Journey to Canada, a Refugee’s Story

 Twenty-three years ago, Madut Majok arrived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, where his life consisted of guarded compounds and food rations. Today, he is a Canadian citizen, university graduate and civil servant.

He relishes the opportunities he has earned in his adopted country and feels that he has integrated into Canadian society. However, one minor detail still puzzles him. With a smile, he says “I still do not understand the level of politeness here—if I am at the mall and I step on someone’s toes, they say sorry instead of me saying that…and that always takes me off guard.” Social intricacies aside, the future is wide open for Madut—a future that seemed impossible only a few years ago.

 

Born in 1978 in rural South Sudan, Madut had a childhood plagued by violence and war.  By 1983, the second Sudanese civil war had broken out and many villages were burned down, crops destroyed and cattle killed. Thousands of villagers from Madut’s town were forced to flee when the attacks intensified in 1987.

 

His family chose to seek protection within Sudan in the garrison town of Wau. In the ensuing chaos, eight‑year‑old Madut became separated from them and had to join a small group of villagers on the dangerous two month trek to Ethiopia. 

He arrived at a United Nations refugee camp, located near the border, very ill from infected wounds sustained along the way. After a three-month recovery, Madut was transferred to another camp specifically for children and unaccompanied minors, where he stayed until 1991.

 

When war broke out in Ethiopia, those in the refugee camps were told that they were no longer safe. Madut had to flee again—a journey that took him to Pochalla, a town near the Sudan-Ethiopia border. He spent nine months there before embarking on another journey that finally brought him to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in 1992, where he spent his next 10 years.

 

“Conditions at the camps were difficult at times,” says Madhut. Food was distributed every two weeks but lasted only eight days; many would go for days without getting enough water to cater for essential needs. 
School, set up in the camp, saved him. “Had I not gone to school in the camp,” says Madut, “I never would have competed in the Student Refugee Program.”

Madut focused on his studies, knowing that education could be a way out of the refugee camp. He applied to the Student Refugee Program run by World University Service of Canada in 2001 and was selected to attend Dalhousie University. 

In 2006, after four years in Canada, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Development Studies and Political Science. That same year, he became a Canadian citizen.  Today, Madut is studying for his Master’s degree while working for the Foreign Credential Referral Office at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 

“After living on handouts, the ability to provide for yourself and the freedom to determine your own future is the first goal,” he says. As for his future, Madut says he has many goals. “Now that I have a job, I want to raise a family…and progress in my career. I would say that I am very lucky.”
“You need strong mentorship—people who believe in your ability and, at the same time, who realize that you are learning how your potential can be developed. Canada has given me this.”
 
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2 comments

  1. It looks like it generally difficult to immigrate to canada than US but Canada has a good immigration policy for refugees and other displaced people than the US.. God bless them for thinking the nobodys

  2. what a success stoory. It tells me that the only person who can determine your future is yourself. You’re never a victim until you accept that fate. Everybody can turn a lemon into a lemonade.
    Man, thanks for this story

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