Sudanese refugee creating new life at Lee HS

In this week’s I am HISD, which features HISD students, graduates, and employees, Lee High School junior and Darfur survivor Nasma Abdulkhalik opens up about living through Sudan’s civil war, experiencing Houston’s diversity,  and how attending an HISD school has given her a new life two years after arriving in Houston. 

You were only seven years old when war broke out between the Sudanese government forces and the non-Arab indigenous population. What was life like for you in Darfur at the time?

My first memory was of the holiday Eid. I remember the girls – 15, 16, 17-year-old girls – put money in their hair and dressed in pretty clothes and eye makeup. There was dancing and food everywhere. When the rain came, we would go outside and dance in it. There was fruit everywhere and as a child my mother and I planted mango trees. My father was a hard worker. He used to work in our farms and drove his truck to the neighboring markets full of fruit and vegetables, and then would bring back groceries. I would spend weekends with my grandfather. Never before did people fight in the street. It was a very happy time.

I was 7 years old when the war started. It was a Friday after school and my parents were not at home. There were government soldiers bombing. There were soldiers on horses with swords. My aunt was home – she had just had a baby the week before and she was still recovering. She told us to leave with only the clothes we were wearing. We rode a donkey and headed towards the mountain. There were gunshots and soldiers raping the women and girls and killing the male babies. If they knew you had a higher education they would kill you. If you were a man, they would kill you. I saw all of this. When we turned to look back, all you could see was fire.

While escaping through the mountains of Darfur with my three brothers, hiding from the government soldiers, we were separated from my parents, and ran into my mother by chance a year later. Government militia had attacked her to rape her, and she had fought back courageously. They stabbed her leg and caused her many back and neck injuries. She survived but she can no longer work.  The Red Cross informed us that my father was in Chad. When the war started, the government accused him of supporting freedom fighters in our region of Darfur. They put him in prison for two months, where they kept him standing on his feet the entire time. He escaped the prison to Chad, but he had severe injuries all over his body, making him permanently disabled and unable to work. We traveled as refugees to Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, France, and then lived in Burkina Faso in apartment buildings with security. From there, the United Nations brought us to Houston.

What was the most surprising thing about Texas?

The people speaking Spanish…from everywhere! When I lived in Sudan, I didn’t even know that there were other people in the world! Now, I have friends from Germany, Honduras, Mexico, Africa, and the U.S.

At Lee High School, you participate in cross country, track, and you are part of the law enforcement club. What do you think Lee offers that students in Sudan would most appreciate?

They would be most excited about the chance to receive an education in a safe place. I never went to school. I never studied. In Darfur, I started first grade and never finished. Here, I found so much stuff that I didn’t know. Even if I thought I knew, I didn’t know everything. Lee showed me everything. Lee showed me what my life would be.

I understand you would like to work in international development and aid. Based on your experiences, what educational programs would be most helpful for teenage girls?

Before they get married, girls need to grow up. They need higher education programs. They need to be smarter than they think they are. They need to feel safe. They need to serve their country. And they need to have fun in their lives.

What advice do you have for other HISD students trying to adjust to life in America?

They need to finish their education. And school is free here! HISD students need to go to college and become whatever they want.

If you know an HISD graduate, student, or employee who should be featured in I am HISD, please email us at info@houstonisd.org.