ALEK-From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel by ALEK WEK

Alek was born the seventh of nine children in a Sudanese family that belonged to the Dinka tribe. She would forever be proud to come from the Dinka. Few years after her birth, the war that ravaged Sudan began. She was named Alek, meaning “Black-spotted cow”. Her family lived in Wau, apart from her sister who lived in London with her architect husband, and some of her brothers who lived in the cities.

There were times when Ajok-Alek’s sister who lived in London would write letters that she wanted to come back home to Sudan, but they would write back telling her that the future of the family depended on her. If they were ever going to be out of the warring Sudan, it would be Ajok who would help them obtain refugee status.

The Dinka people loved cows. Their cows were sacred to them. They would name each cow and talk with them. The Dinka people moved a lot, as herdsmen do, but some of them came to settle down and had villages and communities, but their love for cows still lingered. They literarily married their cows.

Alek’s mother-Akuol meaning gourd. The ‘gourd’ was a helpful tool for the Sudanese. They would serve their meals in it, store things in it, and mend it if it were to crack. It was life-saving. She married Athian Wek. Wek worked at the local board of education. he was stylish, about six feet five inches, and handsome. Alek's parents wanted their children to have a good education and not be burdened by the tribal facial scarring which characterized the tradition. This was why they decided to settle at Wau.

They lived simple lives in Wau. They were neither rich nor poor. Poverty was relative. Her mother had a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which Alek caught early on. Alek’s parents taught her the value of hard work and treated them with love. Alek’s portion was to pick up the cow dung and dump it at the back of the house, where it would be burned. Burnt cow dung keeps mosquitoes and flies away and can be effective in brushing the teeth.

Alek went to a school operated by European Christian Missionaries and was taught in Arabic. Alek had serious psoriasis from childhood. All attempts to get it cured proved abortive, including the treatment some German doctors gave her. But this didn’t stop her from having a good childhood. She was six in 1983 when the second civil war started.

Muslim clerics from the north wanted so much to impose Sharia, but the south wouldn’t have it. Sharia was inhumane since non-Muslims were given fewer rights. And once the soldiers arrived, their lives became disoriented. The relationships they had with neighbors from different tribes and religions fell apart. The Dinka people were not safe also because their physical features and tribal marks gave them away. The Wek’s family continued to live threatened lives.

Not too long from then, rebels formed as opposed to the government military forces. But they wrecked more havoc, they could be angry and kill anyone or inflict harm. The local policemen were also doing their bit to protect the people but were limited in arms. Finally, Wek’s family decided they relocated to their father’s village, it was safer there. They would take the long walk, almost barefoot to their peace. They ended up in their mother’s village.

Sleeping on bare dust, eating worm-infested meats, and lacking the freedom Alek craved were surplus at the village. But it was the way of life and was better than the warring Wau. Their father’s hip problem got worse, and he was on the verge of losing his life if he wasn’t treated. This prompted the family to head back to Wau. From there, it was easier to go to Khartoum to get proper treatment. On their way back, Athieng-Alek’s younger sister got ill and, in an attempt, to inject her, she got infected. Athieng was in pain too and slowed down the trekkers.

They got to Wau finally, but it was never the same. There was still war. Their next plan was to escape with the military planes that left for Khartoum. Alek’s father and Athieng’s situations got debilitating. But luckily, the soldiers allowed them aboard. But they wouldn’t let the rest of the family on. The next time the plane flew, the determined Alek got on it claiming someone else was her father, and got to Khartoum. The rest of the family joined after three months.

In Khartoum, they were cramped in a three-bedroom apartment together with the uncle’s three wives and numerous children. Alek’s father’s condition did not improve and he died. Khartoum was so full of Sharia, there was no freedom. But the family was sustained because Ajok kept sending a hundred pounds or so monthly. Eventually, the family decided to move to London. Alek would go first with Athieng so she could get treated for her skin disease, then the rest of the family would follow. But her psoriasis miraculously healed on getting to London.

In London, Ajok and her husband did more than one job. Alek soon joined by working too. She was sixteen when her mother escaped Sudan along with two of her brothers and sisters. After high school, she got interested in art and got accepted into the London Institute with a scholarship. She continued to take jobs to pay for her art supplies. She hung out with an English girl from school who invited her to the Crystal Palace Park in South London. They were hoping to get some cotton candy or hot dog when a woman scouted her for modeling. It was from one of the top modeling agencies, but she didn’t call them back. Her mother refused. That was in 1995.

Two weeks later, her mother told her that the agency called. They wanted to see her in their offices. She went along with her sister. And a few days later, she was a model, it was sudden. She worked in London, then moved to New York. New York was hard and harsh, but that was where she lived for most of her career. The agent she met in New York,’ Mora’, proved to be more than just an agent. She was a friend and believed in her. Alek soon became notable as she worked for Gucci, Dior, John Galliano, and many others.

Despite her accomplishments, she still faced racial prejudice within and outside the modeling industry. She couldn't escape that. But soon she started selling her story about the happenings in Sudan. The situation was getting worse every day and Alek felt that people needed to hear. Plus, she felt a need to return to her country. Sudan was like a second mother. 

While at Khartoum, she and her mother prayed at her father’s grave.

Photo credit: Hachette.com.au

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