The Land of the Dreams

By Anger Kuchlong

It was early in the morning, when I woke up to cook a delicious breakfast. It smelled like
a fresh lemon. My little sister helped me wash the dishes. I often let her do many things by
herself, but my mom didnt like that. My mom always told me that she shouldnt help with the
house work.
She called me adarot, which means lazy.
I didnt like the term, but I couldnt do anything about it. Since I respected my mom, I had to do
what she told me to do. So I said to her ee yen, which means okay.
There were a majority of Somalian and minorities of other nationalities living with us in
Safe Haven. At Lutheran World Foundation (LWF), women and children lived under the
protection of the UN. There were no men allowed in the compound because the agency only
helps children under the age of 18 years old and their moms.
My mom had a small garden where she grew green vegetables and fruits. Sometimes a
hot sun or chickens would destroy our garden, but my mom kept working hard. What I didnt
like was the rain that came once a year and made it hard for our family to get enough food. Every
morning, we used tap water for cooking, bathing, and watering our garden.
My mom never wanted to go to America. Still, we applied because we wanted to come to
America to have a better life. We had finished our first interview about three months ago. So we
waited for the US agency approval.
I cant wait to see our names on the board, said my twin brother.

Pray my children for the lord will hear your prayers, said my mom.
I pretended like I didnt hear my mom and my brothers conversation, but it made me feel
unhappy hearing my mom talk like that.
The next morning, I went out for a walk. I saw people running, I wondered what was
going on. So, I ran along with them. While I was running, I heard somebody calling my name.
Anger, Anger;

I stopped and waited.

Hey is your moms last name Jada? asked the man.
Yes, I said.
Ok, I just saw your familys names on the board, you are approved to go to the US, he said.
I didnt know what to do. I ran until I reached our house. My mom was wondering why I
was so happy. I told my mom that our names were on the board.
Yin piet xan. she said. This means, you are lying.

While I was sitting in the kitchen, I saw white people holding notebooks. I wondered
what there were doing. I saw many children saying hi to them, so I went there to say hi to them
too.
Hi my name is Jane, I am from Sweden. And you? said the lady.

No, you say, that, what name? I said in bad English. I didnt mind whether she understood me
or not. I just kept talking.
Its okay, give me your number, She said.
No phone. I said to her,
Okay! I will call your matron and she will tell you when we are going to meet again. Thank
you, Anger, nice meeting you, she said as she got up and left.

It had been a couple months since we had been approved by American embassy. My
Swedish friend hadnt called me, so I asked my matron if she could helped me contact her. My
matron the UN sponsor said that she went back to Sweden. Though I didnt know her that much,
it made me feel sad. My hope was that maybe one day she might come back to see me again. I
just hoped and hoped.
Anger, somebody wants to talk to you, my matron said.
Who is it? I asked my matron.
Save the Children Organization wants to talk to you, she said.
I didnt say a word, but I took the phone. It was my manager from Save the Children,
they wanted me to work with them because I could teach women how to sew.
I want you work with us. I see youre talented, and this could help everyone, my manager said,

I didnt let her finish her talking.

Yes, yes I am, I said.

With no doubt, I was happy that I would work and make money for my family. What came into
my mind were questions. My heart beat faster and faster.
What job? What job? I asked.

One of my favorite jobs to do was tailoring. My family was happy that I was working,
and they were happy that we had been approved to go to the US.

It was afternoon, the sun was so hot. My mom was watering our garden and the children
were playing soccer outside the fence. I was washing my family clothes and my sister was
cooking our lunch. The food was smelling like nothing else in the world. My matron was sitting
under the tree, she was holding a book. The book was written by Abdullah Ahmed.
Mama, Mama my twin brother yelled as he ran to her.
Yingo? She said.
Mama well fly to America next week! he exclaimed.

My mom was so glad that we were going to America, she thought that our life would be
better. Although our family didnt buy any clothes for our flight, my mom thought that we could
just go to America with one suitcase. Each of us would also carry a school bag.

On Monday morning, we prepared all of our baggage. We waved goodbye to all our
friends and families. My daughter was only one year old, and I was only seventeen years old. I
was young when I first had my daughter. I had to drop out of school. My mom was not happy
with what I did, but she swallowed her pride and treated me nicely like nothing had happen to
me.

The airplane was about to leave to Nairobi, Kenya. We were going to take a second big
airplane to the U.S. My mom had flown many times on a plane, so she knew what the plane does
in the air. When plane moved, we all screamed loudly. My mom told us to hold our breath.
Its nothing to be afraid of, my mom said.
Wow, its so beautiful, said my young brother.
Yes, it is beautiful, I said.

I could see my mom smiling inside. I felt inside my heart that my mom was happy. I was not
happy to leave all my friends. My heart was flooding with tears like a river. I could not wait for
the airplane to land.

At the airport, everything looked different compared to Nairobi, Kenya. My family and I
couldnt believe how different people were, the way people dressed was so weird to us. We
found our case manager waiting for us at the airport in Fargo, ND.

Our case manager took us to the house. The house looked huge. There were two beds in my
room. She said my daughter had to sleep by herself. I didnt agree with her.
How is it possible for a little baby to sleep by herself? I asked.
Here in America, children have their own beds, my case manager said.

The next morning, there was snow everywhere. I was watching children play in the snow.
It was really cold outside and children were running around like children do under the hot sun in
Africa. I was happy to see my family enjoyed the cold weather of the United States of America.
That made me remember an African proverb, Dream and your dreams shall come true.

My dream was to finish high school and to be able to give my daughter a good education.
I didnt want her to be like me. I started school when I was seven years old, and that made it hard
for me. I was happy to be in America. I was living the dream.

Dinka/English Glossary
Ee yien: Okay

Yien piet xan: You are lying to me

Adarot: Lazy

Yingo: What?

About the Author

Anger Kuchlong, her daughter, and her family came to America from Daddab Refugee Camp
on February 16, 2012. She hopes that one day shell go back and teach women how to sew
clothes. She enjoys playing soccer and she likes to travel. Anger speaks Somalian, Arabic, Dinka
and Swahili. Her favorite language is English. Anger is now in twelfth grade and she will soon
turn 21 years old. She likes sewing clothes and hopes that one day she will go to college for
fashion design.