Mr. JOHN MAJOK (Lost Boys of Sudan): Thank you very much for having me. There was also shooting at the airstrip. Peter Dut and his two brothers belong to an unusual group of refugees referred to by aid organizations as the Lost Boys of Sudan, a group of roughly 10,000 boys who arrived in Kenya in 1992. As the war in Sudan continued to rage, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) determined that repatriation and family reunification was no longer an option for the Lost Boys. [11] They were also vulnerable to heat exhaustion, pneumonia, malaria, and other diseases for which they had little means of prevention or treatment. At night, we were trying to sleep but some people came and shot at us. "They would look after me and make sure I was not far behind," But said. CORLEY: So tell me a little bit about this, though. The interests of northern business in extracting these resources contrasted the interests of southern farmers to protect and own their own land for agriculture. Water and a little corn. They spent three and a half years there - until unrest in that country led to the government's overthrow in May 1991 and camp refugees scurrying once again. Some of the Lost Boys were among the many thousands of South Sudanese refugees who streamed home during these optimistic years. That was where his health issues began. Lost Boys of Sudan PBS Premiere: Sept. 28, 2004 Check the broadcast schedule One Day I Had to Run My first memories of my childhood start when I was about five years old in my homeland of Sudan, the day when my parents' house was burned. This brutal conflict has ravaged the country claiming hundreds of lives and exiling a vast number of the southern Sudanese people. This is a summary of my experiences but there is more to explain for each example I've given. You did make it, but was it difficult to make friends, or how was that for you? Lost Boys are captains in the Air Force and engineers working on the Boeing 787. As small boys, Peter and Santino lost their families in the war and were forced to flee their homes. 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. It has been roughly estimated that about 20,000 young boys left their families and villages in Sudan. CORLEY: Well, you were only - were you 6 or 7 years old when the war erupted and your story began? When I got to Oboth, I met with the Sudanese people. It was impossible to return home; rebel forces had split among themselves and led to chaos in the south, including the September 1991 Bor massacre, in which 2,000 civilians were slaughtered. Winner, Independent Spirit Award Truer Than Fiction. Create a colorful Sudandrawing of the landscape of each country. During the Second Sudanese Civil War, children were unable to adequately support themselves and suffered greatly from the terror. A lot of refugees around me were dying from diarrheal diseases, from preventable diseases. [30] Because these girls had been living within a family unit for anywhere from 914 years, they were no longer considered orphans, and therefore were ineligible for the resettlement program. This is where I pray to have leadership that can embrace dialogue. "I went and graduated, got my bachelors, masters and now am a postdoc at Johns Hopkins." They kept shooting at us, so either you jumped in the water and they knew that you would drown because the water was way too fast or you would be shot. What the Lost Boys of Sudan Found in America. In the last decade, about 4,000 young Sudanese who fled from their country's civil war resettled in the United States. Since most were over 18 and living on their own they needed to support themselves. Diseases spread among the displaced youngsters measles, malaria, tuberculosis. Mr. MAJOK: I - specifically, just to familiarize myself with this society a little bit, and you can find more of that in public administration. IRC case workers worked closely with the boys in orienting them to their new communities, making sure that they were as comfortable as possible, and offering guidance on such issues as personal safety, social customs, public transportation, shopping, cooking, nutrition and hygiene. National Geographic Headquarters I have many memories of my time in Ethiopia. The Lost Boys on this migration were on average extremely malnourished, as food was sourced through donations from villages encountered along the way, hunting, and theft. And also, the highlight of my visit was that I got married to my beautiful wife whom I promised - we made our promises before I came here that this was going to be our plan, and we kept our promises. Jan. 5, 2003 12 AM PT. CORLEY: Well, we are talking to John Majok, who recently returned to Kenya and the refugee camp that housed him after fleeing his war-torn home in Sudan. Over 30 years ago, Sudans civil war uprooted 20,000 Sudanese children. Many refugees settled in at Pashala not so much a refugee camp as a desperate gathering of displaced people, just inside the Ethiopian border near Boma National Park. They know the lost boys arrived here, but they don't really know what happened to us. There have been a number of books, films, and plays about the Lost Boys, including: Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. person who moves from their existing country or region to a new country or region. More than 20,000 children living in southern Sudan lost their families, their homes and nearly all hope in 1987 because of a brutal civil war. "The final work of the Obie Award-winning playwright of Zero Positive is a glowingly upbeat testament to life and love, gay and straight, now and forever. When we first got here, a lot of us were diagnosed with PTSD. Brennen Jensen is Baltimore-based