“same look on his face”: Sam McKewon, “Omaha Central Star Agau Has Plenty to Smile about,” Omaha World-Herald, March 7, 2013.
“things that Coach P has done”: Akoy Agau, “Akoy Agau in His Words on Louisville Basketball in the Final Four,” Courier-Journal, April 6, 2013.
19. Repatriation
In this chapter author interviews are with, and quotations from, Changkuoth Gatkuoth, Akoy Agau, Nancy Peter, Bernadita Peter, Mabel Boyd, and Raydelle Meehan.
When shooting began: Steve Liewer, “South Sudanese in Omaha Mourn Their Holiday Season,” Omaha World-Herald, December 20, 2014.
Among the Nuer partisans: Steve Liewer, “UNO Grad Shuttles between Omaha, South Sudan Homeland for One Cause: Democracy,” Omaha World-Herald, November 1, 2015.
“This event is about unity”: Luol Deng, “South Sudan Unite: A Message from Luol Deng,” You Tube, June 20, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdz6etmgmiA&feature=share.
“murders of civilians”: Adrian Edwards, “South Sudan Fighting Drives Surge of Refugees to Uganda,” UNHCR, July 26, 2016, http://www.unhcr.org/afr/news/latest/2016/7/57973cde4/south-sudan-fighting-drives-surge-refugees-uganda.html.
“children as young as two years old”: Doctors without Borders, “Responding to Cholera Outbreak in Juba,” July 29, 2016, http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/article/south-sudan-responding-cholera-outbreak-juba.
20. Getting It Right
In this chapter author interviews are with, and quotations from, Koang Doluony.
organizer Manyang G. Berberi: South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pg/southsudaneseau/about/?ref=page_internal.
began to funnel its best players: Damien Cave, “South Sudanese, Seeking to Fit In, Stand Out in Australian Basketball,” New York Times, May 3, 2017.
up to thirty had played: “Players from South Sudan,” realGM.com, https://basketball.realgm.com/info/nationality/11/South-Sudan/M.
marriage of underage south Sudanese girls: Stephen Buttry, “An Unhappy Marriage: Sudanese Custom, U.S. Law,” Omaha World-Herald, March 11, 2001.
“some will be basketballers”: Steve Liewer, “South Sudanese Leader Tells Omaha: Young People Are Key to Future, and to Peace,” Omaha World-Herald, October 6, 2015.
21. Beyond
Unless otherwise noted, in this chapter author interviews are with, and quotations from, Akoy Agau, Eric Behrens, Tra-Deon Hollins, Tre’Shawn Thurman, K. J. Scott, Dominique McKinzie, and Ryan Overfield.
suspended one game: Marjie Ducey, “Former Omaha Prep Star Agau Suspended at Louisville,” Omaha World-Herald, December 20, 2013.
Georgetown played Creighton: Jon Nyatawa, “Georgetown’s Akoy Agau ‘Plays Very Very Hard’ in Omaha Return,” Omaha World-Herald, February 19, 2017.
“an ideological certification”: Philip Bump, “Here’s What Donald Trump Said in His Big Immigration Speech,” Washington Post, August 31, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/31/heres-what-donald-trump-said-in-his-big-immigration-speech-annotated/?utm_term=.2a0a78744e8a.
led the world in refugee displacement: “Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2016,” UNHCR Statistics, http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/statistics/unhcrstats/5943e8a34/global-trends-forced-displacement-2016.html.
Muslim girl who had fled Sudan: Zoia Morrow, “Finding Home,” Central High Register, October 12, 2016.
6.7 percent of its students: Omaha Public Schools statistics, ops.org.
Federal data showed: Emily Nohr, “A Welcoming State: Nebraska Led the Nation in Resettling Most Refugees per Capita in the Last Year,” Omaha World-Herald, December 9, 2016.
tuberculosis reported: Michael Patrick Leahy, “Student Diagnosed with TB at Nebraska School Where 18 Percent Are Refugees,” Breitbart.com, December 9, 2016.
22. Postscript
In this chapter author interviews are with, and quotations from, Bronwen Manby.
“Savages with axes”: Esther Schor, Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2016). Quotes from Zamenhof in this chapter are from this work.
lived through the Nazi occupation: David Mikics, “The Secret Language of George Soros,” Tabletmag.com, October 26, 2016.
International Migration Initiative: Migration Initiative quotes are from Open Society Foundations website: Migration & Asylum, https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/topics/migration-asylum.
a series of recommendations: Bronwen Manby, “International Law and the Right to Nationality in Sudan,” Open Society Justice Initiative, February 2011.
Index
Page numbers refer to the print edition.
