The Lost Boys of Sudan refers to a group of over 20,000 boys of the
Nuer Nuer may refer to:
* Nuer people
* Nuer language
The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gamb ...
and
Dinka
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out ...
ethnic groups who were
displaced or
orphan
An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died.
In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
ed during the
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...
(1987–2005). Two million were killed and others were severely affected by the conflict.
[Lost Boys of Sudan]
official IRC website. The term was used by
healthcare workers
A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...
in the
refugee camps
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...
and may have been derived from the children's story of ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
''. The term also was used to refer to children who fled the post-
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
violence in
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
in 2011–2013.
The boys embarked on treacherous journeys to refugee camps in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
where thousands were sheltered for several years. Some of the Lost Boys were offered new lives through official resettlement programs in the US.
History
Sudanese Conflict
The Sudanese conflict, which incited the journey of the Lost Boys, stemmed from divisions among the Arabic-speaking Islamic Northerners and the Christian, Roman Catholic, and indigenous religions in the South. Following Sudan's independence from Britain in 1956, these divisions became contentious. The northern region of the country was primarily Muslim, which contrasted ideologically and culturally with the Christian, Roman Catholic, indigenous religions, and atheists that were more prevalent in the south.
In the Northerners' minds, the South was a legitimate place of conversation because the Christian religion promotes
secularization
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
. For each side, religion constituted identity, making the conflict extremely personal for all involved. Further, the Northern population was primarily Arabic-speakers, while the South comprised an English speaking population. The new Sudanese government was dominated by Islamic Northerners who sought to
Arabize and make the South an Islamic state, which had previously associated more with their African ethnicity rather than Arab. Additionally, the conflict boosted economic elements. Although the north had more of the urban centers of the nation, they depended heavily on natural resources such as oil and minerals that were found in the southern region. The interests of northern business in extracting these resources contrasted the interests of southern farmers to protect and own their own land for agriculture.
In all, these competing identities and interests created an organized
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
lasting over two decades.
Sudanese War
During the
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...
, children were unable to adequately support themselves and suffered greatly from the terror. Many children were orphaned or separated from their families because of the systematic attacks of
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
in the southern part of the country. Some children were able to avoid capture or death because they were away from their villages tending cattle at the cattle camps (grazing land located near bodies of water where cattle were taken and tended largely by the village children during the dry season) and were able to flee and hide in the dense African bush. Some of the unaccompanied male minors were conscripted by the Islamic Southern rebel terrorist forces and used as soldiers in the rebel army, while others were handed over to the Islamic State by their own families to ensure protection, for food, and under a false impression the child would be attending school. Children were highly marginalized during this period. As a result, they began to conglomerate and organize themselves in an effort to flee the country and the war.
The Hardships
Motivated by the loss of their parents and their need to find food and safety from the conflict, an estimated 20,000 boys from rural southern
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
fled to bordering
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
.
Much of the travel took place by foot in large groups with the boys traveling in single file lines. The journey from South Sudan to the nearest refugee camp could be up to thousands of miles. Travel ranged from a span of weeks to two or more years. Often, the children traveled with no possessions besides the clothes on their backs.
The Boys often depended on the charity of villages they passed for food, necessities, and treatment of the sick. However, most of their travel was in isolated regions with very little infrastructure. Groups of Boys were often organized and led by the oldest boy in the group, who could be a young adult or sometimes as young as ten or twelve years old.
The Lost Boys on this
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
were on average extremely
malnourished
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
, as food was sourced through donations from villages encountered along the way, hunting, and theft.
They were also vulnerable to
heat exhaustion Heat exhaustion is a severe form of heat illness. It is a medical emergency. Heat exhaustion is caused by the loss of water and electrolytes through sweating.
The United States Department of Labor makes the following recommendation, "Heat illness ...
,
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
,
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
, and other diseases for which they had little means of prevention or treatment.
Additionally, attacks by lions, snakes, and other wild animals were not uncommon. It is estimated that over half of the young migrants died along their journey due to
starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...
,
dehydration
In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
, disease, attacks by wild animals and enemy soldiers.
[ Conditions were made even more dangerous by the SPLA soldiers, who would attack the boys or forcibly recruit them as child soldiers. The SPLA estimated that 1,200 boys were recruited from groups of displaced children, although they deny forcing any of them into conflict.] Experts say the Lost Boys are the most badly war-traumatized children ever examined.
