ARIZONA: Sudanese congregation still fearful of being targeted

'A wound in the church' remains a year after police confrontation

As Arizona's controversial immigration law, which aims to target and deport undocumented persons, is scheduled to go into effect July 29, average Sunday attendance is still down by about half and parishioners remain fearful of being targeted, Arok told ENS July 14.

The incident began last July when two Sudanese immigrants were confronted by police while sitting in a car in front of the church, located at Seventh Avenue and Buckeye Road in southeast Phoenix, he said.

Aluk Bak Deng, 38, of Tucson and Angok Atem, 28, a St. Paul's member, "were coming to attend a celebration at the church" concerning the resolution of a court case in their homeland, Arok said.

"When I got there, the police were dragging the young man out of the car and had him down on the ground. He had blood on his face," Arok recalled.

The officers refused to tell Arok or other parishioners why they handcuffed and arrested Atem and Deng, except to say, "In this area we are not sure who is our friend. This is a drug dealer area."

Deng, president of the Arizona chapter of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, was scheduled as a guest speaker at the service.

 "We heard conflicting stories. We never saw a police report," said Arok, who believes racial profiling sparked the incident. The men were wearing ties and seated in front of the church, not engaging in any illegal drug activity, he added.
 
The Phoenix City Council approved a $150,000 settlement at its July 7 meeting to avoid a lawsuit stemming from the incident, according to Alejandro Montiel,  public information officer, who added that $75,000 was awarded to each of the individuals involved.

He said that the council decided to settle because "as with any lawsuit, there is always a potential for risk. The City Council assessed the case and decided this was the appropriate action."

An internal police department investigation cleared officers Jason Hammernick and Corey Shibata of wrongdoing but city officials approved the settlement to avoid the expense of defending the officers in court, according to a July 13 Arizona Republic report.

"The notice of claim from the incident outlined how the officers 'conspired to falsify' details of the case to justify their probable cause for booking the men on suspicion of arrest and to 'avoid being held accountable for their wrongful conduct," according to the report.

The officers reportedly told supervisors they approached Deng and Atem after a check of their rental car license plate indicated the vehicle was involved in an earlier drug case. The two men refused to cooperate, and the situation escalated to a physical confrontation, officers said.

Before the incident, Sunday attendance averaged 130 to 140, Arok said. Afterwards, it dropped and remains at about 60 to 70.

"When you know the police are making arrests, people are made to be afraid," he said. "Most of the community was scared because a lot of police came here. It becomes a wound to the church."

Arok said another parishioner was stopped just three weeks ago and questioned by police. "They wanted to know where he came from. He said he was coming from the church. Then they asked where he was born. They could have just asked for his driver's license," Arok said.

St. Paul's Church was established as a mission congregation in 2008 after a group of Sudanese "Lost Boys" arrived in Phoenix in 2001. It is the only "free-standing Sudanese mission in the Episcopal Church." They first began worshipping as part of All Saints Church in Phoenix, eventually holding Dinka language services. According to the church website, the congregation grew rapidly, from about 70 initially to about 230 members, many of whom had belonged to the Episcopal Church of Sudan.

More than 27,000 ethnically Dinka "Lost Boys" were displaced and/or orphaned from 1983 to 2005, after government troops attacked villages in southern Sudan during the country's civil war. About 2 million people were killed. Younger boys who survived by hiding in the jungles became known as the Lost Boys. They endured starvation, thirst and death while walking to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. In 2001, about 3,800 Lost Boys arrived in the United States.

"We came here through the United Nations, so everybody has a document. But the harassment affects us," Arok said in a reference to the state's immigration law, believed to target Hispanics and Latinos. "If you are looking for darker skins, it means Black people will be affected, too."

SB 1070, the state's immigration law, which aims to target and deport undocumented persons, is set to go into effect July 29.

In the meantime, Arok said he has counseled the remaining flock to "follow the good way, to relax and answer the questions that have been given to you. Try to answer in a calm way."

-- The Rev. Pat McCaughan is a national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service. She is based in Los Angeles.