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Deng Adut Deng Adut i(10477952 works by) (a.k.a. Deng Thiak Adut)
Born: Established:
c
Sudan,
c
North Africa, Africa,
;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Sudanese former child soldier, who arrived in Australia as a refugee. After a period working in a service station and teaching himself to both speak and read English, he enrolled at Western Sydney University, where he completed a Bachelor of Law. When he published his autobiography, he was working in Western Sydney as a lawyer, with strong connections to the Sudanese refugee community.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Songs of a War Boy Australia : Hachette Australia , 2016 10477976 2016 single work autobiography

'Deng Adut's family were farmers in South Sudan when a brutal civil war altered his life forever. At six years old, his mother was told she had to give him up to fight. At the age most Australian children are starting school , Deng was conscripted into the Sudan People's Liberation Army. He began a harsh, relentless military training that saw this young boy trained to use an AK-47 and sent into battle. He lost the right to be a child. He lost the right to learn.

'The things Deng saw over those years will stay with him forever. He suffered from cholera, malaria and numerous other debilitating illnesses but still he had to fight. A child soldier is expected to kill or be killed and Deng almost died a number of times. He survived being shot in the back. The desperation and loneliness was overwhelming. He thought he was all alone.

'But Deng was rescued from war by his brother John. Hidden in the back of a truck, he was smuggled out of Sudan and into Kenya. Here he lived in refugee camps until he was befriended by an Australian couple. With their help and the support of the UN, Deng Adut came to Australia as a refugee.

'Despite physical injuries and mental trauma he grabbed the chance to make a new life. He worked in a local service station and learnt English watching The Wiggles. He taught himself to read and started studying at TAFE. In 2005 he enrolled in a Bachelor of Law at Western Sydney University. He became the first person in his family to graduate from university.

'This is an inspiring story of a man who has overcome deadly adversity to become a lawyer and committed worker for the disenfranchised, helping refugees in Western Sydney. It is an important reminder of the power of compassion and the benefit to us all when we open our doors and our hearts to fleeing war, persecution and trauma.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2018 shortlisted National Biography Award
2017 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Non-Fiction Book Award
2017 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Australian Biography of the Year
2017 longlisted Indie Awards Nonfiction
2017 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Award for Non-Fiction
Last amended 26 Aug 2019 16:21:53
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