Alek Wek: One of the Beautiful People
Beyond her artistic outlets, Wek is closely involved with the aforementioned UN refugee agency; she has traveled often to South Sudan with the UNHCR, most recently to the city of Juba this past July to mark the anniversary of South Sudan’s declaration of independence . For Wek, who left Sudan as a refugee in 1991, the opportunity to return as someone with both a platform and the ability to effect change was overwhelming and exciting. “I never felt like it would be this way; to be there again was surreal. It gave me goose bumps. After so much conflict, a place where there were 50 different tribes put against each other, now to see the people celebrating each other’s differences… it’s really beautiful.”