About 20 years ago, a smiling young man came to Riverside Middle School to discuss something that, thankfully, was unimaginable to the crowd of seventh graders at the time.

He spoke about how he had narrowly escaped a violent fate as a 10-year-old boy during South Sudan’s brutal 1987 civil war. He had been one of the roughly 20,000 South Sudanese children that were forced to flee when their villages suddenly became under deadly attack by government forces intent on establishing a strict code of Islamic law; and willing to commit murderous ethnic cleansing to achieve it.

Of those 20,000 children, it was estimated that 7,000 perished in the 1,000-mile journey through the harsh African terrain, which was laden with deadly predators and geological hazards. The survivors ultimately made their way to Ethiopia and then to Kenya, where they were housed in refugee camps for years. In 2001, the United States sought to try and help some of these so-called “Lost Boys” who had grown into adulthood, flying 3,600 of them to America; 170 of which wound up in Boston.

On May 6, one of those 170 (that same smiling man, now named Panther Alier) — almost 40 years removed from that most unthinkable journey from death’s doorstep to being dropped into the middle of what must have felt like a completely foreign world — came back to Riverside Middle School to speak to the students.

It is something he has done 13 times over the past two decades as a way to share his experience and enrich the educational efforts of Social Studies department coordinator Leila McCarthy, who first invited Alier to join the school and share his story in 2004 when she was teaching a unit on the Sudanese Civil War.

“When I was a kid, I thought the world was as big as my eyes could see,” he said. “When we had to run from our villages, it was a question of the danger behind you, and the danger ahead of you. The danger behind us, we knew what it was. Gunshots. The dangers ahead, it was unknown.”

After sharing certain key points from his story, students were allowed to ask questions. They wanted to know what it was like for Alier growing up in Africa, whether he was scared when he learned he would be coming to America, and what it was like adjusting to life in a completely new and foreign place.

He shared how he started crying when he got on the plane, realizing he might never see the people who became his family and the camp that had become his home ever again. He recalled seeing snow for the first time after touching down in New York, before taking the next plane to Boston.

He recalled wondering how people could live in a place where it got so cold that the trees died each year. He humorously recalled being awestruck at the availability of pre-cooked rotisserie chickens available for purchase in a supermarket.

Alier shared with the students how he was able to obtain his GED in 2002, then his undergraduate degree from UMASS Boston, and then his master’s degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis University — all with the goal to use his education and second chance at life to try to give back to his homeland, and one day move back, which he was able to accomplish.

Those efforts culminated in the opening of the Bor College High School in South Sudan in 2013, which sought to provide life-changing opportunities for young people in the nation.

During the discussion at Riverisde, unfortunately, Alier shared news that the school was forced to close after 12 years of operation because civil war had once more broken out in Sudan; a cycle of violence and chaos repeating itself again in his homeland.

As a result, Alier came back to the U.S., where he has citizenship, to find work to be able to support his wife and five children, who he had to leave in the relative safety of Uganda while the situation in Sudan deteriorated.

An honorary Townie
Prior to the speaking portion of the event, Alier was given an East Providence Townies sweatshirt and an award from Superintendent Dr. Sandra Forand.

“For the past 20 years, Panther has shared his powerful story with our 7th grade students—whether in person or via Skype—leaving a lasting impact on each generation. As one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Panther's life is a testament to perseverance, resilience, and hope. While we can never fully understand the hardships he has endured, we share with him a deep belief in the power of education,” the award read. “In 2019, Riverside Middle School launched the ‘Bridge to Hope’ program to support Panther and his colleagues by providing sets of textbooks to help further their mission. Panther has not only given so much to the children of South Sudan, but also to the students and community of East Providence. Today, we honor Panther Alier for his incredible contributions to educating youth in Africa and East Providence, and we thank him for the inspiration he continues to provide.”

McCarthy shared her appreciation for Alier’s continued advocacy and willingness to share his story.

“As an educator, it has been an honor to welcome Panther Alier into my classroom. Though his story has evolved over the years, it remains one of profound resilience,” she said. “Personally, it reminds me how little material things truly matter—and how deeply important family is. There is so much happening in the world that we don’t consider in our daily lives.”

She added that she still gets asked for updates on how Alier is doing from those who once heard him speak at some point in the past.

“Even years later, former students still ask me, ‘How is Panther? How is his family?’ When current students hear his story, they often ask, ‘How can we help?’ That kind of empathy is so important—and it’s exactly the kind of impact Panther continues to make. By courageously sharing his difficult story, he has touched countless lives and made a lasting impact on the East Providence community.”