Alek Wek, whose name means ‘black spotted cow’, is one of the leading supermodels in today’s fashion industry. She has walked the catwalk for high-profile, iconic fashion designers such as Calvin Klein, John Galliano, Donna Karan and appeared in adverts for Moschino and Victoria’s Secret. However, her glamorous lifestyle grew out of decidedly humble beginnings as, born in Wau in Southern Sudan, she was the seventh out of nine children.
As members of the Dinka ethnic group, her family was forced to flee their country in 1991 in order to escape the bloody civil war between rival religious factions within Sudan. Only Alek, her mother and one of her sisters made it to the United Kingdom as refugees. Her father had died in Khartoum and the rest of the family has never since been all together at the same time because of the various restrictions on their visas.
Alek was “discovered” in Crystal Palace, South London, in 1995 by a Models 1 scout. Her debut was to appear in a Tina Turner music video for the song Golden Eye in 1995 and she was subsequently signed to the modelling agency Ford Models later that year. She was named MTV’s “model of the year” in 1997.
Her pronounced Sudanese heritage has been a first in an industry filled with ‘Westernised’ African women. Alek remains ever-modest and perplexed by both her rapid rise to fame and the heated debate that her ‘look’ has triggered: "I can't understand the fuss," Wek was quoted as saying in Newsweek magazine: "In my village there is no problem because we all look the same. Here there is so much difference in skin -- so much is thought about it, and that's sad."
Ever mindful of her roots, Alek was a staunch contributor to a UK charity that supported the work of the United Nations Refugee Agency and in 1998 helped harness support for the launch of Refugee Week in New York. She is also a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees' Advisory Council, and is helping to raise awareness about the situation in the Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide. Her 2007 autobiography, ‘Alek’, traces her journey from a childhood of poverty in the Sudan to an adulthood of superstardom and glamour.
Her arrival in Europe as a refugee, unable to return to a home torn apart by war, has, far from shattering her spirits, imbued her with a desire to raise awareness for others who have suffered a similar plight. Her incredible optimism shines through as she says “you’ve got to make yourself happy. I’m a happy person naturally”.
January 2008. By Claire Pascolini-Campbell, UNHCR London
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| Alek Wek has come a long way from her refugee roots. |