AAU, 23; and Nebraska Bison, 24; and Team Nebraska, 26; and Team Nebraska Express, 54, 115
Abdalla, Elham, 162
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem, 81, 97
Afghanistan, xvi, 5, 162
Africa, 71–72, 153, 170
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 170
African immigrants, 33, 86
African refugee experience, 86
Agau, Akoy: and absent father, 55, 110, 120; and Africa, 55, 80, 90, 101, 119, 139–40; and America, xv, 9, 140; attitude of, 43–44, 59, 159; and basketball, 11, 24, 59–60, 91, 97–99, 163; and basketball camp, 78, 82; and belonging, xvii, 11; as Central High School “ambassador,” 75, 103; and Christian faith, 79, 85, 111, 119, 159; and citizenship, 67–68; and college recruitment, 31, 54, 68, 104–5, 108, 115–17; confidence of, 44, 46–47; on defense, 45, 62, 95, 104; and education, xviii, 21, 36, 56, 90–91, 104, 109, 111; in Egypt, 8–9, 92, 119; and employment, 86, 118; and Eric Behrens, 25, 28–30, 59, 112–15; ESPN Top 100 prospects of, 47; and family responsibility, 86, 114, 118, 120, 139; and FBLA, 56, 102, 118, 143; and football, 58–59; and Georgetown University, 159, 163; and Haiti mission, 141; and high school decision, 27–31; and Holocaust Literature course, 119; injuries of, 23, 66, 92–93, 101, 159, 163; and Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic, 145; and legacy, 40–41, 114; and Lotte Sjulin, 101, 110, 117, 138, 142–43, 159; and Louisville Courier-Journal, 144; and Mason School Apartments, 16, 148–49; and media, 96, 141; and Metro Summer Basketball League, 54; on offense, 30, 42, 44, 95, 160; and Omaha History course, 120; and Omaha Talons, 152; and prom, 142–43; and rankings, 47, 97, 104–5, 128, 130, 132; and Scott Hammer, 26, 28–29, 56, 68, 87, 114, 163, 164; and siblings, 67–68, 87, 114, 118, 164; and social media, 99–100; and Southern Methodist University (SMU), 164; and Super-State team, 141; and Twitter, 76–85, 98, 119, 142, 145; and University of Louisville, 117, 142, 144–45, 159; and University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 27, 131
Agau, Madut, 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 20, 48–49, 67, 71, 86; arrest and release of, 7–8; and brother, 19, 73; and employment, 11, 14, 20, 55, 106, 139
Agau, Maguy, 5, 9, 11, 17–18, 100, 148
Agau family: and citizenship, 48–49, 67; in Egypt, 8–9, 14; in Maryland, xvi, 10–12, 15; in Nebraska, 14–16, 18–20, 55, 86–87, 109
Al-Bashir, Omar Hassan, 4
Alcindor, Lew. See Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem
All Saints Episcopal Cathedral, 9
All Tribes Foundation, 125
Amateur Athletic Union. See aau
America: xvii, 9, 15, 73; and racism, 161–62
American Indian Movement (AIM), 124
Andres, Tom, 53
Annan, Kofi (UN secretary-general), xv
anti-Semitism, 168–69
Arab Muslims, 1
Arab Spring, 71–72, 76, 162; and the Middle East, 71; and North Africa, 71; and Sudan, 72
assimilation, 153, 157; constructive models for, 155–56; and Sherwood Foundation grant, 70
Astaire, Fred, 150
Austerlitz, Frederic. See Astaire, Fred
Ball, Jay, 59, 120, 123
Baltimore Sun, 11
Baptist church, 11, 18–19
Barrientos-Jackson, Darian, 60, 62, 94–95, 98
basketball, 11; and Amateur Athletic Union, 23–24, 26, 38, 54, 11
5; and athletic scholarships, 56; grassroots, 23, 37; and high school coach recruiting, 23; and Kellom Youth League, 23; and Mason court, 23–24, 40; and Metro Summer Basketball League, 54; and national high school invitational, 131; in Nebraska, 128, 132–33, 135–38; Omaha Talons, 151–52, 157; rankings of high school, 132; at Southgate Apartments court, 154
Beck, Emily, 131
