Born in Sudan, Africa, Dr. Victor Zaki spent most of his life struggling to make ends meet and make life better for himself and his family in his homeland. Through his lifelong journey, Dr. Zaki observed how the Sudanese community he grew up in exhibited the values of generosity and hospitality, despite living in dire conditions where they lacked clean water, electricity, and proper shelter.
According to a press release, the Christian author's experiences growing up in Sudan and his experiences of religious persecution are chronicled in his new memoir, "My Life Journey from Darfur, Sudan to Boston, USA."
Dr. Zaki said of his book and his people, "With my book, I wanted to share the beauty of the citizens of Sudan. They proved to be a positive light in the midst of the challenges our country faced."
While he had a love for his country, the Christian author soon learned that it was not safe for him to stay. Before he fled Sudan, he observed how the military persecuted members of the local Christian community. As part of their religious persecution efforts, the local government even controlled broadcast media, forcing people to get their news from only one television station under their regulation.
It was in 1990 when Dr. Zaki and his family moved to the United States to escape religious persecution. Armed with an education that he earned from Egypt, the United Kingdom, and later the U.S., the Christian author started a new life.
Throughout the years and through his travels Dr. Zaki made a commitment to "make each destination better than when he first arrived." He worked as a medical doctor in various cities in Sudan for 20 years, but his experiences there were not without challenges. He said that whenever he would face a challenge or any negative situation, he would pray for God's guidance.
Dr. Zaki's book can be purchased from Barnes & Noble, Xlibris and Amazon,
The story of a Christian author escaping religious persecution to obtain freedom in the United States is not the first to inspire other Christians to do the same.
Earlier this month, a Christian Chinese woman by the name of Lily Tang Williams uploaded a video to Facebook, in which she shared how her life was under communist China.
Williams, who described religious persecution and living in communist China as "like a concentration camp," left the country at 24 to live the "American dream of freedom."
Dr. Zaki and motivational speaker and educator Williams have made it their life mission to encourage others to seek out freedom from religious persecution.
These kind of journeys happen outside the U.S. too. In November last year, Christianity Daily also reported about the journey a North Korean Christian woman had to undertake to escape religious persecution in the communist country led by Kim Jong-un.
Sookyung Kang experienced religious persecution firsthand when her uncle, a Christian missionary, was imprisoned for sharing the gospel. Kang decided to take the risky journey, traveling 3,000 miles to escape religious persecution and "be free to praise and pray to God."
She left North Korea in 2011 with the assistance of the international nonprofit organization Liberty in North Korea, and successfully made it to South Korea, where she found the freedom to worship God without fear.
