Reuben Garang hoped to return to the South Sudanese village he was once forced to flee for an emotional reunion. Instead he arrived in neighbouring Uganda to find out the family he was coming to see is fleeing once again.
Garang graduated with a UWinnipeg Master’s in Development Practice in 2013, after earning his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies at UWinnipeg. But his remarkable story began long before that. One of the displaced youths known as the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, Garang was forced to escape violence in his home village during the civil war that stretched from 1983-2005. He experienced life as a child soldier and refugee before immigrating to Canada in 2004, enrolling at UWinnipeg in 2006.
Master’s in Development Practice graduate Reuben Garang blogs about journey amidst a new violence conflict
Garang planned his first trip back home to hold prayers for his late parents and to meet with surviving relatives. But as he describes in his blog, he was stalled in Uganda by news of a fresh conflict. “I cannot believe what is happening now in South Sudan,” he writes in one post, “….the future of the world’s youngest nation is so bleak.”
While Garang provides little hope to reach home at this point, after an analysis of the current crisis, his emotional blog does give hope to the people affected. “There is a light at back of tunnel for the people of South Sudan.”
You can read more about his journey here: http://goinghomesouthsudan.blogspot.ca/
