Sudanese Refugees

Hayffa Ahmed, sharing lunch with her son Mazine and her husband, Abdel Hamid Mohamed, in Omaha, said janjaweed warriors used “guns, clubs, swords — anything to be able to kill or hurt human beings” when they attacked her family’s village in Darfur on horseback in April 2004.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Sudanese refugee Aida Ahmed, with her children Hassan Elhaj, 2, and Zahara Elhaj, 9 months, at their home in Omaha, checks the Internet for news on Darfur.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Family friend Bakheit Shata holds Nizar Mohamed, 4 months, while visiting Abdel Hamid Mohamed and family in their two-bedroom apartment in Omaha. Shata, also a Sudanese refugee, is founder and executive director of the Darfur Community Organization.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Mohamed heads to work near his home in Omaha, where he lives with his wife and four children. The city is home to about 9,000 Sudanese refugees -- and Berkshire Hathaway’s headquarters.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Sudanese refugees have a social club in Omaha where they can play games, watch television and talk about current events in Sudan.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Thomas Puok, right, has been living in Omaha for the last three years. He works with many fellow Sudanese refugees at a Tyson Foods plant, packaging meat.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Joan Mueller, a theology professor, runs a group that has helped 500 southern Sudanese families find jobs, schools and homes in the Omaha area.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Evelyn Paul, second from right, tries to get the attention of a teacher while having lunch with fellow Sudanese refugees and other students at All Saints Catholic School in Omaha. About 80 Sudanese refugee children attend the school.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

All Saints student Nyawour Paljor, 12, makes her way home after school in Omaha.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)