South Sudanese-born cricketer Akon Mawien has been through a lot in his life. His incredible resilience has helped him get through many challenges, including a stint in jail, and forge a new life for himself in Australia as he tells Max Hatzoglou.
Born in a small village in Tonj, South Sudan, Akon Mawien was just two years old when he suffered a life threatening injury after a table collapsed on him, splitting his head open.
Mawien had to flee his home to receive medical treatment, 1130 km away in Kenya.
At the time, no one in his immediate family would have thought they would not see him for another 16 years.
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Luckily, with the right medical help, Mawien recovered from the accident. With Mawien in Kenya were his uncle, aunt and cousins who lived in the refugee camp and looked after him while the rest of his family were back in the village in South Sudan working on the farm.
After Mawien fully recovered, his parents agreed to let him stay in the refugee camp in Kenya with his cousins as the potential opportunities, including resettlement in Australia, were too good to turn down.
In 2002, after two and a half years in the camp, the extended family was granted asylum by Australia.
It would be 16 years before Mawien was reunited with his immediate family, when he and his cousin, Ringo, travelled back to the family village in South Sudan.
For the first time Mawien was able to hear about the accident which injured his head from his parents.
“I was able to go back, meet my mum, meet my dad and they told me the story of exactly what happened,” Mawien said.
Mawien was also able to see remains of his skull that his mum had kept.
“It is pretty weird to see pieces of my own skull,” Mawien admitted.
“It goes to show that it was a pretty serious incident for it to break chunks out of my skull.”
Mawien took it as a lucky charm however as it brought about a life changing opportunity for him through his move to Kenya and, ultimately, Australia.
“I was able to survive it and I was able to come to Australia just because of an incident like that and it has come out better on the other side.”
Since moving to Australia, Mawien has lived the majority of his life in Brimbank.
Unfortunately living in Australia meant contact with his parents would be limited as communication with his family’s village is almost non-existent.
The only way Mawien has been able to keep in touch with his family is through his older sister, Akuach, who lives in Juba, 544 km south-west of the family’s home village.
Living away from his parents with his aunt and five cousins in Australia, Mawien said he commonly thought about his mum and dad and what life would be like having them around.
“I wish I grew up with my own mum and my dad, and had that privilege,” he said.
“Those sorts of questions always come to my mind.”
Mawien, like many refugees in Australia, appreciated and benefitted from the support he was given since arriving in the country.
“The best thing about making friends in Australia was they could be there for you as a support and I had that,” he said.
Determined to embrace Australian life, Mawien joined his local cricket club, Sunshine Heights, which started his incredible cricketing journey that now sees him playing and living in Adelaide.
“I had those experiences that I wouldn’t have gotten if I went to a community that didn’t embrace me,” he said.
Mawien along with other primary school friends, including South Sudanese kids, were able to join Sunshine Heights thanks to the help of teacher Matthew Shawcross, who invited the kids to his club for a bat and bowl.
This led to amazing experiences for Mawien and his friends, including cricket trips overseas to Greece and Sri Lanka. The club also offered a strong network of support.
With a talent for fast bowling, Mawien quickly progressed through the ranks, winning the Brimbank Athlete of the Year award in 2014.
Mawien then represented the western region as a fast bowler and was close to making the under 17 Victorian state team before injuries hindered him from playing.
Mawien suffered multiple injuries that kept him out of the game for long periods.
“It was a very stressful period for me being away from a sport you enjoy,” he said.
“You’re not able to play because it hurts when you’re playing so it is hard to accept sometimes that you have to take time away from the game to rest up.
“At a young age like that, it’s hard to keep yourself away from sport, you always just want to be in the action so it was a hard period.“
A series of injuries meant Mawien could not play cricket or work in his construction job, leaving him unemployed, short on money and lacking the support network that comes with belonging to a sporting club.
Suddenly, Mawien found himself mixing with the wrong crowd, which led to criminal activity involving two robberies in 2016.
Determined to get back on the right track, Mawien learnt from his mistakes and has bounced back, becoming a stronger person despite the adversity through his love of cricket.
“Reflecting on it, I just see a young kid that thought he knew what he was doing, that didn’t reach out to his friends and coaches and just let them know that he needs some help,” Mawien said.
“At that stage you think you know everything, you think you’ve got it sorted out.“
His biggest lesson was to seek help from others and to speak up in difficult times.
“Lean on your coaches, lean on your family, it’s better off to get it off your chest because things build up.”
Mawien avoided a jail sentence in 2019 as the judge deemed his actions to be out of character.
He faced a month in custody after the incident and a challenging year of strict bail conditions, signing in with police three times a week and having a 7pm curfew.
“It was really difficult but I knew I had to accept the consequences of my actions which is something that you don’t really think about when you’re that young but I knew I had to accept it.
“I knew it was my fault and got myself into that position so for those two years, it was really hard.”
Mawien remembers a key moment that sparked a change.
“I remember being in my cell and I just told myself ‘this is not a place that I want to be in, I’ve got people that have sacrificed too much for me to just throw away my life like this’ so I made a promise to myself that when I got out, I was going to do the right things.”
A trip back home to the village in South Sudan to meet his mum and dad after 16 years was a step forward to getting back on the right path.
Helping Mawien’s recovery was also his comeback to Sunshine Heights Cricket Club where he was able to reconnect with the game he loved.
In his first season back, Mawien’s talents shone through as he snared 25 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls.
Towards the end of the season, a former Heights teammate invited him to a session with Victorian Premier Cricket club Melbourne University.
“The uni boys were really good. The coach at the time, Antony Keely, was really welcoming and they got around me and it was easy to make a decision to play there the following season,” Mawien said.
Bowling right arm fast, Mawien made the move and debuted in the first XI in his maiden game for the club. Mawien scored the winning runs for Uni and was stoked to play after overcoming so many hurdles.
“It was an unreal experience to be honest,” he said.
“It was nerve racking. I was really nervous, but it reassured me and told me, ‘look at the end of the day you can really give this a good crack’.
“Two years ago, from not even playing cricket to debuting in the ones, it gave me hope that things were still in reach and if I keep working hard, who knows where things could end up.”
Mawien has since moved to Adelaide where he has been invited to train with the South Australian Redbacks team on multiple occasions and representing his premier club, Prospect District Cricket Club.
He has also been mentoring fellow fast bowlers.
Mawien was also grateful for the opportunity to train with the South Australian state team for a few weeks.
“That was a great experience, having coaches like Jason Gillespie and Luke Butterworth give you feedback and tips is awesome,” he said.
“And even the batsmen themselves. It is always encouraging to be able to talk to guys at the next level and know that you’re not too far away from them.
“It was a really enjoyable experience.”
Reflecting on his journey, Mawien is proud of the resilience he has shown.
“I feel like I’m a really resilient person and made the most of the second chance that I was given.”
Mawien’s dream is to begin a professional cricket career in the next few years.
“Hopefully you can see me running around on the cricket field professionally in the next few years whether that’s big bash, shield cricket or overseas.
“I will keep working on my construction career in the meantime but for now, I’m trying to give cricket a good crack and see how far I can take it.”
