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I am Gatluak Ter Thach, the Executive Director of the Sudanese Community & Womens’ Service Center. I left Sudan about 12 years ago due to the ongoing civil war between the Sudanese government and Southern Sudanese rebels which has killed more than 2 million people and displaced many more. I am one of many Sudanese men, women, and children who have left Sudan for the USA and Canada to seek a safe place to live.

I came to America in 1996, and can testify to the challenges and struggles faced by today’s immigrants and refugees. My younger brother and I had walked with our mother and father to Ethiopia to escape the violence that surrounded us. We crossed the border and were placed in a refugee camp where we lived for 8 years. When the people in our camp as well as other camps were permitted to go to the US, my brother and I felt both lucky and frightened. We hated to leave our parents behind, but we did.

When I first arrived in America, I was only 20 years old and my brother was 14. We did not speak English, and had not received better schooling during the time we were in the refugee camps. My brother was placed by age in high school while I was already too old for high school, and thus had to work for G.E.D from 1996 to 1998, and then,I attended Tennessee State University in the fall of 1999 and graduated in May 2003 with a B.S in Computer Science, and again attended Cumberland University in fall of 2005 for a Master of Science in Public Service Management and graduated in May 2007 with MSP degree. My research interest was Social Adjustments & Leadership Development.

I am a social person! I like to learn new things, mainly from friends. I am a friendly person, so I make friends easily. I enjoy sharing opinions with anyone. I feel that disagreements are an interesting way to learn more about people. I like jokes! Joking is a sedulous system for me to reach friends. I feel grateful for the opportunities available to me here and want to help others in my community and in this region.

If you would like to learn more about the problems in Sudan or about the Sudanese people in North America, I suggest that you check these sites at the left. I want also to learn from you and welcome your comments and suggestions. Your kindness to share opinions with me will benefit two of us.

Thanks!

Gatluak T. Thach
(615) 315-9681 Voice
(615) 315-9682 Fax
[email protected]