The journey of the Lost Boys was filled with suffering and unknowns as the boys rarely knew the direction they were headed.
Arrival at refugee camps
Initially, most of the fleeing boys went to a refugee camp in Ethiopia, until the war in 1991 sent the boys fleeing again to a different refugee camp called Kakuma
Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to ho ...
, which is located in Kenya. The arrival of the Lost Boys to the refugee camps
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...
in Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
were welcomed to various degrees. It was difficult for the camps to provide sufficient food for the hundreds of boys arriving daily. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...
and involved non-governmental organizations were often constrained to meet the needs of the population. A unique problem for the story of the Lost Boys is how the age and family structure dynamics of the camps changed with the influx of young people. The Lost Boys came to the camps without guardians or adult supervision. They immediately required housing and schooling, which changed the allocation of resources in the camps. With some of the boys arriving in the camps at ages as young as 6 or 7, many of the Boys spent the majority of their childhood and adolescence being raised in the camps. Ultimately, being raised in a refugee camp significantly altered their development and ability to assimilate into regular life.
Current status and resettlement
Between 1992 and 1996, UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
reunited approximately 1,200 Lost Boys with their families. However, about 17,000 were still in camps throughout Ethiopia and Kenya as of 1996. These camps' inability to sustain the additional population burden made it evident to government officials that more needed to be done.
In 2001, as part of a program established by the United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
(UNHCR), approximately 3,800 Lost Boys were offered resettlement in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.[ Prior to the inception of this program, approximately 10,000 boys left the refugee camps for other opportunities, making them ineligible for the US's resettlement program. They are now scattered over at least 38 cities, including major metropolises such as Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Seattle and Atlanta.][ Halted after 9/11 for security reasons, the program restarted in 2004. As of 2006, the largest population of ]Sudanese refugees
Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the country of Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental change ...
in the United States is in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, which hosts about 7,000 people. Numerous resettlement agencies, such as Catholic Charities
The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations.
Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spi ...
, Lutheran Social Services, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), World Relief
World Relief (officially, World Relief Corporation of National Association of Evangelicals) is an Evangelical Christian humanitarian nongovernmental organization, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals and a leading refug ...
and other privatized organizations assisted in this resettlement process. A variety of programs have been initiated to help these displaced people in areas of education, medical assistance, reconnecting with families in South Sudan and in rebuilding efforts and providing humanitarian aid in Southern Sudan.[ Joan Hecht. ''The Journey of the Lost Boys'']
Because many boys were over the age of 18, they were unable to be placed into the foster care system. Thus, they were placed into apartment complexes with one another in hopes that they would sustain the kind of family atmosphere that was cultivated in Kakuma.
Despite the program's intention to facilitate assimilation, many of the Lost Boys still face difficulties in adapting to life in The United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, or any of the European countries that offered refugee resettlement
Third country resettlement or refugee resettlement is, according to the UNHCR, one of three durable solutions (voluntary repatriation and local integration being the other two) for refugees who fled their home country. Resettled refugees have the ...
. Posttraumatic stress
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...
, separation from loved ones, cultural isolation, racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
against the refugees made assimilation extremely difficult. Many studies have discussed a common condition among the Lost Boys of ambiguous loss
Ambiguous loss is a loss that occurs without a significant likelihood of reaching emotional closure or a clear understanding. This kind of loss leaves a person searching for answers, and thus complicates and delays the process of grieving, and o ...
. This occurs when someone experiences the loss of a family member without the closure of death, which allows for mourning and moving forward. Moreover, a 2005 study found that 20% of Lost Boys under the age of 18 suffered from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
. Resettlement to the US made it easier for many of the Lost Boys to reconnect with family members via western technology. However, it was often difficult to reunite if the boys were already in the US and the families remained in camps. South Sudan allows free access to Lost Boys/Girls and Sudanese Diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
from around the world to return to their homeland. As a result, many are now returning to South Sudan to pay it forward
Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of to the original benefactor.
The concept is old, but the particular phrase may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1 ...
and help in the rebuilding of their war-torn country, and to provide humanitarian aid and support.
