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Biography

Growing up in Chad, Ésaïe Toïngar bounced between serving in the military to stay alive and going to school to have a better life. At one time he traveled with town refugees back to his village losing track of his sister-in-law and her two small children whom he sought to protect. As a teenager he unwilling fought in the Civil War eventually escaping to Nigeria. He was then sent to the United States as a refuge. A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, he is an author, singer, and an electrical information engineer. He is the founder of Journey to Forgiveness and Peace an organization which aids refugees from Africa who have relocated to central and eastern Iowa.

Transcript

Shawndell Young: Good afternoon. Today is July 16, 2009 and today I will be interviewing Mr. Ésaïe Toïngar. Okey dokey, are you ready to get this interview started?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Yes, I am.

Shawndell: Where were you born?

Ésaïe Toïngar: I am born in Chad in the village the name of d’Kadot in the region of Doba, Logone Oriental [editor’s note: capital of Logone Oriental region].

Shawndell: Can you tell us where that is, like?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Do you mean the weather?

Shawndell: Yeah.

Ésaïe Toïngar: The weather it is hot. Like right now it is about 90.

Shawndell: Hot. How long have you lived in Iowa?

Ésaïe Toïngar: I have been in Iowa, since June of 1999.

Shawndell: Hmm, long time. What brought you to Iowa?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Well, that is a long story. I run away from my native country, Chad, to be in Nigeria as refugees. And I lived there for four years before United Nation _____ brought me here as a refugee.

Shawndell: I that know you were a warrior in Chad. Like what war was that? Which war did you fight in?

Ésaïe Toïngar: We have civil war. There are many things behind that civil war. There’s problem of oil. There’s religion problem. And also there’s political problem. So all this are tied together.

Shawndell: So you have a book out. Where was that made?

Ésaïe Toïngar: The book was written in Cedar Falls and then I sent it to North Carolina. The publisher is M. C. Farland [McFarland].

Shawndell: What was the name of the book?

Ésaïe Toïngar: The book is titled “A Teenager in the Chad Civil War”.

Shawndell: Also what was the name of the documentary?

Ésaïe Toïngar: It is called “An African Refugee in USA”.

Shawndell: Where was that made?

Ésaïe Toïngar: It is made in Marion. And the producer is Terry Hart.

Shawndell: So also you have a DVD, right?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Yes sir. I have a DVD. It’s seven songs.

Shawndell: What was the name of that?

Ésaïe Toïngar: The name is “Kato Ji Goo To” Which mean “We do not Have a Place to Live”.

Shawndell: I heard that it was made at UNI?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Yes, sir. It was made at University of Northern Iowa in 2004.

Shawndell: What brought you to want to be in the army in the war?

Ésaïe Toïngar: It was not my choice. Probably I don’t know how old are you, but I carried a gun when I was about 13 years and 8 months. It was not because I wanted to carry a gun. It was just because…..I escaped from death three times. And the last time it was the worse, because I was surrounded. But by the Grace of God I escaped. And if you read my book, “A Teenager in the Chad Civil War”, you learn more how I escaped from the death.
After that I run from bush to bush to join another area where it was safe. And it was there that they train me to protect myself. One year later there was a reconciliation. It came out, but for some reason the war started again. And at that time, they use me in the army. It was from there that I escape one more time from the army to have civil life. To get more details you might need to read my book
titled, “A Teenager in the Chad Civil War.”

Shawndell: Were you advised or pressed to be in the army?

Ésaïe Toïngar: On one side, I will say I was pressed to run away from my native village to be in the bush. And the way I was there was a group of rebels. So the area that they controlled it was safe for me. So when I reached that area, they advised me to get training so in case something happened, I could defend myself. I hope you understand what I mean by advising.

Shawndell: So what side were you on?

Ésaïe Toïngar: I did not have a side. But at that time, I was with people that tried to defend our tribes, our families.

Shawndell: So how has these wars and things like you’ve actually making it through, like you said that you were surrounded and you could have been dead by the Grace of God, that you made it out, like how would you say this has affected you in the way you live your life?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Before it was tough. And I could even say that I would not allow you to ask me more questions about what I went through. But, with time I believe it is more important to share my stories with people so people can make difference between a good and bad things. People can, through my stories, probably the young generation will learn what is bad and what is good. Through that way, probably they are going to make the right choice then to allow people sit there and put them on the wrong way.

Shawndell: What would you say has been one of your biggest accomplishments?

Ésaïe Toïngar: Well my big accomplishment, I will say, that I was blessed to be here. And today, I am ever accomplished many things. First I realized a DVD with seven songs that describe what happened, what is happening in Africa right now. So on my seven songs when I am singing, you will see tapes of the war going on. You will see some bodies on the ground. So this at least let the world know that there is something wrong going on in Africa. The second thing, I was able to publish a book which explain all my stories when I was a teenager. And the third, I am so glad that today, I am able to realize a documentary which not only is going to help refugees, immigrants, or international incident in the Unites States. But I believe it will also help people back in Africa and end the war.

Shawndell: What would you change, if you could change anything in your life, what would you change about it?

Ésaïe Toïngar: I don’t believe I can change something in my life, but if there is any change that I want to make is going to be advice that I will give to young generation, not to let themselves deceive by political leaders, or religious leaders. That are receiving orders just to kill or destroy other tribes or maybe other people. So when I am talking about political leaders or religions, I am talking about the African leaders.

Shawndell: After all this stuff is done and all of us are dead and all that kind of stuff, what is the kind of stuff that you would like us to know after this interview is all done and everything is all right. What would you want the world to know?

Ésaïe Toïngar: What I would like the world to know. I would tell the world that there is something wrong in Africa. People are dying for no reason. And it is not only to press the leaders, but the war made to dig out why leaders are oppressing their own people.

Shawndell: Thank you for letting me do this interview with you today.

Ésaïe Toïngar: I thank you very much. I wish you good luck on your interview.

Shawndell: Thank you.