freelancer who writes frequently for Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine and publications as diverse as AARP The Magazine and the Southern culinary publication The Local Palate. It was the last day I saw them. They were brought to America after many tragic events that led to the lost of their families. The outbreak of civil war in Sudan in 1983 brought with it circumstances that would permanently alter the lives of thousands of Sudanese boys and young men. Best Documentary Bay Area SF Int'l Film Festival Golden Gate Award. Santino is still living in Houston, along with many of his Sudanese friends. The civil war, which had claimed more than two million lives, was over. After several years while war continued in the Sudan, programs were organized to resettle many of the youths in the United States. Then ask students to write a brief summary describing who the Lost Boys are and what they experienced. "That's how I left," But said. [11] Much of the travel took place by foot in large groups with the boys traveling in single file lines. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. I buy cards and talk to her, and she talk to me. You bet. The "Lost Boys of the Sudan," are survivors from a tragedy that took place in southern Sudan in the early 1980s (IRC, 2014). We people who learn from my story is that no humanity should go through such horrible situation I've been in and other Sudanese who have been through the same tragedies. (Laura Klivans/KQED) As a child, David Ayual Mayom had a lot of responsibility and autonomy. They crossed the Gilo River, which later would be the site of many deaths as other refugees attempted to flee, chased by Ethiopian rebel forces. They served as an essential link to the greater community, helping to generate additional employment opportunities, as well as increase donations and awareness. With the area still facing instability and minimal medical care, "for someone who is not well, it's not a good idea to go," said Machok, a pharmacy technician. They traveled at night to avoid aerial bombardment and the daytime heat. [32], Although there is much attention directed toward the Lost Boys, common historical narratives often ignore their counterparts, the Lost Girls. They were eager to use their education to help build the worlds newest independent country. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. He was sleeping in the same bed as my brother, but my brother Aleer Gideon did not get shot. Are you in touch with that boy who called you the name? We all had to jump down. "A lot of people got eaten by crocodiles.". Many of them went on to earn college degrees and attain U.S. citizenship, while wondering whether they would someday have the opportunity to return to their homeland and reunite with the families they left behind. "People drowned in the river," said Ayuen, now a medical technician at an assisted living facility in Dallas. We caught up with Jacob Atem after the show to find out more about his refugee experience and his thoughts on the current political climate. I have never lost hope in God that I believe, and I think that what is strengthened me and kept me going. A night of soul-searching led him to a new strategy: technology over knuckles. CORLEY: Because you have to go through the whole visa process. Fortunately, my nephew was there. I followed the other children who survived to a place called Pachala. John Dau, a former "Lost Boy," works to help others in his immigrant community as well as at home in South Sudan. Program. But the focal point here is that we sit down and see the big picture. "Some of the group lost their lives on the way," But said. Majok sought refuge in Kenya, ultimately moving to Tucson, Arizona. [31] Some American former Lost Boys and Girls now hold positions in the current Government of South Sudan. When the prayer at the airport was over, But moved closer and offered his hand. South Sudan is now teetering on the edge of civil war following several weeks of violence that have claimed the lives of at least a thousand people . He suffered two strokes in 2011, and his cousins brought him back to Dallas. Southern Sudan need stability and development because the civil war, which took 20 years and left two million people dead, has formally ended by the - with a comprehensive peace agreement. Artem Ryzhykov during the early days of the Russian invasion, in Irpin, Ukraine. [1] Would he recognize her? Three years later, I flew out of Nairobi to America and started high school in Rochester, Minnesota. We stayed there. Mr. MAJOK: Well, I remember how I walked a thousand miles with other children of my age to unknown destination. He recently returned to the Kenyan camp that was his home. As small boys, Peter and Santino lost their families to the war and were forced to flee . The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. "The area most affected was our hometown," said Thiong, a financial analyst. Now South Sudan is facing a humanitarian catastrophe and an upsurge of violence between ethnic groups. Sudanese children playing football in Zam Zam camp in 2016 - five years after South Sudan gained independence. Those are the days that I'm dreaming about. He had put on a dark-colored suit and a striped shirt just for her. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. In the United States, they relied onchurch volunteersand others who rallied to find themhomes and opportunities to continue their education. What do you think kept you strong? Atem had learned to fight in the refugee camp. 1996 - 2023 National Geographic Society. They took me to the place where they had a lot of people they'd captured. 