James Achuli

Refugee

James Magok Achuli is a South Sudanese undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, majoring in International Relations 1. He was born and raised in South Sudan, where he experienced the horrors of civil war and living in a refugee camp before education changed his life forever 1. Achuli’s childhood was spent without food in a refugee camp alongside his family, friends, and thousands of other citizens fleeing the war and violence 1. Despite the lack of access to education in the camp, Achuli cherished a small collection of books he kept protected in his waterproof UNICEF backpack. He believed that books were his education and a symbol of hope for him and the future 1.

Achuli’s story is one of resilience and determination. He won a scholarship to a school that neighboured military barracks when he was 12 years old. When a second civil war broke out, the school he attended was eventually targeted and children were forcibly conscripted into the army. Achuli was eventually found alive by the government forces and conscripted into the army, where he was trained to become a child soldier. He quickly became an asset to the unit’s commander, who used Achuli’s expertise in math and geography to help him with terrain 1.

Achuli is also writing a book titled “The Boy Who Carried Books” 1.