By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Lynnfield Middle School head custodian Martin Ayoal discussed his experience as a refugee from Sudan during a presentation given to seventh-graders in the auditorium on May 13.
As part of the middle school’s social studies curriculum, seventh-graders learn about the geography, history and culture of Africa, including the conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan that led to the two countries separating. Seventh-graders also learn about genocide under a recent state law.
Seventh grade social studies teacher Colin Potter said Ayoal was born in 1967 in Sudan.
“In 1998, he came to the United States,” said Potter. “In the last 16 years, he has been working here for the Department of Public Works. Throughout his life, he has worked as an interpreter in schools and hospitals around the world. He still helps people from Sudan and South Sudan by translating for them in the United States. He has been working here in Lynnfield, so he is one of our own. He is a husband and a father.”
Ayoal grew up in Malakal, which is located in South Sudan.
He recalled that the Second Sudanese War began when he was in high school in 1983. He said the government implemented a nighttime curfew.
“No one could move from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” said Ayoal. “Everyone was scared. My family decided to run away.”
Ayoal said he moved from South Sudan to Khartoum, which is the capital of Sudan. After living in Khartoum for a couple of years, Ayoal relocated to Egypt as a refugee because “the civil war was so intense.”
“I came from Egypt all the way here,” said Ayoal.
While Ayoal moved to the U.S. on Sept. 23, 1998, he said his wife did not move from Sudan to the United States until 2004 due to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Sudan being designated as a state sponsor of terrorism at the time.
Ayoal became a U.S. citizen in 2015.
Potter asked Ayoal about his experience growing up in Sudan, and whether he was around a lot of African wildlife.
Ayoal said he enjoyed playing with his siblings and friends, particularly sports.
“I used to play soccer and sometimes basketball,” said Ayoal.
Ayoal said there were not a lot of animals in the northern part of Sudan due to the Sahara Desert, but he said South Sudan has “a lot of animals.”
“There are a lot of animals like lions, snakes and crocodiles, but you don’t get close to them,” said Ayoal. “There are many, many different wild animals. I saw lions on the other side of the River Nile and you also saw them chasing deer. I never got close to the lions or the crocodiles because it was scary.”
While Ayoal said he and his family depended on the Nile River, he and his family had to travel in order to get water to drink due to the river’s pollution.
“People had to walk miles to go get water,” said Ayoal.
Ayoal said his father was a police officer and his mother also worked.
“They took care of us,” said Ayoal.
Ayoal said he knows how to speak five languages: English, Arabic, Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk. Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk are tribal languages.
“I can speak and interact in five languages,” said Ayoal.
While living in Khartoum, Ayoal said he had to stay indoors at night due to the civil war’s curfew.
“The bathroom was outside,” said Ayoal. “We sometimes had to stay inside until morning came. It was very hard.”
Potter asked Ayoal if he saw any fighting or violence during the Second Sudanese Civil War.
“There was regular shooting,” said Ayoal. “It was very scary.”
Ayoal said he saw a floating boat containing burned bodies along with some scattered bodies floating on the Nile River in Malakal in 1984.
“I was afraid for my life and my safety,” said Ayoal. “I came all the way here for two things: Safety and freedom.”
Ayoal informed the Villager that he never saw his parents again after leaving Sudan.
“My mom with some of my siblings fled to Ethiopia, and my dad as a policeman stayed in Malakal with his two wives and some of my siblings,” said Ayoal. “Since I left Malakal, I never saw my parents again. But after I came to United States, I started talking to my mom in Kenya at the refugees’ camp and my dad in Malakal in South Sudan through phone calls only. My dad passed away in 2003 and my mom passed away in 2017.”
Ayoal told the seventh-graders that he and his friends opened the African Hope Learning Centre for student refugees in Egypt. The school is still teaching refugee students.
“The Egyptian government allowed us to open that school as a community,” said Ayoal. “The kids had to share desks and squeeze themselves on benches. It wasn’t like what you have here. There were 50 kids or more in one classroom, and the classroom size was so small.”
A student asked Ayoal what was the biggest difference between homes in Sudan and the U.S.
Ayoal said the huts in Sudan and South Sudan are made out of bricks and sticks.
Another student asked Ayoal if he would have stayed in Sudan if the civil war never occurred.
“Yeah I would have stayed if there wasn’t any war,” said Ayoal. “It wasn’t my choice to move. I came here for safety. I didn’t have any choice. I am now a U.S. citizen.”
A boy asked Ayoal if he has returned to South Sudan since he left the country.
Ayoal said no. He recalled that South Sudan became an independent country in 2011.
“I want to go back and visit some day,” said Ayoal. “I would like to go back and take some pictures, and see my fellow people there.”
A girl asked Ayoal how old was he when the Second Sudanese Civil War began.
“I believe I was 16,” said Ayoal.
In response to a question from a boy, Ayoal said he had the choice to move to the U.S., Canada or Australia when he was living in Egypt.
“I chose the United States,” said Ayoal.
A girl asked Ayoal if he was scared while the civil war was taking place.
“Yes it was scary,” said Ayoal. “When you were traveling, you would meet some security at every station you reached. They would ask you questions and check us. It was scary.”
Potter asked Ayoal about he and his wife’s family.
“I have five kids: Three daughters and two sons,” said Ayoal. “I have three sisters and nine brothers.”
Potter asked Ayoal how his experience as a Sudanese refugee shaped him as a person.
“I went through a lot of change in my life,” said Ayoal. “A lot of transformation. The fleeting nature of life helped me become a responsible and caring person.”
A student asked Ayoal if he lost any friends or relatives in the civil war.
“Most of my uncles died in the war,” said Ayoal.
A student asked Ayoal what was the hardest part of his journey and how he persevered from it.
Ayoal said he overcame a number of obstacles such as violence from the civil war and food insecurity.
Potter asked Ayoal if he has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his experiences.
“Back then, but not now,” said Ayoal.
A student asked Ayoal what was his reaction when he first arrived in the United States.
“Wow,” said Ayoal. “I went to a Stop & Shop, and it was the biggest store I had ever seen. I had never seen a store like that. There were many things that impressed me.”
After Ayoal concluded his presentation, the seventh-graders and teachers in the LMS auditorium gave him a thunderous round of applause.
“Thank you everyone,” said Ayoal.