When she was 14 years old, Grace Akon saw the war enter her garden. In late 2013, fighting in central South Sudan reached as far as her hometown of Bor, and thousands fled desperately downriver.
From that massive flight, Akon remembers the fear, the columns of smoke from the burning houses and the desperation of those who jumped into the water even without knowing how to swim. “We were sleeping in the forest when the rebels opened fire. We jumped into the river. I saw ten children jump into the water and drown. They would shoot at them, jump and disappear."
After spending months with 9,000 displaced people on the banks of the Nile in Mingkaman, under reed shelters, without electricity or security, Akon seized on a lucky break. Days after explaining his story to this newspaper, a retired doctor from Barcelona read the report and was captivated by the intelligence and desire to learn that the words of that South Sudanese teenager emanated.
That man anonymously offered to pay for the studies of that girl who dreamed of going to university. His promise was enough. With violence in South Sudan shutting down schools, Akon traversed 3,000 kilometers of a country at war alone, sleeping on buses or on the streets and eating crackers and peanuts, slipping across the Kenyan border to find a school. in which to study After finishing basic studies, he was thirsty for knowledge: he went to the University and graduated in Journalism and Business Administration at the same time.
Today, at 23, Akon is one of the most prominent and courageous female voices in her young country, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011. A weekly columnist for the national newspaper The Dawn, she is also the host of the "Real Talk with Grace" program. ”, dedicated to the education of women and the denunciation of sexual violence.
“I consider myself a human rights activist – she explains to this newspaper – and that means not being afraid. From the media I denounce the corruption and inefficiency of politicians and I defend the right to education for women, which ultimately means fighting for democracy”.
The decision to raise Akon's voice in an unstable country –South Sudan ranks last in the Global Peace Index and is the most corrupt country in the world behind only Syria and Somalia- has had high tolls: for a year, Akon receives death threats and appears on a list of "enemies to eliminate" allegedly drawn up by members of the South Sudanese government. Akon doesn't plan to shut up.
“Threats affect me, of course, I know you saw in a dangerous country and where the law is not always respected. In addition, there have been people critical of power who have been assassinated or have disappeared, but what encourages me to continue is fighting for the rights of the people of South Sudan”.
Akon, who has founded her own foundation to help girls who, like her a few years ago, do not have access to education, pays the school or university expenses of eleven South Sudanese girls and hopes to have more than thirty scholarships by the end of the year.
“If girls don't get an education, they don't understand their rights and they can't demand that the government respect them or be held accountable if they don't do their job well.”
Akon, who has worked as a freelance journalist for international media such as the BBC, maintains iron discipline and overwhelming energy: he writes at least one poem a day and organizes himself every day of the year to take courses online, read or learn new things. He has another project on his hands: he has just finished the draft of his first book. “I have written about my life; I think many girls can be helped by my experience”.
Despite her youth, she dreams big: "I would like to one day become the first female president of South Sudan."
