Kon Kelei: "I should have died

You’ve been elected president of your country. What is your priority?
Do everything that I can so South Sudan becomes just as nice, just as good a place to be as Europe, in particular the Netherlands.

What about Africa makes you smile most?
The social contacts. I’m happy when I’m in Africa. I have less to eat and wear, but I’m always happy. I don’t know why, but that’s the case. When I come to the West, I’ve got everything in my home, but I’m not as happy as in Africa. It’s the value of humanity, the social contacts, my family. Everybody is there for me, and that makes me happy in Africa.

What made you decide to do what you do?
I know there are little boys and girls who died in Sudan. They were thinking they were fighting for the rights of people in Sudan. I did the same at one point, and there are thousands of them risking their lives even today. Kon Kelei isn’t dead.

Let me put it this way: I should have died in my previous life as a child soldier. But I survived. It’s my turn now to do something. People in the Netherlands welcomed me and gave me everything that I needed. They were hoping I’d go back and do something. And I did. I’m proud of what I do now, but how I feel is not so important. It’s the least I could do to contribute to human life.

Being a role model yourself, who’s your personal role model?
Martin Luther King, for many reasons. He wasn’t afraid of death. He was ready to die for others. Many black people in America, in fact many marginalised people around the world, got a voice through him.
Let me add to this Martin Luther King’s own role model: Gandhi. I have watched the movie and read the book. In the beginning, you see him smartly dressed, as a promising young lawyer. And in the end, he wears the clothes we all know him in, simply because that was all he needed in the end. And he was happy with it.

That what I want too. The day that my people in South Sudan give me a specific task, no matter how trivial it may seem, and I can make myself useful, I’m happy.

What is your most precious personal possession?
My mum! I don’t know her that well, because I had to leave my family when I was still very young and only met her again a few years ago. But the whole family around her is something I value a lot.

Thinking about the Netherlands, what’s the biggest cliché you can think of?
In the Netherlands, you come running for an appointment. The person is still there, but you are 10 minutes late. And they just tell you straight in your face ‘I’m sorry, you are late. I need to go now, we’ll need to make another appointment.’ That’s the biggest cliché. They always need to check their agenda.
In Africa, you come running, you explain why you’re late and you just carry on with the appointment. I hope that the Netherlands will become a bit more relaxed, it would be good for the country.
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