Luol Deng is one of basketball’s biggest talents. He plays for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, is an ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics and represents Great Britain in European competitions. Despite having lived in America for a number of years he says that: "London will always be my home. It's the city I grew up in". However, he has never forgotten his past as a refugee escaping war-torn Sudan.
Luol is a member of the Dinka tribe and his father was a member of the Sudanese parliament. His family was forced to escape the brutal civil war among Sudanese factions when he was a child. They then moved to Egypt, where Luol was taught to play basketball by a fellow Dinka and now fellow NBA player, Manute Bol. In 1993 Britain granted Luol’s family asylum and they settled in South London. In 2006 Luol was awarded British citizenship at a naturalization ceremony in his old home town of Croydon.
Luol’s basketball talent developed in London where he played for the Brixton Tomcats. Luol gained a reputation as an extremely dedicated athlete, practising both before and after school and even jogging from Croydon to the Brixton court wearing a weight belt.
At fourteen, Luol Deng moved to America and played basketball at New Jersey’s Blair Academy where his skills attracted much admiration. He then moved on to Duke University’s team, but in 2004 he left Duke at the age of 19 after just one season to play NBA basketball fulltime. Luol is a highly liked and respected player. In 2007 his fellow players awarded him the ‘2006-07 NBA Sportsmanship Award’ which honours those who have demonstrated great sportsmanship, fairness and integrity.
Luol, never forgetting his past or the opportunities that were available to him, works with UNHCR to improve the lives of refugee children through the ninemillion.org initiative to aid children who are uprooted from their homes, amongst the world’s most vulnerable people. He says he recognises his own situation in theirs, as refugee children have been "forced to flee their homes because of war, hatred and persecution… their situation is critical. I was one of them, and know what it is like".
He now uses his considerable fame to raise support and awareness for refugees and ninemillion.org, an internet-based campaign by UNHCR and its corporate partners to improve the lives of children in refugee camps through education and sport.
Luol draws strength from his refugee past. He says: "My life journey is really unbelievable. I'm really living this dream, just going through it. It is about believing in yourself. It is hard, but you've got to believe in yourself."
For further information on ninemillion.org, please visit
www.ninemillion.org
January 2008. By Sarah Bryans, UNHCR London
 |
| Luol Deng is an active supporter of UNHCR's ninemillion.org campaign. Copyright: UNHCR |
