The Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng knows the stakes in the Sudan all too well; He was born there, and he and his family ended up fleeing the African nation for their lives. The refugee-turned-NBA star drew on that personal history recently to appeal for help to stop the bloodshed in Sudan’s Darfur region, where civil strife has left more than 200,000 dead. “We all need to put a stop to this and do whatever we can to stop this”, he told a crowd at a downtown Chicago rally. “I just hope more people will get involved. The 22 year old Deng briefly told how he had left for Egypt at 5 years old.
Other speakers called on China, one of Sudan’s closest allies, to use its influence to end the crisis that has also displaced 2.5 million people. Some activists have even called for boycotts of this year’s Olympics, to be held in Beijing, unless China acts.
Fighting in Darfur began in 2003 when rebels from Black African tribes took up arms, after years of oppression by Sudan’s Arab-dominated government. The government has been accused of unleashing Arab tribal militias against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson.
Deng and his family settled in England when he was ten. “As a refugee, life was tough, but I know it was a lot better than what I would have had if we had never left the Sudan,” said Deng. The six foot nine inch tall Deng is a member of the Dinka tribe that produces many of the tallest people in the world. His father, Aldo, served in the Sudanese parliament and became the country’s Minister of Transportation before escaping to Egypt to avoid Sudan’s civil war. While in Egypt, he was taught basketball by former NBA player Manute Bol, who is also a member of the Dinka tribe. In 1993, Deng’s father was granted political asylum in England.
Deng, who played college basketball at Duke, and is also a member of the Great Britain national team, has been active in several programs providing aid to Africa. Luol is one of nine children; His older brother plays professional basketball in England; another brother, Ajou, played college basketball at Fairfield and Connecticut and his sister, Arek, played college basketball at Delaware. He is very active in the Bulls’ charitable efforts; member of the Bulls’ All-Star Reading Team and participated in the team’s Read To Achieve program; awarded the Charles Lubin Award in October of 2006 for his dedication to community service; coordinated the 2nd Annual Luol Deng Thanksgiving Dinner at the Pacific Garden’s Mission Gospel League Home; made a personal donation to the Bulls’ Holiday Food Drive and Spring Food Drive; attended event honoring the Lost Boys of Sudan and Sudanese Heritage Event in January of 2007; serves as spokesperson for the World Food Program and also for the Nothing But Nets initiative, a grassroots effort to prevent malaria by delivering long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets; received the NBA’s Community Assist Award in April of 2007; during the past three off seasons he has organized a summer basketball camp sponsored by Nike in London, England for NBA hopefuls; received the 2006-07 NBA Sportsmanship Award; was a part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders tour to Africa in the summer of 2006 and to Europe and Asia in 2007.
Why is it that we only hear about professional athletes in trouble with the law and all the other negative media hype when many more are doing great things similar to these? It is because this does not sell newspapers, magazines and TV commercial time.
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