4. They fled the country on foot via arduous cross-country treks and spent years in refugee camps. He also co-founded the Southern Sudan Healthcare Organization, a nonprofit working within his war-torn homeland. Did some Lost Boys have less exemplary outcomes? Once upon a time, he was a young boy that was separated from his family during a . The beautiful thing about this country is if you don't like it, change it through the vote. Jeanne Wallace-Weaver, Educational Consultant, adapted from the National Geographic Xpeditions lessons God Grew Tired of Us: Migration and Cultural Interaction and God Grew Tired of Us: Culture Clash and Community-Building. My parents and 2.5 million people were killed in the Sudan civil war. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Lesson Plan: Lost Childhoods: Exploring the Consequences of Collective Violence (Part 3), Interviews: In Search of a Durable Solution, Download POV's step-by-step guide to organizing an event (PDF) . Then hope came from the other side of the world when he was 15. Then I remembered that when I was young, I had a big wound and I could see my own bones. It doesn't matter if you're Democrat or Republican. It was how you survived. I escaped from the river to the airstrip. Majok is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, the young boys who walk thousands of miles, fighting starvation and wild animals as they fled the violence of their country during civil war. hide caption. . Sudan. Columnist Ralph Gardner Jr. tells the story of Majur Juac, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan who taught himself how to play chess and now teaches the board game to students in New York City. We were chased to the edge of a big river that ran very fast, called Gillo. But then, during his sophomore year of high school, this: "One morning, my foster mom just dropped me off at the school bus. He and several cousins, who now live in North Dallas, were among about 20,000 "Lost Boys of Sudan" forced to flee as the Second Sudanese Civil War raged between 1983 and 2005, claiming But's father and 40 members of his extended family. Two million were killed and others were severely affected by the conflict. Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk's film tells the story of two young Sudanese refugees relocated to Texas by the U.S. State Department. By David Weddle. Thousands of children were orphaned and displaced by the Sudanese civil war in the 1980s. It's not too late. That's where my heart melts. From there, we went to a place called Buma. And so, we just walked, went into hiding place, (unintelligible), and then we walk that distance to a (unintelligible). Artem Ryzhykov, as told to David Lepeska This first-person story was told by filmmaker-turned-soldier Artem Ryzhykov to David Lepeska, a longtime reporter whose first book, "Desiccated Land: An American in Kashmir," is set for publication this month. [27][28], Not unlike other parts of Africa, Sudanese women were viewed as subordinate to men in families and villages. In 1994, I went back to Sudan. Write a minimum of four diary entries from the perspective of a Lost Boy, describing his journey and major events in his life. In the other part of the country, they need protection in place like Darfur. Marc Ramirez. Mark Bixler's The Lost Boys of Sudan: An American Story of The Refugee Experience. Despite the program's intention to facilitate assimilation, many of the Lost Boys still face difficulties in adapting to life in The United States, Canada, or any of the European countries that offered refugee resettlement. [30] However, it was often difficult to reunite if the boys were already in the US and the families remained in camps. Go to National Geographic's Sudan Facts page and invite volunteers to take turns reading aloud the information. Of these, about 20,000 were young boys orphaned by the war who trekked barefoot across the country to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia.. Point out the homeland of the Dinkain southern Sudan along the White Nile. So here we are. Taking a head count before they left, and another when they arrived. We didn't have water or anything. CORLEY: And you've been through so much. His mother handed him a Sudanese mix of pulverized peanuts and corn. Explain that there is a group of over 25,000 young Dinka men who ran away from a civil war. And then eventually, each one of us start finding job and so you find yourself working, you know, totally different environment. "I don't know if she will remember," he said softly. The IRCs health, sanitation, community services and education programs touched, in one way or another, the lives of all the Lost Boys who were in Kakuma and who were eventually resettled in the U.S.A., recalled Jason Phillips, who managed IRC programs in the camp from 2000 to 2001. But was 17 at the time. Mr. MAJOK: In 2001, when I left the refugee camp. We fell into the river. Brennen Jensen for NPR Washington, DC 20036, Careers| "We didn't have an option but to drink our own urine.". I guess this outbreak is good for something. But the number one is that I have the skills and saw the value that I see I can apply in that field. No school = no homework, which is fine by me. I ran into a tent but I didn't know there was a cooking fire inside. The Lost Boys of Sudan uses personal accounts from many lost boys to provide an immersive narrative of the inconceivable lives of the Lost boys. The Kakuma youth began arriving in the U.S. in small groups in the fall of 2000. It seemed like forever. In 2001, close to four thousand Lost Boys came to the United States seeking peace, freedom and education. I was crying as people near me were being shot. CORLEY: All right. And a