Behrens, Eric, 24, 28–31, 47, 111–12, 159; and Akoy Agau, 25, 28–30, 59, 112–15; and Boys and Girls Club, 37; as Central High varsity basketball coach, 28–30; and college recruiters, 115–16; and football, 58–59; game strategy of, 39, 43–45, 54, 62; and grassroots basketball, 37; and Hoosiers, 127, 130, 133, 136–37; and media, 54, 98, 132; and national competitions, 128–36; and Peru State College, 160; and player accountability, 38–39, 59–60; and Scott Hammer, 28–29; and team building, 93–94, 97, 112–15, 136; and team family, 39, 60–61, 63–64; and Wayne State College, 28, 37
Behrens, Rick, 36; retirement of, 38
Bennett, Edward, 30–31, 145
Bertrand, Marcheline, 125
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church (Omaha NE), 153
Bialystok pogrom, 168
Bigelow, Jacob, 144
Biggs, Deverell, 29, 40, 42–44; attitude of, 44–46
Bigsby, Keith, 73–74, 103, 111–12
Bin-Laden, Osama, 5, 76
Black Panther Party, 124
Block, Fannie, 167
Bogues, Muggsy, 97
Bol, Emanuel, 3–5, 20
Bol, Manute, 12–14, 25, 35
Boozer, Bob, 36
Boyd, Mabel, 16, 150
Brando, Dodie, 123–25
Brando, Marlon, 123
Brando, Marlon, Jr., 123–25
Breitbart News, 162
Britt, Nate, 135
Bruning, Josh, 39
Bryant, Kobe, 23, 106
Buffett, Susan Thompson, 33, 37
Buffett, Susie, 33, 74; and Sherwood Foundation, 75
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 5
Burns, Chad, 39
Byndon, A’Jamal, 33
Cairo, Egypt, xv–xvii, 7–8, 92, 119
Cambodia, xvi, 51, 125–26
Cannon, Tim, 27, 29
Carroll County (MD) school system, 11
Catholic church, 11
Catholic faith, 65, 119
Central High School: African-American Alumni Association, 32; Central High Register, 47, 77, 103, 131, 162; distinguished graduates of, 32–33; and diversity, 32–33, 36; Eagles, 38, 62, 93–95, 97–98, 134, 139; and Eagle Way, 74; ESL program at, 33; legacy, 41; in National Register of Historic Places, 32; O-Book, 35, 40–41, 47, 145; refugee student population of, 162; reputation of, 74–76; South Sudanese Club at, 35
Central High School basketball: at district final, 97; at quarterfinal, 97; at semi-final, 46, 62, 96, 98, 137; state championships of, 39, 46, 63–64, 98; wins of, 64, 98–99, 137
Central High School Eagles: vs. Bellevue East, 95; vs. Grand Island, 62, 135, 137; and Heartland Hoops Classic, 135–37; and Jamboree Tournament, 94; vs. Kearney, 97; vs. Lincoln East, 62; vs. Lincoln High, 38, 44; vs. Lincoln North Star, 63, 98; vs. Lincoln Southeast, 45; vs. Millard North, 44, 95; vs. Millard South, 93, 95; vs. Millard West, 94; vs. Norfolk, 46, 63; vs. Oak Hill, 135; vs. Omaha Bryan, 63, 95, 97; vs. Omaha Burke, 137; vs. Omaha Northwest, 96; vs. Omaha South, 98, 134; vs. Papillion–La Vista, 95, 137
Central High School Foundation (CHSF), 33, 118, 131, 135
Chatelain, Dirk, 139
Chicago Bulls, 24
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, 50
Chol, Goanar, 19
Chubick, Bruce, 28
Chubick, Dianne, 28
Church World Service (CWS), 10
citizenship, U.S., 48, 67
City of Palms tournament, Central at, 113, 130; vs. Eagle’s Landing, 131; vs. Long Beach Polytechnic, 132; vs. Whitney Young, 133
civil rights, 32, 123
Conley, Mike, Jr., 97
Creighton University, 17, 54, 104, 105, 108, 109
Cuban Adjustment Program, 51
cultural preservation, 36, 155
Curington, R. J., 135
Darfur, attacks on, 13, 19
David City NE, 71
Deng, Aldo, 25
Deng, Luol, 24–25, 106; and Humanitarian of the Year award, 24; and South Sudan Unite Festival, 147
Devaney Center, 97, 138
diaspora, South Sudanese, 151–52
Dieng, Gorgui, 115
Dinka, 1–2, 8; and government, 146–47; language of, 164; and Luol Deng, 25; and Manute Bol, 12–14
Dinka Council of Elders, 147
Displaced Persons Act of 1948, 51
Doctors without Borders, 148–49
Doluony, Koang, 24, 151–58
“dribble-drive motion” offense, 39
Dundy, Elmer, 121–23
Durant, Kevin, 110, 112
Edwards, Victoria, 60–61
Emergency Quota Acts of 1921 and 1924, 50
English as a Second Language (ESL), 11, 33, 69–71, 162
ESL. See English as a Second Language
