In 2016, Deng Thiak Adut was selected to open the World Summit On Migration Control. Since that time, Adut has remained one of the world’s leading authorities on the plight of refugees.
As a former refugee, Adut brings a unique voice to discussions on the problems and solutions for refugees seeking a safe home far away from their place of birth.
Born in South Sudan, Adut was kidnapped from his family at the age of six. He was forced to become a child soldier and shot in the back at the age of 12. Later he was rescued by the United Nations and smuggled to freedom.
He found his way to Sydney, Austrlia, where he mastered English. He earned a high school equivalency certificate, graduated from college, then went to law school.
Today, Adut is a lawyer fighting for the rights of refugees.
In Adut’s perspective, refugees should not be expected to become overnight success stories.
“Refugees are not here to do miracles,” Adut emphasizes, “They are here to be assisted. They suffer from long-term trauma. You can’t expect them to get out there and succeed. They need help. They need personal contact. They need psychological assistance, they need counseling. They need support in terms of jobs.”
His views on helping refugees are not well accepted by many governments with growing refugee populations.
He publicly opposed the ban on refugees imposed by the United States in 2017, stressing, “The culture of punishing the innocent and weak countries has got to stop. It’s not stopping wars; it’s creating them. It’s creating economic deprivation for the local people; the victims are the poor, the ones that have no skills, the refugees.”
Speaking about the immigration policies of his own country of Australia, he points out, “There is no difference between in prison in Africa or being in a refugee camp or being locked up in this country. It’s almost like being dead.”
In addition to practicing law, Adut founded the John Mac Foundation in honour of his half-brother, John Mac Acuek, who helped Adut escape South Sudan at night in a truck under sacks of corn and died in 2014 while leading an effort to rescue South Sudanese civilians from ongoing conflict. The Foundation provides higher education scholarships to students from refugee backgrounds.
He has written a book about his experiences as a child soldier. You can purchase a copy here >> Songs Of A War Boy.
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