Posted on July 30, 2008

Sudanese Find Refuge, Jobs in Anchorage

Elizabeth Bluemink, Anchorage Daily News, July 27, 2008

The word is spreading on the grapevine in the Lower 48 that Anchorage is a place where the refugees can find work.

Rebecca Kuon, a mother who fled pregnant from her village in southern Sudan after civil war broke out in the 1980s, arrived in Anchorage last year.

She washes dishes at a local hospital and hopes to start a second job soon.

Tor Gach, one of the first Sudanese refugees to move to Anchorage in 2006, has a college degree from the Lower 48. Now he’s working on the North Slope.

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In just two years, the Sudanese population in Anchorage has blossomed—from a few who arrived in 2006 to a vibrant community now estimated at 600.

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A new nonprofit, the South Sudanese American Community Association, is modeled after similar nonprofits that have been established by Sudanese refugees in the Lower 48.

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