Hamish McLachlan: How footy opened up a new world for Hawks star Changkuoth Jiath

Hawthorn star Changkuoth Jiath moved from an Ethiopian refugee camp to Dandenong with two words of English. He tells how footy helped him learn to communicate and why it unites us.

Hawthorne player Changkuoth (CJ) Jiath. Picture: David Caird

Changkuoth Jiath has become one of the AFL’s most-loved players.

Born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, he moved to Dandenong at seven, then Morwell, then to a boarding house in Kew. He wasn’t allowed to play football on Sundays initially, as his father is a pastor. He was drafted to Hawthorn, and debuted in Canberra in the snow. I left our interview thinking what a humble, grateful and insightful young man he is.

HM: CJ, you were born in an Ethiopian refugee camp after your parents fled South Sudan on foot. What do you know about their lives in Sudan?

CJ: What I do know is there was a lot of hardship living in a war-torn country. There were heaps of other families seeking refuge, and the reason for that was because there was no food, there was war, and there were kids and families being displaced every day.

HM: Displaced meaning …

CJ: There were innocent kids being taken from their families, ripped away, out of the arms of their mothers and taken from their homes. There were kids being turned into child soldiers – my family didn’t want that, so they decided to flee from South Sudan to Ethiopia, in search of a better life.

HM: Child soldiers like in Blood Diamond? Eight, nine, 10-year-olds, with guns?

CJ: Correct, absolutely. They are taken out of their safe home and made to go and fight in the military. It’s horrific to think that it can happen, but it’s just how life was in South Sudan. It was very unpleasant for the family.

Jiath was born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia before he moved to Dandenong at age seven. Picture: David Caird

HM: When they fled, did they know where they were going? I’m told they fled on foot and walked for seven or eight days.

CJ: Not really. There were so many other families, thousands of people, trying to seek refuge at the same time, as well. A lot of the time, no one knew where they were going. They would walk in a big convoy, but inevitably they would get separated, some would fall behind, some wouldn’t make it. There were people dying of hunger along the way, there were sick people, but you just had to keep on going. You just had to try to do your best to survive.

HM: Have you spoken to them, and had those conversations about fear, what they saw, and what they experienced?

CJ: No, I haven’t spoken to them in depth about it. I will. All I can do is imagine how hard it was for Mum and Dad, to go days not knowing whether they were going to survive, not knowing where they were going. It was so optimistic of them to keep going, to not give up, to try and find a better way to live. It fuels me, knowing what they did to give themselves, and ultimately us kids, a better life.

HM: Had they not left, and you were born and grew up in South Sudan, what do you reckon life would have looked like for you?

CJ: It’s crazy to think about it, but there’s no way I would be enjoying all I do now. We all take so much for granted here in Australia. There are so many people that have been left behind that we know, friends of Mum and Dad, our cousins. We get a phone call every year telling us that someone has passed away.

HM: Cousins and friends?

CJ: Yes, on both Mum and Dad’s side. If we stayed, there’s a chance that one of us as siblings, or Mum and Dad, wouldn’t still be alive. We have access to medicine and hospitals and care here that we just wouldn’t have had access to if we stayed in South Sudan. It’s unbelievable to think about. It is so basic there. And so dangerous.

HM: Your mum and dad walked to Ethiopia, and headed into a refugee camp where you were born. How old were you when you left Ethiopia?

CJ: I was seven years old when we left in 2007. We arrived here and stayed at my aunty’s house in Dandenong. They’d come here before us, accepted as refugees. They showed us around, so it was a very easy transition into Australian life.

Jiath with Hawks teammate Tom Phillips. Picture: Getty Images

HM: How did it come about that your father and your mother could come to Australia?

CJ: Simply because they were accepted as refugees here before anywhere else. I was born there, as were four of my siblings. I’m one of six, a very big family. When people talk about not letting migrants and refugees in, they should probably have a look at the alternatives for those they are not wanting in. It’s pretty horrific how some of the world are forced to live.

HM: And so many refugees and migrants have made so much of a positive impact on our culture and way of life …

CJ: So much. We live in a world full of different cultures and ways of life. Imagine Australia without the infusion of all the great diversity we now have around us.

HM: It would be pretty bland in comparison. When you were on your way over on the plane, in 2007, what English could you speak?

CJ: All I knew was “hi” and “goodbye”. I could speak Nuer, my native language. I still speak it to this day. I picked up all my language through cartoons, like The Simpsons. I was able to pick it up quickly actually.

