A former child soldier Deng Adut has received one of Australia’s highest civic awards, the 2017 New South Wales Australian of the Year.
He has been recognized for helping to combat discrimination and assisting juvenile offenders. The 33-year-old former refugee is a successful criminal lawyer who helps Sudanese migrants. And he is now a contender for a prestigious national award.
As a young child he was made to fight for Sudan’s People’s Liberation Army. He endured torture, witnessed atrocities and was shot in the back.
Adut was eventually rescued and smuggled to Kenya with the help of the United Nations. He arrived as a refugee in Australia in 1988.
He taught himself to read English as a teenager and lived in his car while studying law at a university in Sydney. He plans to become a barrister, his ambition fueled by an insatiable desire to learn.