Backround
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The long, hard travel route.
In 1987, civil war took about 20,000 young boys from their homes and families in south Sudan. Most of the boys were only about six or seven years old when they excaped to Ethiopia to be free of death, or taken into slavery and the northern army. They walked more than a thousand miles, half of them dying before reaching a Kenyan refugee camp. The few survivors of this tragic journey became known as the Lost Boys of Sudan.
The war definitely impacted several of the girls too. When the many villages were attacked, girls were found out to be raped, and women and small children (boys and girls) were kidnapped to the north to be used or sold as slaves. When arriving in the camps in Ethiopia, the boys were put in boys-only areas of the camp, but based on Sudanese culture, the girls were not allowed to be left by themselves and were placed with surviving family members or adopted by other Sudanese families. Many girls had been living in these family's for up to 9–14 years, they were no longer considered orphans and therefore, were not eligible for the resettlement program. As a result, only a few of the Lost Girls were made eligible for the resettlement program to the US.
In 2001, close to four thousand Lost Boys came to the United States seeking peace, freedom, and education. 120 of these young men resettled in the Atlanta area with the IRC’s help.
The war definitely impacted several of the girls too. When the many villages were attacked, girls were found out to be raped, and women and small children (boys and girls) were kidnapped to the north to be used or sold as slaves. When arriving in the camps in Ethiopia, the boys were put in boys-only areas of the camp, but based on Sudanese culture, the girls were not allowed to be left by themselves and were placed with surviving family members or adopted by other Sudanese families. Many girls had been living in these family's for up to 9–14 years, they were no longer considered orphans and therefore, were not eligible for the resettlement program. As a result, only a few of the Lost Girls were made eligible for the resettlement program to the US.
In 2001, close to four thousand Lost Boys came to the United States seeking peace, freedom, and education. 120 of these young men resettled in the Atlanta area with the IRC’s help.
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Africa
The travel route the boys had to take to get to freedom, walking more than 1,000 miles.
The travel route the boys had to take to get to freedom, walking more than 1,000 miles.