HM: You learn languages so much more quickly when you are young. I wish I had a second language, I feel so ignorant … your first memory of the trip was a movie on the plane?

CJ: Night At The Museum … I remember it fondly! I hadn’t had much to do with electricity and power, so I was just completely glued to the TV the entire flight. I didn’t understand the words, but I was mesmerised by the TV and these images that were coming out of it. How did it happen?

HM: Had you ever seen a television before?

CJ: I had, just by travelling through the cities. Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia, and we had to travel through there to get to the plane. I remember we stopped in Dubai on our way to Australia, and the flashing lights were very foreign to me. It was very cool. It was the first time I had seen anything like it. Now, we all take it for granted.

HM: Something so lovely about such innocence. When you arrived in Melbourne, you headed to Dandenong?

CJ: Yep, we went there straight away. Our cousins where there. I remember seeing the cars and freeways and buildings and having no idea about it all. It was all just so crazy. You know when you are driving next to a truck, you’re going the same speed, and it seems like everything is still, and you’re not moving … I couldn’t work out what was going on! Funny when you think back at those things. I remember that whole car trip thinking … “Are we standing still? Are we not moving? What’s the go here? Should I be worried?”.

Jiath has become one of the AFL’s most-loved players. Picture: Getty

HM: (laughs) And then you start school, but you knew only a couple of words. But sport became a conduit to relationships and friendships.

CJ: Sport was a big contributor to me making friends and learning to communicate with others. Dad started us off in athletics, and soccer. I came second in the high jump in the state at primary school level, and then we upped and moved to Morwell. I played football for the Morwell Youth Club. They were the juniors to the Morwell Tigers, who were at the same oval. It was weird …

HM: Two different clubs sharing the one oval?

CJ: On Monday it would be the Morwell Youth Club’s turn to train, then on Tuesday it was the Morwell Tigers’ turn. I signed up for the Morwell Tigers initially, but all my mates played for the Morwell Youth Club. I got my days mixed up and came to the wrong training session and ended up playing for the Morwell Tigers!

HM: When you first played for Morwell, had you played any footy before? Or only played soccer in the refugee camp, and grown up playing soccer?

CJ: It was only soccer for us growing up. We used to play on the dirt fields in the refugee camp. We would cover a balloon in cloth, just to weigh it down a little bit to kick around, so it wouldn’t pop. When we arrived here, we would drive past a lot of football ovals, soccer ovals, and be amazed by the grass and how perfect it looked. It was so foreign …

HM: Does it still appeal to you when you walk out on to the MCG, or the Adelaide Oval?

CJ: I still think back to the refugee camps when I see the grounds we play on each week. Every time. The MCG is my favourite ground to play on. I get so much joy out of just being on the ground, seeing how amazing it looks, even before we play. I am grateful and appreciate all we have. It is never lost on me.

HM: You picked up footy for the first time in the under 12s. Did you pick it up quickly?

CJ: It was pretty different to all I had known. With the soccer ball, it’s all one motion, but with a football, it’s about the hand placement on the ball, and then you’ve got to place it on your foot through the perfect drop. There are so many components to worry about. In soccer, you pick a spot, and just kick. I would just grab the ball, run as far as I could and boot the ball to begin with.

HM: I’m trying to teach my six-year-old about the ball drop. Your father is a pastor. How did the conflict of Sunday football and church go?

CJ: It was no good. We played a lot of Saturday games in juniors, but we’d have three Sunday games a year. We had church in the morning, and if the game was scheduled when church was on, I wouldn’t play. Church before footy.

When Jiath started school he only knew a few English words, but footy was the conduit to making friends. Picture: Getty Images

HM: Always?

CJ: Early days, it was all about going to church, but after I started playing some good footy, especially in under-16s, he gave me the licence to play on the Sundays! Thanks Dad!

HM: What about the move from Morwell to the big smoke when you came to Melbourne and went to boarding school?

CJ: It was very daunting. I remember moving to Kew was such a change in scenery – the people there, the cars, buildings. My skin colour wasn’t something the locals had seen too much of either, so I’d get a lot of looks.

HM: You were on a scholarship at Xavier?

CJ: I was. Part of the reason I made the move was I knew I could because I’d done it before. From Ethiopia to Australia. From Dandenong to Morwell. Why not Morwell to Kew? I thought I’d go and give myself an opportunity and open up the world. I learnt a lot of new things, I made new friends, it wasn’t something that was foreign to me. Saying that, I had a big family, and leaving them wasn’t easy. I suffered a lot of homesickness, I missed my family, but Xavier made me feel like a part of their family as well. I had a lot of mates invite me to dinners, to hang out on the weekends, so it was a good balance to have the country and city life.

