A relative in Australia heard of their plight and was able to sponsor the family s migration to Australia with the help of a humanitarian organisation in Sydney. Now in the suburbs, Wiik and Ayak are parishioners at St John of God Church, Auburn. Their modest home is a warm, inviting place, so full of the smells of delicious food and the laughter of curious children that it s hard to reconcile it with Wiik s tale and his scars. He is anxious to get the message out about the violation of human rights in his home country. When I came here I heard sometimes on radio or television about something called human rights, but in Sudan there s no human rights, he says.
Slavery is practised widely.
Christians are being persecuted. If the Australian Government did not help to bring us here we would have died. We appreciate that, but want it to extend its help to those still in need. Wiik says the best way to help the Sudanese who are displaced internally in their own land and externally in places like Egypt and Kenya is to establish peace in Sudan. He would like to see the Australian Government join those who are looking to solve the Sudan problem.