The Lost Boys Of Sudan
Who Are The Lost Boys Of Sudan?
In 1983 while the world slept, a terrible genocide was happening in Sudan. All across southern Sudan, 30,000 young boys were torn apart from their families and homes. The second Sudanese Civil War sent boys as young as five years fleeing for safety. Many of their parents would be killed or separated from them. It would be 20 years before some were lucky enough to be reunited.
The Civil War In Sudan
The enemy of the north who killed them to prevent them from becoming soldiers of Sudan’s People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
All over the country, these young boys fled. Some went east to Ethiopia and others traveled south. Some traveled with family members for part of the way. Some traveled in small groups, and some in large groups of a hundred or more. At times they would travel at night to avoid being seen by the enemy who would drop bombs on them. But travel by night had other dangers-wild animals.
Lions were a major threat and many boys lost their lives without any way of protecting themselves from these beasts. They traveled for years without food, water, or medical aid. Many died of exhaustion, starvation, and diseases.
The group that fled to Ethiopia, was able to rest from their flight for four years but lived in extreme conditions without proper shelter, food, water, or aid from the outside.
Then one day these thousands of boys were forced to leave when soldiers entered their camp forcing them to run to the Gilo River to escape. But it was the spring season and the river was a roaring death trap.
Many of the boys could not swim but were forced to jump in or be shot by the soldiers. Many lost their lives because of the crocodiles. In those short moments, about 3,000 boys lost their lives. Those who survived found themselves back in Sudan and running again to escape their enemies.
Eventually, all these boys from Ethiopia and other parts of Sudan made it to a refugee camp in Kenya where their enemies could not harm them.
Thousands would eventually find safety in a camp where the Red Cross and United Nations (UN) provided some help. UN members who interviewed these boys said they were the most traumatized youth they had ever seen.
Though thousands now would call the Kakuma Refugee Camp home for the next ten years, half of the boys who had begun this journey did not survive.
It was while they were in Kenya that relief workers called them the “Lost Boys” after the characters from the children’s story of Peter Pan. The term also was used to refer to children who fled the post-independence violence in South Sudan in 2011–2013.and the media picked up on this; the group is now known collectively as “The Lost Boys of Sudan.”
History of the Lost Boys of Sudan
One of these boys was Jacob Atem. He was six years old when his parents and several of his siblings were killed by northern Sudanese Arab militias waging war on southern Sudan.
The militia entered his village, killed men, kidnapped women and children, and burned homes to the ground. His sister was one of those who was kidnapped. He spent thirty years trying to find her.
Jacob was in a nearby cattle field during the attack. He ran to the forest with his older cousin to escape danger when he saw the smoke rising from the village. That day was the beginning of a thousand-mile journey for Jacob as he searched for protection amidst war.
Jacob eventually made it to Kenya and stayed in the Kakuma refugee camp for ten years. He said it was a place where you waited for your death. Then hope came from the other side of the world in 2001.
The United States relocated about 4,000 of these Lost Boys of Sudan. Jacob was one of the lucky ones. Jacob was fifteen years old and sent to Michigan, where he lived with a foster family and received his high school and college education.
He traveled to the University of Florida to get his Ph. D. in environmental and global health after he received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Michigan. In 2018, at the Center of Humanitarian Health at John Hopkins, as a postdoctoral.
In 2008 with another Lost Boy, he co-founded his non-profit called the Southern Sudan Healthcare Organization (SSHCO). His desire was to give back to his country and help those who were living with many difficult challenges like poor healthcare, famine, tribal violence, and lack of a stable life.
Many of the Lost Boys who were relocated had the same burning desire to help their fellow countrymen who were left behind. One who was in the Kakuma refugee camp with Jacob was Salva Dut Like Jacob, Salva was given the opportunity to move to the United States, where he was embraced by a family in Rochester, New York.
Several years later, Salva learned that his father was still alive in Southern Sudan but was suffering from a disease caused by waterborne parasites. His father’s illness inspired Salva to help both his father and his country by bringing clean water to those in need.
This was the beginning of Water for South Sudan. His story inspired Linda Sue Parks, author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard, to write the NYTimes bestseller A Long Walk to Water. This book has been read by thousands of students who have gone on to raise money to help Salva dig more wells in South Sudan.
The list of Lost Boys who went on to start non-profits to help their country is long and demonstrates that though these boys suffered enormous losses, they turned their tragedy into good. Many worked several jobs so they could go to college to earn college degrees and attain U.S. citizenship. Many have become doctors, professors, and lawyers, and serve in the military.
One Lost Boy of Sudan, Abraham Awolich returned to South Sudan in 2011 when it gained its independence and became the world’s newest country. He was eager to use his education to help rebuild his homeland. He told the New York Times: “I don’t want to see another generation of children go through what I’ve gone through and what other children of my generation went through.”
They are no longer young boys. They have their own families and continue to work to help those family members who are still in South Sudan. Their lives and stories have touched thousands. They are an inspiration and demonstrate that a tragedy can make one even stronger. They are The Lost Boys of Sudan who have found their way to make a profound impact in a world for good.