HM: What was the most daunting aspect of boarding school and the city? You’ve mentioned skin colour. Was it an environment where you were racially vilified? Any different from Morwell? The same?

CJ: It’s a big Sudanese community in Morwell, so it was a lot different. Inside the school it was fine, everything was all good, but when I stepped outside the boundaries of the school, I’d get the odd look that I wouldn’t normally get. It was never verbal, but I’d get looks, and people didn’t feel as welcoming.

HM: Do you think they felt intimidated or uneasy in some way?

CJ: I did. The media gave a portrayal of the South Sudanese community as violent. Do you remember the whole Apex gang scenario?

HM: I remember it well. I remember contemplating whether it was a media beat-up and they had been targeted, or it was real, but always had a leaning to the former.

CJ: Turns out it was the former. That was the year I went to Xavier. The media was saying how dangerous black Sudanese people were. Grouping all of us together. I’m sure some are, as some white Australians are, Italians, Greeks, Chinese, Thai, American … every race has issues, but don’t group us all and stereotype us.

HM: The AFL’s African community is a tight-knit bunch. Is it true there’s a WhatsApp group you’re all in?

CJ: There is. We chat on it all time, we are close. We plan on having dinners with each other when one person’s playing in the other’s state.

HM: When Peter Bol won the semi in the 800m in Tokyo, we showed your tweet on our Seven coverage. It’s not just the AFL African Community that’s tight, it’s the African community full stop.

CJ: You’re right. It’s just how close we are with one another – it’s very special.

HM: When you got to Xavier, you were coached by Luke Ball, and played with Laitham Vandermeer (now with the Western Bulldogs).

CJ: That’s right. I played with Laith, and Baz (Bailey Smith, also Western Bulldogs) was in the year below me. We had a nice group, we went seven and three. It was such a great experience. I loved having students come to watch the game, and then we’d talk about the game in class on the Monday. I miss all that.

HM: It’s amazing how sport can be the glue so often. If you’re feeling ostracised, in a minority group, or not connecting, suddenly, if you can perform in sport and fit in to a team, everything is easier.

CJ: Correct. Nelson Mandela is a great idol that I look up to. I knew of him through my father because Dad loves his story. He was racially abused growing up, he stood up for what was right, and he was put in jail. He didn’t look to seek revenge, he wanted to bring people together. That’s how I see sport. We cheer together, we laugh, and cry together.

Jiath is in a WhatsApp group chat with other AFL players in the African community.

HM: When did you realise you might have the ability to play at AFL level?

CJ: It was under-16s when I decided I wanted to put my head down and work really hard. I was from a country town where no one really had an aspiration to play AFL footy. It was just about local footy. A lot of my mates loved hanging out, having a few drinks now and then, but for me, if I wanted to play footy, I had to knuckle down and focus. I knew I could make it.

HM: As far as I can gather, there has only been one AFL game played in the snow. A big journey from being born in Ethiopia, in a refugee camp, to an AFL debut in the snow

CJ: (laughs) I still remember it to this day. I had all my mates travel up, and being able to debut was surreal, and to play in the snow was unbelievable. I don’t usually drink tea before a game, but I remember I smacked down about five teas pre-game just to keep warm.

HM: The difference between coaches – Sammy and Clarko?

CJ: Everyone’s got their differences. I’m so grateful to have played under Clarko, the greatest coach of all time. I will forever cherish that. We had a great connection. Sam and I have a nice connection as well. I’ve love playing under them both.

HM: Favourite moment football has given you?

CJ: So many. It has given me a life. And confidence. And a way forward. But to pick a moment … my debut. I had my family and friends in the room, it was snowing, and we secured the win on the road. And I think it was an exclamation mark, in a way, of the journey so far. It was just a reflection of how hard I’d worked, and how much we’d been through as a family. I still get butterflies thinking about it.

HM: Your parents must be unbelievably proud.

CJ: They are. They always tell me. I like hearing it.

HM: Last question comes from a six-year-old who lives under my roof. My youngest, somehow through a neighbour’s influence, is a Hawthorn supporter. You’re his favourite player. “Can you ask CJ how he’s so fast?”

CJ: (laughs) What’s his name?

HM: Lex.

CJ: (laughs) Tell Lex to eat his vegetables, listen to his parents, and work hard in school, and he’ll get faster!

HM: You’re a ripper, CJ. Thank you.

CJ: Thanks, Hamish. I really appreciate it.