New Mainers Speak 05/11/2014

Host Kate Manahan interviews John Abore, who was born in what is now South Sudan, and who has lived in Portland since 2004. They discuss South Sudan; its history with colonialism; its independence from Sudan in 2011; the religious and cultural differences between the Muslim north and the Christian south; as well as his own childhood and education there. He is a member of the Acholi minority group. His family left South Sudan when he was a child because of the war there; he was raised in a Ugandan refugee camp and finished high school there before moving to the United States with his relatives. He finished his bachelor’s degree in the US, and at the time of this interview was studying for a Masters in Public Health, with hopes of continuing on in a Public Health PhD program, and returning to South Sudan to help build better public health infrastructure. He describes a trip he took to Juba, South Sudan, and what the hospitals look like there. He also discusses his work as a translator and cultural broker for Portland’s Acholi community through the Multilingual & Multicultural Center in the Portland Public Schools. He helps the families to navigate the American school system. Note of clarification: John intended to say Sudan was run by Egyptian Administration under British rule, not Ethiopian rule.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/wmpg_newmainers/1011/thumbnail.jp