Ger Duany

The most important act of our lives was when 99% of the South Sudanese population united for self-determination.

I know that violence has over taken our spirits since the Juba massacre of December 13 2013. I am very concerned about South Sudan because the political proc...

July 9, 2016 is a day like no other for us, both young and old. The fifth anniversary of South Sudan's independence is with us. 
 
As the late Peter Tosh, the Jamaican reggae musician once said, “Peace is the diploma you get in the cemetery.”
 
Although thousands of li...

This is my final blog post in the series about my life's journey, intended to provide a glimpse into the events that fueled my desire to be a voice for the displaced.. 
 
With over 60 million people living through displacement in conditions that are far from ideal, the...

I am delighted to be in Nairobi, Kenya to be appointed as a High Profile Supporter of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It is a unique opportunity.
 
My journey has come full circle in many ways. I am honored to be recognized as a supporter of the refu...

My mother Nyathak Muon Joak is a refugee. Like many South Sudanese women of her generation, she has experienced three different civil wars. It is impossible to explain the pain of losing loved ones including children, to describe the deprivation of familiar surrounding...

I believe that stories like mine can educate people about the human cost of war, and also help to demystify terms like “refugee” or “internally displaced person”.
 
I became a refugee as a child. I was fortunate to have already known the beauty of my birthplace and lea...

On 4 June this year, I made my first ever visit to Uganda, baptized as the 'Pearl of Africa' by Winston Churchill. Returning to East Africa always brings good and bad memories that I have learned to accept and cherish. 
 
I come from this region of Africa which is...

The opportunity to live in the United States represented a new beginning for me. 
 
Being a refugee was hard. Everything was unfamiliar—the food, mannerisms, infrastructure, geography, culture. I had run away from my environment and everything that I knew to seek refug...

In his own words, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany talks about being forcefully recruited as a child soldier

A young refugee boy from South Sudan totes a replica of a firearm. As children, we molded cows out of mud, imitating our way of life. It is common in refugee...

It is important to me that people understand me for where I came from. From my origins in Greater Akobo, South Sudan near the border with Ethiopia, through my tribulations as a former child soldier and political refugee, to my transformation following my resettlement t...