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The Lost Boys of Sudan and
What Their Struggles Can Teach Us

When I first heard about the "Lost Boys of Sudan" I was both fascinated by the struggle of these young children and depressed that this has happened in modern times. We are so complacent with the everyday convenience of indoor plumbing, an endless supply of food at the supermarket and refrigerators to keep our food from spoiling that it is impossible to fathom the life these young children have lead. Most of them have had no schooling, no formal training of any kind and no access to health care.

(Picture Courtesy of MSNBC)

Reading about the horrific journey these children took made me angry. It made me angry that they had to deal with such torture. It made me angry that it took so long for the people of the world to help them. And it made me angry knowing how these children are so grateful for what America has offered them, while some other immigrants complain about horrible America is from the second they arrive on our shores.

The United States has taken in more than 3,500 of the boys who were lucky enough to survive their brutal ordeal. Red Cross and media accounts reveal the overwhelming gratitude they have towards the people of the US and all those who sacrificed to bring them here in safety. For most of their lives, the feeling of safety has not been a luxury any of them could afford. Here is an account (taken fro the Red Cross, the UN, and MSNBC reports) of how these young men lived and died in the horrifying conditions of Africa.

The War In Sudan

In the 1980's Muslims invaded villages and towns in the central African country of Sudan. The bloody civil war had brought the battlefield to tiny villages and townships where Muslims bombed civilians day and night, even sending in ground troops to murder millions of male civilians, capturing the women for slavery and leaving millions of orphaned children to flee into the jungles and deserts of Sudan.

These children, most of them 10 years and younger, aimlessly wandered the countryside of Sudan living wild and trying to survive. They walked for days, weeks and finally months through what would ultimately become a journey of more than 1,000 miles with no clothing, food, shelter and a pursuing army determined to exterminate them.

Many of the children were eaten by wild animals, shot down by pursuing army troops from the Muslim northern forces, died from eating leaves and berries from poison plants, collapsed from dehydration or drowned in a frantic river crossing while fleeing from shooting troops.

According to World Refugee Survey 2000, the war in Sudan has been raging for sixteen years, leaving nearly 4.5 million Sudanese people with no place to live most separated from their families. The most recent cycle of violence in this bloody civil war began back in 1983, pitting the main rebel army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and its allies against the Sudanese government's military. Both sides in this war have brutally targeted and exploited civilian populations for political and strategic motives.

The Long Journey

Swarms of fleeing children left their villages, meeting up in the jungles and deserts of Sudan where they began a journey to nowhere. Not knowing what would become of them or where they were going, they began to look for safety. Some recount drinking from mud and getting so sick that they wanted to die, thousand did. Others still, were wounded by gunfire and though helped by other children to continue moving, most of the injured and week died.

The boys who finally made it to safety 1000 miles later recounted months of walking through jungles and deserts while their new friends dropped dead beside them or were picked off by wild animals and eaten alive. Finally, according to aid workers who took the children in at an Ethiopian refugee camp, the boys began to arrive. One aide worker recounted the unbelievable sight of small dots on the horizon getting closer and closer to the refugee camp. Eventually, the aide workers realized that the dots in the distance were actually thousands of children as far as the eye could see, advancing in straight lines through the desert towards the camp seeking food and safety.

For three years the Ethiopian camps fed and clothed the overwhelming number of children who had arrived, trying to educate and care for them while relief workers plead with the UN and other countries for help. In 1991, gun fire and advancing troops found their way to the refugee camps and drove the children back into the jungles and deserts of Africa.

Eventually, these "Lost Boys" (no girls survived the journey) had to travel back through Sudan across rugged terrain, fleeing in panic for their lives with no adults to help and nothing more than their survival skills to guide them. Thousand more died of disease and exhaustion even though The Red Cross made attempts to drop food and water by air. Most of that aide, however, was confiscated by army troops, but the boys continued to flee until they found themselves in the country of Kenya.

A Chance to Live

Chased now by Ethiopian government tanks and armed military factions, the boys frantically tried to cross the River Gilo. Thousands drowned because they did not know how to swim Thousands of others were eaten by crocodiles or shot. Of the 26,000 orphaned children who originally fled their bombed out homes in Sudan, less than 10,000 made it to the safety of the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in 1992.

