The Lost boys of sudan
Ten years ago, one of the longest civil wars ever recorded ended in January 2005. Lasting for 22 years as it spread from southern Sudan to the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile, the Second Sudanese Civil War killed at least two million people and displaced roughly another four million. Though the civil war eventually resulted in the independence of South Sudan, it came with a very heavy cost.
In 2001, the US government decided to take action and give four thousand of the Sudanese refugee boys a chance to live in America. Dubbed as 'The Lost Boys' for their courageous story, they were settled into their new lives with the help of aid workers. Documentaries were made, following their transition into the foreign lifestyle. 'The Lost Boys of Sudan' specifically supported two of the Sudanese boys: Peter Dut and Santino Chuor.
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Thousands of Sudanese boys were forced to flee from their tribal villages when the northern army clashed with the southern rebel forces. The women and girls were often captured and enslaved, while the men were almost always killed. With ages ranging from four to twelve, the boys ran all the way to Ethiopia to find shelter, where they were protected for a while in a refugee camp. Then the Ethiopian Communists overthrew the government in 1991 and forced the boys out of the countries. Fleeing across the River Gilo - where over a thousand boys lost their lives to the water, crocodiles, and the Ethiopian militia - the survivors trekked across Sudan once more towards Kenya. The entire journey took over a year, and by the time the Sudanese boys reached the Kakuma Refugee Camp of Kenya in 1992, there were only half the number of boys that had originally set out on the journey.
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