Lost Boy is doing postdoc work at Johns Hopkins. The Lost Boys are fighting in Iraq with the American military. Marc Ramirez is a Dallas-based lifestyles journalist and food and drink enthusiast who would rather think about what's for lunch than anything on his to-do list. But for me its a prerequisite of going to law school, which would be my long-term goal. [20] These camps' inability to sustain the additional population burden made it evident to government officials that more needed to be done. In the morning, after we got shot at, we left Magose to go to Kapoeta. It was difficult for the camps to provide sufficient food for the hundreds of boys arriving daily. In September of 2001, he moved to Houston, Texas, as part of the U.S. Since 1983, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudanese government have been at war within the southern region of Sudan. transportation of people to a new residential area, usually following a natural or man-made disaster. They never found his body. So I went and did my master's in public health, and I fell in love with a profession where I could couple my experience of living as a refugee with scientific research. What should be a mother-son reunion untarnished by other concerns will be, in effect, a mother coming to visit her sick son. The girls were expected to fulfill numerous domestic responsibilities that were often very taxing or even dangerous. They were known as the Lost Boys. Raise your hand if you've ever spent more time picking out a movie to watch on Netflix than the length of the actual movie you ended up choosing (). "We had to cut through a lot of things, including a village that was known for child abduction," Thiong said. Therefore, the Lost Boys are more focused on in literature. Most just six or seven years old, they fled to Ethiopia to escape death or induction into the northern army. Malnutrition rendered him temporarily blind at times. Ask students if they're familiar with Peter Pan's Lost Boyscharacters in the J.M. A 2007 Slippery Rock University graduate, Ajang . Burbach, C. "Rally features Sudanese vice president. Then the UNHCR came in and started bringing food. On the way, there was a lot of shelling on the road. The movie's story is probably one of the best parts. I know his name, but I haven't seen him for a while. NyakMarol Kur looked disoriented as the officer tentatively pointed to the group of men waiting with But. If a lack of sufficient food and water weren't privation enough, militia forces pursued the boys, even bombing them from helicopters. It seems that the encounter, painful as it was, proved to be a pivotal moment in your development. CORLEY: Well, were you - as you mentioned, you first were in Tucson, Arizona, went to school there in college and persuaded a degree in the school of public administration and policy at the University of Arizona. Also, I have a half-brother who is a chief in my clan and I have two half-sisters who I have been in contact with. As a result, relatively few of the Lost Girls were able to benefit from the resettlement program to the US. Displaced from their homes in the late 1980's. I thank God I was not killed. He and several cousins, who now live in North Dallas, were among about 20,000 "Lost Boys of Sudan" forced to flee as the . I was too little and I didn't have parents to help me cross the river and I didn't know whether my brother had already made it across or not or where he was. I'm ready to share my story, to get invited to speak whether it's at the White House or wherever it is. Duany, 35, is one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, the estimated 20,000 young boys who fled their homes in 1987, during the country's civil war. It was dark. His lost years were initially filled with turmoil and uncertainty as the boys traveled, mostly on foot, from refugee camp to refugee camp, fleeing bombs, bullets, thirst and disease. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. Gabriel Ajang was among the survivors. Atem talked about his life as a "Lost Boy" and what happened when he settled in Michigan like the time his foster mom grounded him just for wanting to punch a kid who'd insulted him. I was good at climbing trees, but not at swimming. After fleeing their homes and living for years in refugee camps, these Lost Boys have been relocated to Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United States. 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. Hector's humor can be angry and dark, as when he looks in the mirror and observes, "I see the corpse . I walked for three days to get to a place called Okila. One day I decided to cross the river with a few of my friends who carried me across so we could get to a tree to catch some mongoose. I stayed there for most of the night. Even though I was very young by the time I left, in (unintelligible) a society, you know, a child as soon as she or he learns how to speak, is told the story and the family tradition. He is now a man who is working with a non-profit who is hoping to rebuild the southern Sudan. 