Week 4: Lost Boys

Imagine being a young child no older than ten years old. You had to separate from the only family you ever knew or watched them being killed before your very eyes. You set out on foot trying to avoid being killed not knowing where you where going, but hoping wherever you end up you will be safe. It is a hard pill to swallow, but for the Lost Boys of Sudan this was there life. It started in 1983 during the Second Sudanese Civil War. These young boys and girls had to fend for themselves. "...hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. Relocated in refugee camps, many children had witnessed the murders of their family, and often were the only members of their community to survive" (http://www.livecitizen.com/2009/05/the-lost-boys-of-sudan/). During this time many of the young boys began to gather together and escaped the terror of what was going on in their "mother country." "

These 'lost boys' of the Sudan trekked enormous distances over a vast unforgiving wilderness, seeking refuge from the fighting. Hungry, frightened and weakened by sleeplessness and disease, they crossed from the Sudan into Ethiopia and back, with many dying along the way. The survivors are now in camps in Kenya, the Sudan and Uganda" (http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/closboys.htm). In the early 2000s around 3800 of them were picked to come to the United States and begin a new life for themselves. But their coming to the US was not always met with open arms. As we see in Dave Eggers "What is the What," the boys had to deal with being taunted and being mugged, and having their homes robbed. Still they did not let these road blocks stop them from achieving their dreams. Many have went to college and graduated with degrees and have went back home building schools or became teachers. Others have started non-profit organizations trying to educate others who are not aware of this tragedy. Still there are many boys and men who are trying to recover from this tragedy. Some still have not located their other family members.