In January 2011, 99.47% of South Sudanese voted to separate from the north and become an independent nation. Some American former Lost Boys and Girls now hold positions in the current Government of South Sudan
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
.
The Lost girls
Although there is much attention directed toward the Lost Boys, common historical narratives often ignore their counterparts, the Lost Girls. Even before the conflict, inequalities between the Lost Boys and Lost Girls were manifested in the cultural practices of the Dinka
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out ...
and Nuer people. This marginalization
Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
heavily influenced their post-conflict recovery and integration in refugee camps and resettlement programs.
Not unlike other parts of Africa, Sudanese women were viewed as subordinate to men in families and villages. Family law consistently gave preference to men. Male children inherited their parents' wealth after their death, and so parents strongly desired to have male children, often at the expense of the care of the females. Men were allowed to have multiple wives, and polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
was expected if the father had no sons by his other wives. Moreover, the use of a brideprice was common practice in Sudan, making women more of a commodity to her husband rather than a partner. Subsequently, women hold little weight within a marriage.
When conflict reached the rural parts of Southern Sudan, women were affected just as much as the men, only in different ways. Rape was rampant during attacks on villages as the attackers would use rape as a weapon of the war. Women and small children (boys and girls) were taken to the north to be sold as slaves. Further, women and children were often forced or coerced into a trafficking situation. Once a person was involved in trafficking
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
, it was extremely difficult for family members to relocate them.
Upon their arrival in the camps in Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, the boys were placed into boys-only areas of the camp. Yet according to Sudanese culture, the girls could not be left alone, so they were placed with surviving family members or adopted by other Sudanese families.[ Although these family placement practices provided security for young women, families often exploited the extra pair of hands at home. The girls were expected to fulfill numerous domestic responsibilities that were often very taxing or even dangerous.] The expectations of domestic work often prevented the girls and young women from attending school while in the camps, and even when allowed to attend, their housework often kept them behind their male classmates, who had time to study. In this way, girls were prevented from earning a formal education, further entrenching them in their inability to sustain themselves. Many girls were physically and/or sexually abused
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
by their host families, raped by other refugees during activities such as fetching water or food rations, and occasionally, even sold as brides for profit. In each of these examples, the girls were taken in only as a potential profit or benefit to the family.
When the US resettlement program began in 1999, one requirement was that the children must be orphans. Because these girls had been living within a family unit for anywhere from 9–14 years, they were no longer considered orphans, and therefore were ineligible for the resettlement program. As a result, relatively few of the Lost Girls were able to benefit from the resettlement program to the US.[ Of the 4,000 Sudanese refugees approved in 2000, only 89 were women.]
Moreover, the stories of the Lost Girls are generally forgotten in light of their limited exposure when in the refugee camps. While the boys were encouraged to share their stories and what happened to them, girls were shunned from public light. Speaking of the rape was unacceptable and left the girls vulnerable to being blamed for the rape that occurred against them. Therefore, the Lost Boys are more focused on in literature.
Books, films and plays
There have been a number of books, films, and plays about the Lost Boys, including:
*2021: ''War and Genocide in South Sudan'', by Clémence Pinaud
*2020: ''Father of the Lost Boys'', a memoir by Yuot Ajang Alaak
*2019: ''What They Meant for Evil: How a Lost Girls of Sudan Found Healing, Peace, and Purpose in the Midst of Suffering'', by Rebecca Deng.
*2018: ''Days of Refugee: One of the World's Known Lost Boys of Sudan'', a memoir by Nathaniel Nyok
*2016: ''Ending South Sudan’s Civil War'', by Kate Almquist Knopf
*2016: ''Walking Boys: The Perilous Road to South Sudan Independence'', a memoir by Awak Kondok Malith
*2016: ''How Fast Can You Run'', a novel based on the life of Lost Boy Michael Majok Kuch by Harriet Levin Millan
*2016: ''God's Refugee: The Story of a Lost Boy Pastor'', a memoir by John Daau and Lilly Sanders Ubbens
*2014: ''The Good Lie
''The Good Lie'' is a 2014 American drama film written by Margaret Nagle and directed by Philippe Falardeau. The film stars Reese Witherspoon in the title role, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and Corey Stoll.
''The Good Lie'' was s ...
'', a film about four Lost Boys who resettle in America.