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 10,000 boys, between the ages of eight and 18, eventually made it to the Kakuma refugee campa sprawling, parched settlement of mud huts where they would live for the next eight years under the care of refugee relief organizations like the IRC. Following Sudan's independence from Britain in 1956, these divisions became contentious. Those are the stories that Americans can be proud of it because it's America that made us who we are. Most of the older boys who came to the United States were eager to capitalize on opportunities for higher education, but found that their idea of becoming full time students was not a realistic goal. And those words kept me going. "I started having a tape recorder," he explained. Accuracy and availability may vary. food items consumed by . Often, the children traveled with no possessions besides the clothes on their backs. Lost Boys of Sudan follows two young Dinka refugees, Peter and Santino, through their first year in America. She is here as well? Their journey took them from Sudan to Ethiopia, back to Sudan and then to Kenya. The world faces the greatest number of displaced people since the end of World War II. Phone 202-328-8842 Fax 202-328-8757 Email sojourners@sojo.net CORLEY: You were seven. However, about 17,000 were still in camps throughout Ethiopia and Kenya as of 1996. There aren't any reviews yet. Baltimore's Stoop Stories is a 12-year-old live show and podcast wherein people from all walks of life tell their tales. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. His mother grabbed it and pulled him into an embrace. Issues such as racial prejudice and class privilege come up as the two try to adjust to new lives in the United States. Her sparkly blue earrings shookas she prayed, three decades of separation hanging between her and her son. With my classmates, I don't compare myself to them. Now what do I do with all this free time? [1] Halted after 9/11 for security reasons, the program restarted in 2004. [6] In all, these competing identities and interests created an organized civil war lasting over two decades. Sustainability Policy| It took me a long time to get to Oboth. For these young men, IRC staff members stressed the importance of finding a job soon after arrival, and continuing their educational pursuits part-time. Twenty years ago, America was a role model for the free world. "We couldn't go back there; it was too dangerous.". Moreover, the stories of the Lost Girls are generally forgotten in light of their limited exposure when in the refugee camps. A young immigration officer in his navy uniform escorted her out the gate. And today, we are joined by John Majok, a man whose story is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Many children survived a gruesome 1,000-mile walk to get to the closest refugee camp. person who moves to a new country or region. The tenuous peace held, and in 2011 southern Sudan held a referendum in which its people almost unanimously decided to secede from Sudan and form a new nation. In the novel, A Long Walk To Water, by Linda Sue Park, a young boy named Salva is a Southern Sudan refugee, a "Lost Boy". CORLEY: Okay. I didn't know that the people who were living with me were all gone. A corner was turned. But it didn't work out. Further, the Northern population was primarily Arabic-speakers, while the South comprised an English speaking population. After graduating from Hillcrest, But chose to work, hoping to earn money to help his mother and siblings back home first as a salesperson at Home Depot, then at a school cafeteria in Lousiana. She was still alive. In December 2013, political tensions between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar erupted into fighting in South Sudan's capital, Juba. I stayed flat and waited until nighttime. Students watch excerpts from the film God Grew Tired of Us. Mr. MAJOK: Well, it's sort of funny, because we had been dating each other over the phone. And he joined us here in our studio. If you do not have enough time, encourage students to watch the film at home on their own.5. Tell us about that trip, and who did you see there? Boy's diary is an artifact found in the chapter "Bill's Town". [34], When conflict reached the rural parts of Southern Sudan, women were affected just as much as the men, only in different ways. Copyright 19952023 American Documentary, Inc. | amdoc.org/pov. Eventually the bombing would start again, and they continued south, first to Kapeota, then to Narus. 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.[24][17]. That's doesn't justify whatever crimes they did but it's part of the baggage we came with depression, anxiety. That was the heartbreaking part of. The survivors of this tragic exodus became known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. The Lost Boys faced enormous challenges in adjusting to American culture and modern society. They also got blissfully acquainted with something called pizza. The shells missed me. It's been difficult given the unstable environment. It was a part of learning while going through bad things. Ask groups to mark the routes the Lost Boys took. The Boys We Meet in Lost Boys of Sudan Santino Majok Chuor Santino is a Southern Sudanese Dinka from Yirol. Majok. For nearly three hours, But waited for his mother at the international arrivals gate at DFW International Airport. I remembered how the elders had shown us how to protect ourselves, so I covered myself with a person who was dead. ", The journey took 30 days on foot and was not without dangers. The Lost Boys of Sudan are a group of Dinka youth who fled civil war in their native country, spent a decade growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp, and were eventually resettled in the United States. Be the first to review this title. the Sudan, many young Sudanese were transferred south to the Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya. In June 1992, the boys reached Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp, where they would spend the next nine years. One of them, Abraham Awolich, told The New York Times: I dont want to see another generation of children go through what Ive gone through and what other children of my generation went through.. 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