In 2001 before the attacks of 9/11, approximately 4,000 Sudanese Lost Boy and Girl refugees arrived in the United States.  As victims of genocidal (un)civil war which has raged in Southern Sudan for over twenty years, they have spent the majority of their lives in refugee camps of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.  Since the ages of 3 to 7, the tides of war have forced them to flee as groups of children through the deserts on thousand mile treks.  Most have lost their parents and siblings, having seen them perish or killed before their eyes.  They have survived war, thirst, starvation, and personal loss that has scarred their souls but never beat them.  Now in their early twenties, the Lost Boys and Girls living in the United States embody the hope for their country’s future.  Most are attending college while working several jobs to support their family members left in the camps.  It is their hope that through their education, they will gain the knowledge and means to rebuild their country and save the lives of their loved ones left behind.

Poems and Compositions

MOURNING! MOURNING!

We die young on our mothers, lap! 
Every morning comes with its danger and disaster.
Truly, there is no room for happiness in Sudan .
Every morning a mourning day.
There is no other sound except strange buzzing from Antinove planes and helicopter gunships dropping bombs on innocent children and women.
When the sound of the gunship whispers, every chicken (people) finds his hole for his safety. 
Truly, I do not understand from our Almighty whither it is meant for Sudan to be garden of skulls and hill of graves.
When shall we ever have your protection upon us, oh Lord, like chicken under their mother’s wings and blanket during the cold?
When shall you draw us back again, Lord, from where we take our refuge? 
We appear as though we are lesser beings in exile.
We have lost our dignity and rights; we die like dogs. Even indigenous dogs are treated far better than us.
When a dog is killed, at least a proper investigation can be carried out.
What about us, God?
People laugh at our un-bandaged wounds and our nakedness.
When will you keep their big mouths shut? 
When will they stop mocking us, oh God.
When shall our rights and dignity be respected; to be treated humanly like any other citizen.
Our people are made beggars and prisoners in our country- Sudan .
When shall we really be free from bondage, slavery, and devaluing of human life?
We are tired of refugee life.
In fact, refugee means nothing but someone who has lost his dignity and rights, as well as protection.
We find nowhere is fit for us to be.  Every place is a battle field, if not slaughterhouse.
The worst of all, our dead are not honorably buried!
Oh God of Isaac! God of Abraham! God of Jacob! 
Why did you create us?                                                                           

by Dut Daniel Akech, Norfolk , Va