*2014: ''Out of the Impossible: The Hope of the Lost Boy'', an interpretive book by Paul Kur, who became a lost boy at age 5 and eventually came to the U.S.
*2013: ''Struggle between Despair and Life: From Sudan's Marshland Village, Child Soldiering, Refugee Camp and America'', memoir by Mayak Deng Aruei
*2013: ''Unspeakable: My Journey as a Lost Boy of Sudan'', a memoir by John Reng Ajak Gieu.
*2012: ''Running for My Life'', by Lopez Lomong
Lopez Lomong (born January 5, 1985) is a South Sudanese-born American track and field athlete. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, came to the United States at the age of 16 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
Lomong qualified for the 2008 Su ...
and Mark Tabb. Autobiography of the U.S. Olympian and former Lost Boy.
*2011: ''Machine Gun Preacher
''Machine Gun Preacher'' is a 2011 American biographical action drama film directed by Marc Forster and starring Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Shannon. It tells the story of Sam Childers, a former gang biker turned preacher, and ...
'', a film about Sam Childers
Sam Childers (born 1963), also known as the Machine Gun Preacher, is an American motorcyclist, author, and humanitarian. A former member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Childers became well known after Dateline NBC's (Keith Morrison and Tim Sandle ...
, based on his book ''Another Man's War'', concerning Childers work with Sudanese war orphans in Africa.
*2011: ''Hope, Pain & Patience: The Lives of Women in South Sudan'', by Friederike Bubenzer, Orly Stern
*2010: '' A Long Walk to Water'' by Linda Sue Park
Linda Sue Park (born March 25, 1960) is a Korean-American author who published her first novel, ''Seesaw Girl'', in 1999. She has written six children's novels and five picture books. Park's work achieved prominence when she received the presti ...
. A fictional novel about Sudan that includes the real-life story of lost boy Salva Dut.
*2010: ''A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk'', by Jan L. Coates. A novel based on the life of Jacob Deng, now living in Nova Scotia, Canada
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
.
*2010: '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', episode "Breach
Breach, Breached, or The Breach may refer to:
Places
* Breach, Kent, United Kingdom
* Breach, West Sussex, United Kingdom
* ''The Breach'', Great South Bay in the State of New York
People
* Breach (DJ), an Electronic/House music act
* Miroslava ...
", (season 1, first aired January 5, 2010).
*2009: ''Rebuilding Hope'', a documentary directed by Jen Marlowe following three Lost Boys, Gabriel Bol Deng, Koor Garang and Garang Mayuol, as they return to South Sudan.
*2009: ''The Lost Boy: The true story of a young boy's flight from Sudan to South Africa'', by Aher Arop Bol. The story of Lost Boy Aher Arp Bol journey from Sudan to South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
*2008: '' War Child'', a documentary by C. Karim Chrobog about the musician and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal
Emmanuel Jal (born Jal Jok 1 January 1980) is a South Sudanese-Canadian artist, actor, former child soldier, and political activist. His autobiography, ''War Child: A Child Soldier's Story'', was published in 2009.
Childhood
Jal was born to ...
.
*2008: ''The Lost Girls of Sudan'' by Beverly Parkhurst Moss, Dark Exodus.
*2008: ''Courageous Journey: Walking the Lost Boys Path from the Sudan to America'', memoir by Barbara Youree, Ayuel Leek and Beny Ngor.
*2007: ''The Lost Boys of Sudan'', a play about the subject, written by Lonnie Carter. Open at The Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis. A 2010 production at Victory Gardens Theater
Victory Gardens Theater is a theater company in Chicago, Illinois dedicated to the development and production of new plays and playwrights. The theater company was founded in 1974 when eight Chicago artists, Cecil O'Neal, Warren Casey, Stuart Go ...
in Chicago.
*2007: ''Without A Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
'' episode " Lost Boy" (season 6, first aired September 27, 2007), featured two Lost Boys as fictional supporting characters.
*2007: ''Facing Sudan
''Facing Sudan'' is a documentary film released in 2007. It chronicles the situation in Sudan from independence in 1956 through civil war and the current crisis in Darfur. The narrative of Sudan is told through the eyes of activists from various ...
'', a documentary film touches on the story of the Lost Boys as it covers the wider Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...
