name is Franco Majok. I am originally from Southern Sudan and I am now a United States Citizen. I am married and have 3 children and I live in Lynn, Massachusetts.

My father was a police officer who came from a very poor family. When the British came to our area in about 1921, my father left the village and went to town to work for the British. He married my mother and I have four brothers. Three are still alive, my brother Garang was killed during the civil war. My father had learned the value of education from the British. He was the only one in the village to send his children to school.

I became a refugee first in 1970 when Sudanese government attacked my village. As a young man of 7 or 8 I walked with people to Congo Republic and stayed there until 1973 when the peace agreement was signed between South Sudan and North Sudan.In 1983 when the civil war broke out between the northern government and the south again. All high schools were closed. The Sudanese government targeted students from the south and it became very dangerous to live there. I saw many village burned down by Sudanese government. Many innocent people were killed in large number. I used my education to escape to the North by reading maps and directions to get to a safe place.

In Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, I worked in a factory during the day and went to evening classes until I finished high school. When the situation in Khartoum became too dangerous, I fled to Egypt. Again, I benefited from my education: I know how to apply for a visa. In 1997, I applied for refugee resettlement through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). I was approved by the United States and transferred to a U.S. embassy for processing.

I came to the United States in September 1998 with my family and four relatives. My first job in the U.S. was a Houseman at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. After six months, I changed jobs and worked for the Department of Mental Retardation in a residential program for adults. In 2000, when the ?Lost Boys of Sudan? began to arrive in the United States, I applied and was hired as a bilingual, bi-cultural Case Manager with Lutheran Community Services.

In 2005, I received United States Citizenship. I received a U.S. passport and was able to travel safely back to Southern Sudan where I am from. I had not been ?back home? for 23 years. I first took a flight from Boston to Amsterdam for 7.5 hours and then boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi for an 8-hour flight. I then took an hour-long flight to the border of Sudan and Kenya. In Kenya, I took my final flight to Sudan, which lasted 3 hours. In the small village of Malulkon, someone gave me a ride in a car for an hour to a nearby town and I bicycled to my village of Wunlang which took me 6 hours. My total travel time was 26.5 hours!

In my village, I found the entire village desperately in need of food and education. As a local who grew up in the area, I decided that a focus on education would help the new generation at Wunlang School. I believe in education because I benefited from it and education saved my life. I believe that education is central in order for Wunlang children to have their own sense of conditions. Otherwise, they have no future.

When I came back home to the Lynn, I set up a project to raise enough money to build eight classrooms and two offices for teachers in my village.  Please check out our organization at: www.villagehelpforsouthsudan.org. Also I am working on building long term relationship between South Sudan, USA and Canada. I am working with American friends to form Trade association between South Sudan, USA and Canada. You can also read what we are doing at: www.ssafta.org. South Sudan has experienced many bad things including losing 2 million people in civil war.
 
 
COME JOIN US:
 
When:          Thursday, April 28th, 2011 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
 
What:           SPECIAL SCREENING of THE LAST SURVIVOR
 
Where:         Harvard University, MTS - Sever Hall 213, Harvard Yard              
 
Admission: FREE