The Lost Boys of Sudan

642 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of conflict in Sudan

The Lost Boys of Sudan
The lost boys of Sudan did not only show courage but also perseverance when they were forced to flee their home, leaving everything behind to find safety, after their village and all their loved ones were destroyed by the war.
In 1983 the Second Sudanese Civil War took place; Arabic Muslims from the North of Sudan attacked southern villages killing more than one million civilians and leaving more than twenty thousand of boys orphaned− often referred to as the Lost Boys of Sudan−. Afraid of meeting the same fate as their families, these boys set out on a difficult journey through Africa seeking refuge.
Along the way, to survive, the boys ate leaves, wild berries and small insects and drank water from mud and even their own urine. According to Amal, one of the lost boys, planes from the United Nations and the American Red Cross would sometimes drop food for them. Despite this, many of the boys died due to starvation, dehydration or were killed by wild animals.The older children would pick up the younger ones and help them when they were too tired to walk. After two long months of walking the boys finally reacheda United Nations refugee camp in Ethiopia. They stayed there for four years; during that time they studied and learned English and made their own families−composed of 9-10 boys− every one of them looked after one another. Following the changes of government in Ethiopia, in 1991, they found themselves running for their lives once again. Chased by tanks and armed militia the boys, headed for Kenya, came in contact with the River Gilo; the river was swarmed with crocodiles and its waters were high. They rushed to it and frantically swam towards the other side, safety, but many drowned, were shot at or w...

... middle of paper ...

...any hardships here in America like struggling to pay the bills and finding a scholarship so they can go to college and also about trying to save money from their low earnings to reunite with their families. But at least in the United States the boys can determine who they want they are and their future. In twenty years from now I see the Lost Boys of Sudan inspiring the newer generations with their amazing journey about courage and perseverance.

Works Cited

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~czerw20m/lostboys/lostboys.html https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~czerw20m/lostboys/sudanesewar.html http://www2.redcross.org/news/in/africa/0108lostboyspage.html http://bayweekly.com/old-site/year05/issuexiii23/leadxiii23.html http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/closboys.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3602724.stm http://www.cbsnews.com/news/our-amazing-12-year-journey-with-the-lost-boys/

Show More
Related

  • God Grew Tired Of Us Analysis

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film God Grew Tired of Us is a documentary about the journey of a couple of Sudanese “lost boys” to their new lives in the United States. The film is divided in two parts. The first one gives the historical background of what led to the boys’ situation at the time the documentary was being filmed and what their lifestyle at Kakuma camp looks like. It starts by recounting the events that led up to the Second Sudanese Civil War of 1983. The conflict was fought along ethno religious lines between the Muslim North and the non-Muslim South. By 1983, 27,000 people, including the lost boys, from the South were forced to flee as the Sudanese government, held in the hands by northerners, announced that all men in south should be killed regardless of age. After a short stay in an Ethiopian refugee camp, the boys finally arrived to Kakuma refugee

    Read More

  • God Grew Tired Of Us Essay

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1992, the conflict of the Sudanese Civil War resulted in the mass migration of thousands of Sudanese boys. This huge group of children were without adult supervision and care, and they travelled a total of one thousand miles through the Sahara desert. Many of them died of starvation and exposure during their journey. They were given the name the Lost Boys.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was in the grips of genocide, and there was nothing I could do. Operation No Living Thing was put into full effect (Savage 33). The R.U.F., however, was not alone in servicing children as their own messengers of evil, the military group countering their acts of violence also had children fighting their battles. A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango are eye-opening books because they give people all over the world a glimpse into the horrors kids in Africa face on a daily basis. However different Mariatu Kamara and Ishmael Beah’s experiences were regarding their journeys and disabilities, they both exhibited the same extraordinary resilience in the end to better themselves, create futures they could be proud of, and make the best of what the war left them.

    Read More

  • Mark Bixler's The Lost Boys of Sudan

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since 1983, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudanese government have been at war within the southern region of Sudan. This brutal conflict has ravaged the country claiming hundreds of lives and exiling a vast number of the southern Sudanese people. Most of these outcasts were young men aging between five and twelve years of age who returned home from tending cattle to see their village being attacked and their fellow villagers being killed by government militias . These boys fled, not knowing what they would encounter on the journey to escape the violence in their own country. Hungry, frightened, and weak from their long and hellish journey, the boys reached refugee camps outside of Sudan. Even though many young men were killed on their journeys to and from refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, many remained at these camps for numerous years. While in the camps, they heard news of an opportunity to travel to the United States for hope and a promise of a better life. In Mark Bixler’s The Lost Boys of Sudan: An American Story of The Refugee Experience, Bixler depicts the story of these young men or Lost Boys’ and their determination to receive an education that would not only transform their lives but also the lives of their kinsmen.

    Read More

  • A Long Walk To Water

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Lost Boys of Sudan was about 17,000 boys. Some of the boys died of starvation hunger, dehydration or by getting eaten by animals during the journey to a place of safety. Although this may seem like a made-up story. it wasn’t. It was all real to salva, a lost boy in Sudan who survived the journey. This young boy (Salva) endured long walks to camps across the country, becoming a leader and making a positive impact on water in sudan which was a consistent struggle in Sudan. This boy has been written about in a book called “A Long Walk To Water” By Linda Sue Park. Salva’s life wasn’t easy as we read in the book. Salva has lived and survived with these survival factors: Hope, Persistent and Bravery.

    Read More

  • Manipulation Of Child Soldiers In A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    In A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Beah tells of his past in Sierra Leone as a boy soldier. As a child in the war, Beah and his fellow soldiers committed many acts of violence, including murder. This raises the question as to whether or not child soldiers should be held accountable for their actions. The answer to this question is no, they should not be, because as children, they are easier to manipulate, and their minds have become addled by much exposure to drug use and sleep deprivation.

