My name is Amal and I fled the fighting, violence and discrimination in my hometown Khartoum, Sudan in 2005 when I moved to Egypt. I stayed in Egypt for 15 years, where I worked as a housekeeper and nanny doing many different jobs and suffering under very poor working conditions. My life in Egypt was hard and I was discriminated against because I am Sudanese.

I finally moved to the United States when I was resettled in Buffalo, NY in 2017 by Journey’s End Refugee Services. I am so grateful to the Sudanese community and my resettlement agency for welcoming me to Buffalo. When I first arrived, any Sudanese people who heard I am new here came to my house to welcome me and my family and offer us support. All of my new friends showed me around, helping me find the market and where to do laundry. In my community, it does not matter which ethnicity you are, or if you are from the North or the South, because we are all Sudanese.
Insha’allah (God willing) Journey’s End will continue to grow as an agency and help more people like me.

Buffalo is like my country, because it rains often here and is hot during the summer. I learned that if you have a good coat and good boots for the snow, then the winter here is not so bad. The people in Buffalo are cool and interesting, and I am happy to call Buffalo my new home.

Amal
Buffalo, NY

Making Buffalo Home is a two-year, in-depth Buffalo Toronto Public Media engagement initiative to inform and raise awareness of immigration for our entire community. The project aims to help the region develop a better understanding of the shared opportunities and challenges we face together as long-time residents and new immigrants and refugees.

Making Buffalo Home is funded by Rich Products Corporation and Rich Family Foundation.