Since then, a mere 3,500 of The Lost Boys have been granted asylum by US Government and now live in a strange new land with wonder and amazement about the basic things we take for granted every day.

A neighbor of some of the boys who landed in Boston recently (three boys in all) called the Mass Bay Chapter of The Red Cross to find out how she could help get them winter jackets to survive the cold. These Sudanese refugees had never seen snow and were only use to the oppressive heat of Sub Saharan Africa.

When Margaret Cole from the Red Cross tried to call them on the telephone to find out how she could help them acclimate to their strange new culture she could not reach anyone. Frustrated by her failure to contact them she went to the apartment building where some of the boys were trying to make it on their own. What she found was they had never seen a telephone before and had no idea what it was or why it was ringing randomly.

A New Struggle and a Will to Live

Margaret Cole ran a community drive to get furniture, clothing and other essentials for the "boys" (a term they still us to refer to themselves regardless of age). She helped them get into GED classes, get paying jobs and learn how to use basic household utilities like the toilet, tooth brush and refrigerator.

Six months after arriving in Boston, one of the lost boys helped by Margaret Cole and the Red Cross, James, spoke openly about his struggle and the wonderful freedom America offers. He said that the educational opportunities afforded to him in America means he has a chance to be someone. And that someone, James says, is an educated man who will someday return to Sudan to help end the suffering of the boys who are still left behind.

"When I was walking, I didn't have a vision [of my future]. I was walking from problem to trouble and from trouble to problem everywhere. It was very hard for me," he said. "In the United States, you determine who you are, and now I have a vision of my future. I can go to school, I can work and I can do what I want. … You have to live where you feel happy… I can not go to Sudan unless there's peace."(Taken from the International Red Cross press accounts.)

And WE Complain?

After researching this story I began to wonder about the harsh criticism and lament of immigrants from other areas of the world who see themselves as victims here in America. James, the Lost Boy who now lives in Boston, has learned English fluently, works two full time jobs, educated himself at the public library, pays his own bills and has earned a GED. He says he is grateful every single day that he has such opportunities here in The United States.

It reminded me of what I thought was a silly little saying my grandmother use to tell me when I was a kid. She would say, "I use to cry because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." The moral? Be thankful for what ou have because there are meny who have so little. Here was a living breathing example, James. He is one of a mere 3,500 who made it to America out of the 26,000 who originally fled their homes in the early 1980's.

How outrageous it must seem to people like James to hear Americans complain wildly about a dent in their car (which James never knew existed before arriving here). How ungrateful and petty we must seem when complaining about the mundane trivial annoyances of American life. How ridiculous it seems to me now, when I hear about the so called suffering of new immigrants who get free housing, free education, free food, government programs and the same opportunity to achieve as anyone else. Learning about what these people went through gives you a new perspective on our wa of life and what we consider to be important.

Here we see young children who had no parents, no shelter, were shot at and diseased traveling though jungles and deserts. We see that these children struggled every day for years just to live from moment to moment in unimaginable conditions too terrible for an adult and yet these young children survived. They survived and they eventually made it to America. And once they arrived, they immediately convened at free American libraries, thirsty to learn everything they could about their new country. They are proud to speak English. They are happy for every day they live in peace. Some have earned their GED and some are even struggling to get into college. But never a complaint!

They don't whine that their life has been too hard for them to get ahead in this strange new land. They don't cry about their childhood and use the hardship of their past as an excuse for criminal behavior. In fact, according to the many aide workers and neighbors of these new Americans, they are some of the most pleasant, hard working immigrants they have ever encountered. They are law abiding citizens, tax payers and eager to be part of America culture.

Fascinating. Inspiring. And chillingly surreal.

I think we can all learn some very valuable lessons from James and the struggle of the Lost Boys. I hope and pray that these new immigrants can be role models for others who come here, and those of us who were born here and take so much of our freedom and wealth for granted. This is a story every American should pay attention to. It puts life in a while new perspective.