Herald-Sun article from July about Chol and background ...
Maibor Chol’s family fled Sudan and is now a chance to be draftedSam Landsberger
Herald Sun
July 4, 2015 7:00pmPLAYING tigee with his baby brother in the streets of Egypt, the racism and violence scarring Maibor Chol’s family came to a flashpoint.
A stranger emerged from the shadows and snatched Chol’s brother, leaving the Sudanese family petrified.
Chol remembers sprinting inside and alerting his parents to the kidnapper, who arrived armed with a stick and two metal bars.
Chol, who was just seven, tried to help but was too small and his parents eventually defused the situation.
After the confronting episode the Chols locked themselves inside their house for two days and ultimately the family of eight fled to Brisbane.
When Maibor was two, his family boarded a ship out of war-torn Sudan and headed to Egypt.
He remembers dining out on seafood on the vessel but the destination “wasn’t a positive place to stay”.
“It was really, really scary,” Chol said of the two years in Egypt.
“A lot of negativity and racism to black people. Mum and dad were finding it really tough and it was really hard for my family. To hear what happened to them, I feel really sorry for them.
“But they just put their head up high and worked really hard to try and get our lives back together.”
Chol, 18, has finished representing Queensland in the under-18 national carnival.
After arriving in Brisbane in 2005, he took up Australian rules six years ago and played in a winning school final on the Gabba that year.
He immediately fell in love with the game’s camaraderie and capacity to show off his raw athleticism.
After starting in the ruck, Chol is developing his craft as a midfielder.
“I really enjoy the running, the marking and taking the really big marks,” he said.
“I love taking the big marks, I love it. I took one on Saturday against Tassie which I thought was a really good mark.
“I climbed over one bloke — he was set up perfectly — and I took off.”
The man who drew Chol to the sport’s scaling heights was Sydney champion Adam Goodes.
Chol remembers watching Goodes on television and has since looked up to the indigenous superstar.
“He just caught me with the way he played,” Chol said.
“The way he leads out on the field, I thought it was brilliant so I followed the Swans and Adam Goodes will always be my idol.”
Chol has since signed his younger brother up to Auskick and his dad is a regular in the stands on game day.
He wants his brother to get the hang of the game and, in a dream world, follow him to the AFL.
The success of North Melbourne’s Majak Daw and Swan Aliir Aliir — fellow Sudanese players — showed Chol his vision was no pipedream.
“The first time I heard of Majak Daw it gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.
“It showed me this sport is not only built for Australian kids, but we can have multicultural players coming through.
“It gave me that little bit of motivation to work even harder and get up there with them as well.”
Chol knows he has a lot of improvement left but is committed to working hard at the game he loves.
“Footy means the world to me,” he said.
“My family would be proud of me (if I got drafted) and to help them out with their lives would be great.
“My mum would be in tears, dad would be really proud and even a couple of the family back in Africa would be really proud.
“But life is just really good now. Everything is settled, there’s no racism around here and everyone gets treated in the right way. I love it here.”
Mabior Chol shows off his athleticism for Queensland at the under-18 championships. Picture: Colleen Petch.http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/afl-draft-2015-maibor-chols-family-fled-sudan-and-is-now-a-chance-to-be-drafted/news-story/ea20f41592d433c035650760c38d02ad
