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Interculturality Interculturality

Cultural Impact in the Life of Refugees Cultural Impact in the Life of Refugees

Agnes, 30 years old. Eritrea. Alek Wek

by Martha Paola Luna García
6th semester Psychology by Paola López Ibarra
English 6th level 2nd Psychology
Teacher: LAN María Andrade Patiño English 6th level
LAN María Andrade Patiño

She was born in 1977. She is a model, clothing designer and activist in support
� is is my story. My name is Agnes… of refugees. � is last occupation is because she was a refugee. She escaped
from her country South Sudan. She had to face that terrible situation because
I left Eritrea four years ago with my husband. He served in the the civil war occurred there when she was only nine years old. Alek and her
army and could not keep us. Sadly, when we left him, he was family got out of there, hiding in the woods, where they had been surviving
imprisoned. Many people went to jail for no reason in Eritrea. looking for food and living in abandoned cabins. Fortunately for her and her
We headed to Sudan. We spent three years from one place to family, they were allowed to get in the United Kingdom. � anks to that, she
another, looking for work and trying to earn enough money to was able to blow up the fashion world and become what she is today. She is
come to Europe. We fi nally saved a little, but it wasn’t enough now a great example for women.
for everyone, so I got out of there with my daughter. My husband
could not come with us. Her entire life changed, from being a refugee to become the world´s fi rst
black model, she has broken the canons of beauty for becoming a worldwide
It was very diffi cult to cross the desert between Sudan and Libya. We did it in seven days, icon in the fashion industry and that is why she has been one of the most
without stopping, crammed in a car, with many people. After crossing the border, we moved recognized models.
from one city to another until we reached Tripoli. We traveled in containers, like animals or
things. It was very dark and very hot inside. Many people fainted and, for this reason, some At present, she has been promoting the refugees’ rights and she hasn’t stopped fi ghting to make
died. Libya is a very dangerous place. � ere are many armed people. Some belonging to the her land a better place. She was appointed the ACNUR Goodwill Ambassador in 2013, after
Islamic State. � ey killed a lot of people in seconds. years of dedication and commitment. She has been an example of tenacity and determination
and this is why her career has grown quite a lot in the fashion world.
When we arrived in Tripoli, we locked ourselves in a house with about 600 or 700 people.
We had no water to wash, food was scarce, and we were forced to sleep on each other. It was With her organization, she has visited refugees, she has also contributed to giving voice to her
very hard for my daughter, she got sick several times. � ere was a lot of violence. � ey hit cause through various projects. As in 2016, she joined the World Refugee Day by recording,
me with their hands, with sticks, with guns. If you moved, they hit you. If you spoke, they together with other high-profi le collaborators, refugees and ACNUR staff , a video message
hit you. We spent two months like that, being beaten every day. � ey asked us to pay to go of solidarity with forcibly displaced people around the world. She also intervened in the
to Europe, so we paid $ 1,700 for myself and my daughter. delivery of the #With� eRefugees petition to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
We were lucky because they placed the women and children on the deck of the ship. � e She has become the face of the H&M Christmas campaign, which raised 3 million for ACNUR
rest of the people stayed down in the dark, and there was a lot of heat. I could hear some of and helped pay for the education of refugee children.
them saying they could not breathe. I knew the trip would be very dangerous and diffi cult,
especially for my daughter. But there was no choice, we could not have survived in Eritrea Alex has honored the organization due to the gala of the American Arab Institute in 2016,
or Sudan. Our government does not allow people to leave. With our documents in Eritrea, we where she off ered the Khalil Gibran Prize to the Deputy High Commissioner, Kelly Clements,
had no choice but to reach Europe. who collected it on behalf of ACNUR, and at the German Sustainability Awards in 2015, in
which she gave an honorary recognition to the then High Commissioner Antonio Guterres.
Getting away from the place where you grew up and leaving behind all your loved ones can be She also helped launch the Sustainable Development Goals at the 2015 Social Good Summit
extremely awful. Common symptoms that migrants suff er are sadness, crying, stress, feelings in New York.
of insecurity and rejection by the native population. � is becomes especially traumatic when
fl eeing the country of origin, whether for political reasons or for natural disasters, involves
a life or death situation.

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