Abann Kamyay Ajak Yor - Native Displacement in the Twenty-First Century

NATIVE
DISPLACEMENT
IN THE
TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY:
APPLYING LEADERSHIP KNOWLEDGE

ABANN KAMYAY AJAK YOR

Copyright 2020 by Abann Kamyay Ajak Yor.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the
product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and
such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 09/11/2020

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CONTENTS

A bann Kemyay was born in South Sudan, and his immigration journey started in 1986. He lived in Sudan as a displaced minor until 2000, when he immigrated to Syria, Damascus, due to the ongoing civil war in Sudan. A fluent speaker of Cll, Arabic, and English, he has lived in Auckland since 2005, with his wife and children.

Abann has been heavily involved with the Auckland South Sudanese community in a leadership capacity. He has held various leadership roles across community organisations and NGOs with a well-established network in the resettlement/settlement sector. He has strong advocacy, leadership, and management capabilities and takes a human rights approach to community issues. He has twice represented the resettled communities of Aotearoa New Zealand at the Geneva Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement, as part of the Immigration New Zealand delegation.

He has completed numerous qualifications, such as, including a national certificate in automotive engineering mechanics, a graduate diploma in not-for-profit management, a postgraduate certificate in social practice, a postgraduate diploma in bicultural professional supervision (Katiakitanga), and a masters degree in indigenous studies in applying leadership knowledge. He has published two books: Beyond Refuge and New Zealanders Now . Other published work includes research papers, Improving Resettlement Outcomes (research on men) and Bench-Marking the Resettlement Process of New Zealand and Australia , and two academic papers, My Reflections on Indigeneity and An Indigenous Masters Research Supervision M odel .

Abann is general manager of Aotearoa Resettled Community Coalition (ARCC) and is a passionate community advocate, author, and educator. He was a recipient of the New Zealand Red Cross resettlement sector award and received a certificate of appreciation from Unitec Institute of Technology for his ongoing contribution to fieldwork education to enhance student learning. Abann is a fellow of the New Zealand Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and was awarded a Local Hero Medal and Certificate of Achievement for New Zealander of the Year in 2016. This acknowledged his achievements in community leadership during his ten years of sharing, caring, and supporting the Aotearoa New Zealand resettlement and integration processes, involving community groups and individuals at the local, regional, and national levels.

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T his book, Native Displacement in the Twenty-First Century , is dedicated to my late father, Kemyay Ajako, and my uncle and chief, Isaac Obunying Deng. You will always be missed, and I ask you to continue to watch over the family and bless us to maintain our family relationship and unity.

I also dedicate this work to the victims of the ongoing conflict in South Sudanthe innocent women, children, disabled and elders, and forced immigrantsand to displaced people around the world who are seeking protection, safety, and healing.

To my mother, Nyikal Deng Juachdiing; my brothers and sisters; extended families; and relatives, thank you for your unconditional love and moral support during my journey to safety abroad. This book is for you.

Lastly, I also dedicate this book to the Aotearoa Resettled Community Coalition (ARCC) member organisations, research participants, and all my Aotearoa New Zealand extended family, community, friends, and supports, who made this work possible.

T his book represents the dream of a man unknown to manymy late father, Kemyayfor my education. His last words to me before my displacement journey were Son, education is a key for the South Sudanese problem, and if you want to contribute positively, you must understand it first. Now I am sharing my story of recovery and discovery, fulfilling my fathers legacy of contributing to the South Sudanese community and New Zealand society. It is hoped this book will serve as a valuable resource in applying leadership knowledge to the South Sudanese diaspora back home and to the future development of other ethnic communities of New Zealand.

I would like to thank a few people who have supported me in producing this book on my community research project (the SIKA Project). Mostly, I must acknowledge my indigenous master practitioner supervisor, Dr Byron Rangiwai. I am deeply grateful for his direction and inspiration in achieving the SIKA Project. Special thanks also to Dr Bruce Hucker, as my tuakana , and to my critical supervisor and coach, Stewart Devitt, and Yasmin Standfield for editing and proofreading the book. It would have been impossible for me to complete this community project without also the support of the ARCC governance board, staff, and notes contributors.

Thank you to the South Sudanese community members in Auckland and Wellington who participated in the storytelling project. Without their voices as storytellers, there would be no project. This acknowledges their years of struggles and hardship through the forced migration journeys to Aotearoa New Zealand. Also, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the ethnic community members (mothers, young people, fathers, leaders, and representatives) who participated in the leadership development workshops in Auckland. Participants from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Iraq, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan all contributed to this community project.

Finally, special thanks go to my wife and children. It would not have been possible for me to undertake this study without your unconditional love and moral support. To my wife, Nyibaj Yanyi Kwat, and kidsBanan, Daoj, Ajako, Mejock, and Nyawell Abann K. A. Yorthank you all for being with me through my studies. Through you, I have found the strength and determination to achieve my fathers dream of education and do more for myself, for you, and for others.