AGONY OF A CHILD SOLDIER
KARA KROON AND CANDICE SIMPSON YEAR 10 ST HILDA’S SCHOOL
DENG Thiak Adut is a man who lived a nightmare, and yet helps us dream for our future.
It’s not often that a story of such simultaneous tragedy and hope arises as that of Deng Thiak Adut, a man who we had the honour of conversing with on February 27 this year as he brought awareness of global problems such as child soldiers to the young girls at St Hilda’s School.
Deng is a former child soldier of Sudan and is currently a defence lawyer as well as a refugee advocate who runs his own charity in honour of his late half-brother, John.
At the age of six he was taken from his mother and forced to fight in a war he knew nothing about. At 12 he was shot and struggled to survive until he was smuggled out of the country. He was later relocated to western Sydney where he had to adapt to the culture shock of a modern Australian society.
The girls of St Hilda’s were fortunate to listen to Deng speak about his life experiences as a child soldier and many were left in awe at how many obstacles he had overcome in his 33 years of life.
When Deng came to Australia he had no knowledge of how to understand, speak or write English, leaving him to struggle to figure out a foreign world of traffic lights, microwaves and electric blankets.
At age 15 he decided to take matters into his own hands and managed to teach himself a whole new language.
It is absolutely incredible to hear that a man can go through the indescribably harsh environment of being a child soldier and still have the spirit to want to continue with his life with vigour and learn new things, even though it was an incredibly difficult task.
In Deng’s own words, he believes “education should never be taken for granted as it is truly an amazing thing … learning is never boring.”
Deng also shared his passion on the topic of modern violence. His words, “I say no to violence. I say yes to those who wish to end it”, rippled throughout the audience.
After the horrors that he and every other child soldier had to experience, there’s no doubt that violence is something he hopes will be exterminated. Deng is strongly against all types of violence, whether it be physical or psychological, and he believes that everyone should “put down their weapon and pick up a book instead”.
These words are truly inspiring and allowed many of the girls to truly appreciate what we have and the country we live in.
For the students of St Hilda’s School, having such a respected and gentle presence as Deng Thiak Adut enabled the girls to realise just how much of our “paradise” we take for granted.
Deng spoke with passion and strength … a man who lived a nightmare and yet helps us dream for our future.