Alephonsion Deng and Joseph Jok Visit to Poly

Last week, the Poly community had the distinct privilege of hosting Alephonsion Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and the author of two books, They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky (2005) and Disturbed in Their Nests (2018), and Joseph Jok, his International Rescue Committee (IRC) case manager. Deng and Jok joined the Upper School for an assembly to begin the day and later had lunch with the Global Scholars cohort and other Poly students who had read and were interested in his most recent book. In the evening, the two also presented at a Global Scholars event.



During the morning assembly, Jok opened with a brief history of the region of Sudan and the more recent geopolitical trends that led to the fleeing of thousands of refugees, of which Deng was a part. Like other Lost Boys, as they were known, Deng made his way out of his village and to a refugee camp in neighboring Kenya entirely on foot. Jok also touched on the role of religion and resource scarcity that led to the cultural tension and military conflict in the area. Deng then spoke about his story, using several pictures as references for the high school audience. Despite the tragic nature of the war-torn region, Deng spoke in a generally upbeat manner about his childhood and family. As the assembly came to a close, Deng briefly answered one question about a piece that aired on 60 Minutes back in 2001 about the Lost Boys. Many felt that the clip belittled the experience of the refugees and reduced their transition to a series of gaffes rather than addressing the political issues that lay at the root of the conflict. Deng explained that he was generally appreciative that his story was told at all, but he now actively tells his own story and works to spread a more complete picture of his experience in order to remedy the possible misperception of the matter.

At lunch, Poly students had the chance to interact more intimately with Deng and Jok and ask questions that they might not have been able to voice during the assembly. The conversation ranged from delving deeper into his childhood to the progression of the conflict in Sudan to how he grappled with his resettlement in San Diego. In the evening, when members of the Poly community were joined by students from Westridge and the Pasadena Unified School District, Deng elaborated on many of the themes he had already touched on in the assembly, adding some anecdotes about life in Sudan and America. He concluded the event with a reading of a couple of chapters of his most recent book, accompanied by a Poly student who read from the perspective of his co-author and IRC mentor Judy Bernstein. Deng’s willingness to share his story with the Poly community was invaluable in pushing us to consider the experiences of others and hopefully helped us realize the importance of understanding the issues of today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

American Immigration and the Folly of Isolationism

Image
During the last decade, immigration has taken center stage in many political movements in the West. Frustrations with the apparent shortcomings of immigration fueled the rise of both far-right populism in Western Europe and the current American presidency. The underlying causes of this resentment or suspicion of immigration range from economic stagnation to increasing globalization to purportedly threatened cultural norms, yet the demonization of newcomers, particularly those from Latin American or Middle Eastern countries, is a common thread. However, the economic impact of immigration has long been understood by economists as generally positive, particularly in cases of movement from poorer to wealthier countries. In a novel way of going about opinion writing, Philippe Legrain outlines his support for and dispels negative misperceptions of immigration as a social phenomenon. In what is known as an Open Essay in The Economist , Legrain explains his reasoning for preferring immigratio
Read more

Global Scholars Application Essay

In the United States, the resolution of governmental legislation is too often minimized to the impact it will have on the American people in order to signal the bill or policy’s proponents’ sole investment in their constituents. Not only does this tendency preclude the realization of America’s potential as a leader on the world stage, it also ignores this country’s responsibility to our fellow global citizens as citizens of the globe ourselves. The nationalist notion of putting America first, moreover, is not limited to politics but pervades many aspects of our society, reflected in conversation, media, and personal beliefs. Through my immersion in communities with global ties, both at home and abroad, I have realized the devastatingly reductive nature of this idea and have begun to more critically appraise what my role is, not only as an American but as a human. From outreach work in Nicaragua to community engagement here in Los Angeles, from the use of Spanish in Ecuador to its fami
Read more

Reflection on Final Grant Proposal Presentation to '21 Global Scholars Cohort and Others

Image
A little over a week ago, I had the amazing opportunity to reflect on my experience completing a grant proposal through the Global Scholars program. I invited various members of the Poly community, including my fellow Global Scholars in the class of 2020, the rising Global Scholars cohort, and folks from the Poly administration who supported me in my grant proposal work. I was ecstatic to have over forty people tune in to the video call, over which I made my presentation and hosted a brief question-and-answer session. As the last formal part of the grant proposal process, the event was a time for me to reflect on what I had achieved and to share with others what I had learned. I began the presentation by explaining what led me to participate in the Global Scholars program and, specifically, the grant proposal project. I then walked the audience through the presentation that I gave to the grant proposal panelists, who were responsible for making the decision regarding who would
Read more