    Read More

  • The People of Darfur Migrating Out of Sudan

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sudan, which is located in northeast Africa, is ranked number 190 based on the amount of migrants per thousand people with a total of -4.44 migrants per thousand people. For roughly 12 years (from 2001-2013), Sudan has faced many challenges that push it’s people out of the land and pull them towards other places. These factors are known as push and pull factors. Even though there are many challenges that come with immigration, the results are more rewarding than what they would have been in Sudan. After migrating out of Sudan, these Sudanese migrants also face long-term consequences because of their decision to move.

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone Analysis

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “A Long Way Gone”, we follow a twelve-year-old African boy, Ishmael Beah, who was in the midst, let alone survived a civil war in Sierra Leone, that turned his world upside down. Ishmael was a kind and innocent boy, who lived in a village where everybody knew each other and happiness was clearly vibrant amongst all the villagers. Throughout the novel, he describes the horrific scenes he encounters that would seem unreal and traumatizing to any reader. The main key to his survival is family, who swap out from being related to becoming non-blood related people who he journeys with and meets along his journey by chance.

    Read More

  • Essay On Poverty In Wales

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Poverty, we hear about it every day. We hear about all the children in Africa, and other developing countries, but what about the countries that already have a stable government and are a first or second world country? It is scarce you hear about poverty in those countries, but it is as every bit as real, and devastating. "A lot of people find it difficult to appreciate that [poverty] is happening on their doorstep and perhaps don't really understand what it means.” -Mary Chandler, head of Save the Children charity. One country that you never would have thought of to have poverty is Wales. Wales has been impoverished for a few years, but the problem seems to be getting worse, and not better.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Salva In Crossing The Akobo Desert

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Sudanese civil war reached his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva became separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan and Ethiopia in search of safe haven. One of the challenges Salva and the rest of the Dinka tribe faced was the Akobo Desert. I believe that Salva survived crossing the Akobo Desert mostly because of his personal qualities, such as bravery and persistence, and that luck had little to do with his survival. One example of this is when Salva had “stubbed his bare toe on a rock, and his whole toenail fell off”(53). Although the pain was terrible Salva continued walking, but began to large behind the group. His Uncle had noticed him falling behind and encouraged him to

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers in Africa

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Child soldier is a worldwide issue, but it became most critical in the Africa. Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by some rebel groups and used as fighters, cooks, messengers, human shields and suicide bombers, some of them even under the aged 10 when they are forced to serve. Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Most of them are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children feel that rebel groups become their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed by the war. Sometimes they even forced to commit atrocities against their own family (britjob p 4 ). The horrible and tragic fate of many unfortunate children is set on path of war murders and suffering, more nations should help to prevent these tragedies and to help stop the suffering of these poor, unfortunate an innocent children.

    Read More

  • Kill or be Killed: Child Soldiers

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyday a child, from the regions in Africa, is recruited or abducted from their family to fight in an army. Children who are drafted to fight usually do not have parents and are older (The Situation). Some volunteer for income, food, or because they are pressured into combat (The Situation). Those who are taken from their homes or families happen to be in a war zone, misplaced or are poor (The Situation). The children who are homeless, and know the generals are out for them end up hiding and running for their lives throughout the night. Families and children hide from the captors underneath schools, churches and cellars (Steel). Parents are forced to tell where their children are hidden, if not they are tortured and even killed (Steel). After being abducted the children are then enforced to march to camp, anyone who attempts to escape is killed (Steel). As soon as these children are captured they are immediately trained to fight.

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers: Converting Innocent Children into Armed Killers

    3190 Words  | 7 Pages

    These are the words of a 15-year-old girl in Uganda. Like her, there are an estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen who are serving as child soldiers in about thirty-six conflict zones (Shaikh). Life on the front lines often brings children face to face with the horrors of war. Too many children have personally experienced or witnessed physical violence, including executions, death squad killings, disappearances, torture, arrest, sexual abuse, bombings, forced displacement, destruction of home, and massacres. Over the past ten years, more than two million children have been killed, five million disabled, twelve million left homeless, one million orphaned or separated from their parents, and ten million psychologically traumatized (Unicef, “Children in War”). They have been robbed of their childhood and forced to become part of unwanted conflicts. In African countries, such as Chad, this problem is increasingly becoming a global issue that needs to be solved immediately. However, there are other countries, such as Sierra Leone, where the problem has been effectively resolved. Although the use of child soldiers will never completely diminish, it has been proven in Sierra Leone that Unicef's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program will lessen the amount of child soldiers in Chad and prevent their use in the future.

    Read More

  • My Parents Bedroom Character Analysis

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most refugees have to shift and alter their lives to survive because war is so common in today's society. Even women and children are not exempt from the ravages of war. This is generated in the story, "My Parents Bedroom," where the author, Uwem Akpan explains in a first person's point of view a cultural clash in the main character's country. The author focuses on the genocide in Rwanda, which created a clash between cultures. Akpan reveals that the main character, Monique, faces hardships and difficulty in understanding her parent's fears. Similarly, in the "Lost Boys of Sudan," Sara Corbett interviews a group of boy refugee that attained political asylum in the USA. These boys expressed to Corbett their experiences, fears, and concerns.

    Read More

  • South Sudan: A Struggle Within

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    The newest country in the world is South Sudan, which gained its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, as a result of a referendum that passed with 98.83% of the vote. South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in Africa, although it has the third largest oil reserves in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though it is currently a sovereign state, South Sudan still faces issues that can disrupt its stability and eventually lead into the new nation’s first civil war.

    Read More

More about The Lost Boys of Sudan

Open Document