Displaced by a civil war that broke out in Sudan in 1987
Over 20,000 boys were uprooted from their families and villages. Decades of war between the north and south, including the ongoing genocide in Darfur, has claimed over 2 million lives. Political leaders defaulted to ethnic identities as they are considered more important than their national identities, turning the Dinka and Nuer tribes against each other.
The treacherous journey ahead
The "Lost Boys" walked thousands of miles to escape violence and inevitable death in Sudan before reaching a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Over half of them did not survive during this treacherous journey as the result of starvation or exhaustion (making them vulnerable to wild animal attacks) and disease. Some were caught in the crossfire of fighting forces, drowned while crossing rivers or had lost their way in the wilderness. An estimated 1,200 children were forcibly recruited to serve as child soldiers by the Sudan People's Liberation Army.
In Ethiopia, providing sufficient resources became extremely difficult as the needs did not meet its massive population of displaced people. Resources were reallocated at the camps to provide housing and schooling for these young children, who arrived without parents or adults.
In 1991, a turn in government erupting in violence, forced over 10,000 boys between 8-18 to relocate to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. For the next 8 years, they would live in tents and mud huts with support from organizations like UNICEF who provided health services, treatment and education programs. For the boys who arrived as early as 6 years old, many of them spent the majority of their childhood being raised at the camps.
Hope
Fast forward to 2001, the US accepted 4,000 Lost Boys for immigration. They eagerly sought for education and freedom to create a better life. Since they arrived without any formal documentation, and birth documents weren't traditionally documented in Sudan (especially in villages), the Lost Boys were given January 1st as their birthday.
One of the Lost Boys named Akot, who is now 37, was 7 years old when he walked from Sudan to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya. He said he knew he had walked for three months after passing each new moon. He returned to now what is South Sudan in 2009 to find his father, whom he had not seen in over 20 years. His father had rebuilt his home in South Sudan over 10 times due to attacks every year where his home was burnt to the ground. However, his father continues to rebuild in hopes that all of his children will return to their hometown to find him.
Another survivor, John Manyok, shared a heartbreaking story of fleeing from Sudan when he was only 5 years old. "A smile he wore only moments ago while playing dominoes disappears when he describes making the crossing of a crocodile-infested river that some boys did not survive." (#It's so strange that my dreams often illustrate very specific visions I will encounter the following day. I dreamt about surviving a crocodile attack the night before finding Manyok's statement).
The invisible city
There are over 200,000 refugees in Kakuma, with many more arriving from South Sudan. To this day, these boys are still stranded in Kakuma and express sad emotions emerging from unsolved miseries as they live in limbo. For over 15 years, these Lost Boys were promised resettlement to the US and continue to wait. "We just felt behind and forgotten," says Taban Malwei. The big question that remains unanswered is, why do we have Lost Boys in Kakuma today?
*kanere.org
The refugee crisis cannot be ignored
There are a couple things you can do to help the South Sudanese children in crisis and the Lost Boys community.
- Further your education with research, publications and interviews
- Make a donation to UN Refugees (74% to go to the program, 23% toward fundraising costs and 3% to support costs)
- Documentary: "God Grew Tired of Us"
- Documentary: "Lost Boys of Sudan"
- Movie: "The Good Lie" focuses on the journey of three young boys who were orphaned by the Second Sudanese Civil War, and confined in a refugee camp for their entire adolescence. They were finally allowed to immigrate to the US just before 9/11 (Film casted Emmanuel Jal and Ger Duany, both former child soldiers)
- Read: Resettlement and adjustment to life in America
Miracles are made by people who refuse to stop believing. Together we can give refugees the hope they deserve, restore their dignity and help rebuild their lives.
Happy belated Birthday to the Lost Boys. Your remarkable journey is never forgotten.
xx.
st
*Resources: Greensboro News, AZ Central, UNICEF