.
*2007: ''God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir'', by John Bul Dau and Michael Sweeney. The life story of John Dau, who was also chronicled in the 2006 documentary ''God Grew Tired of Us
''God Grew Tired of Us'' is a 2006 American documentary film about three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan", a group of some 25,000 young men who have fled the wars in Sudan since the 1980s, and their experiences as they move to the United States. The fil ...
''.
*2007: ''Not Just Child's Play: Emerging Tradition and the Lost Boys of Sudan'', by Felicia R. McMahon. An analysis of the music, dance, and folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
of the DiDinga
The Didinga (diDinga) are a Surmic ethnic group that occupy the Didinga Mountains region in Budi County, Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. They live in the valleys, on the plateaus and slopes, and on the adjacent plains of the region. Their n ...
community living around Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
.
*2006: '' What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng'', by Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
. An autobiographical novel based on the story of Valentino Achak Deng, now living in the US.
*2006: ''God Grew Tired of Us
''God Grew Tired of Us'' is a 2006 American documentary film about three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan", a group of some 25,000 young men who have fled the wars in Sudan since the 1980s, and their experiences as they move to the United States. The fil ...
'', a documentary directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn
Christopher Dillon Quinn, also known as Christopher Quinn, is an American film director, writer, and producer. He was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in neighboring Alexandria, Virginia. He studied Film and Visual Anthropology at the Anthropo ...
about John Dau, Akim Bunny, Daniel Pach and Panther Bior
Panther Garang Bior is one of the 27,000 Lost Boys of Sudan. His journey was featured in the National Geographic Society's 2006 award-winning documentary, ''God Grew Tired of Us'' (executive produced by Brad Pitt and narrated by Nicole Kidman).
...
, now living in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
*2005: '' They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan'', by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, and Judy A. Bernstein. The true story in their own words of the 14-year journey of three Lost Boys who came to the United States in 2001 before 9/11.
*2005: ''The Lost Boys of Sudan: An American Story of the Refugee Experience'', by Mark Bixler, a nonfiction book about "Lost Boys" resettled in the United States.
*2005: '' The Journey of the Lost Boys'', by Joan Hecht.
*2005: '' Brothers in Hope'', a children's story of the lost boys of Sudan, by Mary Williams; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.
*2005: ''Dinka Diaries'', a documentary by Filmon Mebrahtu about Lost Boys in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
*2004: '' Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan'', written by Joan Hecht about Alliance for the Lost Boys.
*2004: ''I Heart Huckabees
''I Heart Huckabees'' (stylized as ''I ♥ Huckabees''; also ''I Love Huckabees'') is a 2004 independent black comedy film directed and produced by David O. Russell, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Baena.
A self-described "existential c ...
'', a film that mentions the Sudanese War; former Lost Boy Ger Duany
Ger Duany (born 1978 in Akobo, Greater Upper Nile in South Sudan) is an actor. He is a self-described “village boy”.
Early life
Duany was born in Akobo (then part of Sudan) on November 9, 1978. He had his first experience of war at the ...
acts in the movie.
*2004: ''Lost Boy No More: A True Story of Survival and Salvation'', by Abraham Nhial
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
and DiAnn Mills. Autobiography of Abraham Nhial, who fled to Ethiopia from Sudan.
*2004: '' 7th Heaven'' episode "Lost and Found
A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Frequen ...
" (season 8, first aired May 3, 2004), depicted two Lost Boys.
*2003: ''Lost Boys of Sudan
The Lost Boys of Sudan refers to a group of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1987–2005). Two million were killed and others were severely affected by th ...
'', a documentary film about two Lost Boys, Santino Majok Chuor and Peter Nyarol Dut, who came to the United States. Aired on ''P.O.V.
''POV'' (also written ''P.O.V.'') is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) public television series which features independent nonfiction films. ''POV'' is an initialism for ''point of view''.
''POV'' is the longest-running showcase on television ...
''.
*2003: ''A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan Resettling in America'', a documentary about three Lost Boys who immigrate to Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington.
*2002: ''Benjamin and His Brother'', a documentary by the late Arthur Howes about Benjamin and William Deng, brothers in a Kenyan refugee camp who are separated when only one is accepted by a U.S. resettlement program.