Esperanto, 168–71
ESPN, 47, 97, 104, 132
Ethiopia, 34, 147–48, 153
Ethiopian Community Development Council, 17
Ewing, Patrick, 115, 164
FBLA. See Future Business Leaders of America
First Lutheran Church (Omaha NE), 19
Five-Star Basketball Camp, 30
Fonda, Henry, 32, 124
Fonda, Jayne, 124
football, 24, 45, 58–59, 60, 61, 92, 128–29, 135
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), 56, 102, 143
gang violence, 53–54. See also street gangs
Ganzel, Linda, 33–34
Gatkuoth, Changkuoth (Lol Kuek), 33–35, 147
Gatluak, Gatong, 147
Gatuoch, Tarir “Ty,” 18, 23, 152
Georgetown University, 115; vs. Creighton, 160; and Patrick Ewing, 164
Gibson, Bob, 36
The Godfather, 124
Gomez, Paulino, 60–62, 64; and death of mother, 61
Green, Draymond, 160
Griffin, Chris, 39, 58
Grixby, Courtney, 58
Grixby, Ronnell, 39, 58
Gunn, Brandon, 58
Gustys, Rokas, 135
Guterres, Antonio, 21
Habitat for Humanity, 48
Hackman, Gene, 133, 136–37
Hammer, Leisha, 48, 88, 109, 116–17
Hammer, Scott: as Akoy Agau’s co-guardian, 68, 87, 164; and college recruitment, 68, 108, 115–17; and Eric Behrens, 28–29; as grassroots talent influencer, 94, 128, 138; as mentor, 28–29, 56, 114, 163; as Team Nebraska coach, 26, 54; at Wayne State College, 37
Harlem Globetrotters, 139
Hawbaker, Henry, 136, 140, 142–43
Hayworth, Rita, 150
Heineman, Dave, 141
Henkel, Rick, 30
Hollins, Tra-Deon, 93, 113, 134–36, 139, 159
Hollins-Johnson, Deandre, 94, 137
Hoosiers, 127, 136
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), 124
Hurley, Bobby, 97
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 17
immigrant experience, 119. See also refugee experience
immigrants, 33, 50–53, 119; and gang violence, 53–54; Marantz family as, 168; undocumented, 53. See also refugees
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 50–51
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, 51
immigration history, 50–52
International Migration Initiative, 170
Iroegbu, Ike, 135
Islamic Revolution, 2
James, Lebron, xvii, 47, 58, 76, 79, 97, 106
Janjaweed militia, 13, 19
Jewish Community Center, 118
Jiech, Reath, 63
Jock, Nyaduer, 33
Johnson, Larry, 76
Jolie, Angelina, 19, 125–26
Jones, Josh, 39
Jordan, Michael, 23
Kaká, 76
Karnik, Shaleigh, 77
Kearney NE, 75
Kennedy, Edward M.: and Refugee Act of 1980, 49
Kenya, 5, 147
Khartoum, Sudan, 3, 5, 7–8, 12–13, 73, 148
Kiir, Salva, 146
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 124
Klein, Gerda Weissmann: All but My Life, 119
Kristof, Nicholas, 13
Kuek, Lol (Changkuoth Gatkuoth), 33–35, 147
Kuet, Tor, 17
Kuon, Both, 35–36
Kuon, Duoth, 35–36
Kuon, Miyong, 35–36, 146–47
Kuon, Nyajouk, 35
Kuot, Joseph Madut, 9, 14, 20
LaFlore, Mark, 58
Lallman, Angela, 48
Landstrom, Jay, 39, 63–64, 98, 135–36
language: Arabic, 1, 8, 34, 149; barriers, 69; Dinka, 8, 14, 164; Esperanto, 168–71; Nuer dialect, 152; as power, 71; Spanish, 34, 70; and sport, 171; support for families, 70. See also English as a Second Language
Latin America, 70
League of Nations, 169
Lewis, Reggie, 97
Lin, Jeremy, 76
Lincoln, Abraham, 32
Lincoln Journal Star, 44, 47, 141
Lincoln NE, 52–53, 88, 97, 102, 105, 108, 135, 138
Little Feather, Sacheen, 125
Long Beach Polytechnic, 132
Louisville Courier-Journal, 144
Lubbers, Ruud, 14–15
Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, 10, 21, 163
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, 49, 65
Machar, Riek, 146–47; and visits to Omaha, 147, 157
Maker, Thon, 151
Makier, Adaw, 118, 138; and arrival in America, 9–10; and basketball, 11–12, 14, 55, 135, 138; and church, 4, 11; and citizenship, 48–49, 68; dreams of, 48, 55; and employment, 18, 20, 55; and escape from civil war, 7–9; and marriage, 5, 55, 86, 110; as refugee in Egypt, 7–9; and south Sudan childhood, 2–4
Manby, Bronwen, 171