*2002: ''Women: Seeking A Better Deal. The Lost Girls of Sudan.'' Refugees magazin
*2002: ''Kakuma Turkana: Dueling Struggles: Africa's Forgotten Peoples'' by Daniel Cheng Yang, a photographic journal of Kakuma
Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to ho ...
Refugee Camp and the indigenous Turkana peoples of northwest Kenya.
See also
*Nuer White Army
The Nuer White Army, sometimes decapitalised as the "white army", is a semi-official name for a militant organisation formed by the Nuer people of central and eastern Greater Upper Nile in modern-day South Sudan as early as 1991. According to the ...
*Francis Bok
Francis Piol Bol Bok (born February 1979), a Dinka tribesman and native of South Sudan, was a slave for ten years but became an abolitionist and author living in the United States. On May 15, 1986, he was captured and enslaved at the age of seven ...
*Lopez Lomong
Lopez Lomong (born January 5, 1985) is a South Sudanese-born American track and field athlete. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, came to the United States at the age of 16 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
Lomong qualified for the 2008 Su ...
References
External links
NGOs
Sudan Development Foundation
- SUDEF is a non-profit working in South Sudan in partnership with rural villages to improve their quality of life. Founded in 2007 in Burlington, VT by Lost Boys Abraham Awolich and Peter Keny, their community-based approach recognizes the resilience, the shared responsibility and the ongoing commitment necessary to establish self-reliant, healthy communities that build lasting peace.
The Hope of Sudan
is a united alliance of all proven Sudanese-led nonprofit organizations in the United States that share a common mission — to provide the foundation for stable communities and empower our Sudanese brothers and sisters to transform their villages socially and economically.
Wadeng Wings of Hope
A Canadian-Revenue-Agency approved charity founded by Jacob Deng, featured in the book
A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk
Its mission is to construct schoolrooms to improve education for all children in South Sudan.
The Sudanese Education Fund
a 501(c)3 nonprofit serving the South Sudanese refugee population in Massachusetts
HELPSudan International
founded by Lost Boys living in Chicago who are determined to better communities in southern Sudan by establishing schools and providing health resources and clean water
Sudan Aid
a foundation founded by former Lost Boy Awak Malith and dedicated to transforming education across South Sudan.
* John Dau Foundation, (als
John Dau Sudan Foundation
, a Foundation founded by Lost Boy John Dau and dedicated to transforming healthcare in Southern Sudan
The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation
Alliance For The Lost Boys
Sudanese Lost Boys Association of Australia
Ayual Community Development Association
Gabriel's Dream
A charity dedicated to securing education and dental care for the lost boys.
Pongborong Primary School
- In 2004, Peter Magai Bul and the ACDA established Pongborong Primary School, which served 300 students. With the support of ACDA, the school has grown to serve approximately 800 students in grades one through seven.
South Sudan Village Care Foundation
- South Sudan Village Care Foundation is a not for profit organization formed in Rochester, NY, founded by Palath Thonchar, one of the Lost Boys & Girls of South Sudan. Their mission is to build and maintain a medical clinic in Palath's home village of Panrieng.
Hope for Ariang
Lost Boy Gabriel Bol Deng's project to build a primary school in the Bhar El Ghazal region
Water for Sudan
founded by Lost Boy Salva Dut to provide clean water to Southern Sudan
Southern Sudan Health Care Organization
founded by Lost Boys Jacob Atem and Lual Awan, to build a clinic in Southern Sudan
4 South Sudan
founded by US Olympian and Lost Boy Lopez Lomong
Lopez Lomong (born January 5, 1985) is a South Sudanese-born American track and field athlete. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, came to the United States at the age of 16 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
Lomong qualified for the 2008 Su ...
to meet the needs of the South Sudanese people by improving access to clean water, healthcare, education, and nutrition
Photographs and articles
Photojournalist's Account
- Images of Sudan's displaced
Between Two Worlds: A Personal Journey
Photographs by Eli Reed of the Lost Boys of Sudan
Sudanese Stories
An oral history project recording the migration journeys and settlement experiences of southern Sudanese refugees now living in Blacktown, Western Sydney, Australia
"Lost Boys find their way in Rochester"
a story on Lost Boys relocating to the US
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Boys Of Sudan
Dinka people