The Lost Boys Look for Home.

Children driven from war-torn countries tell fearful tales of life on the run. Now, some of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan are beginning new lives in the U.S.

Emmanuel was only 4 years old when his childhood ended. His village in the African country of Sudan was attacked by government soldiers. They destroyed, his home and scattered his family. During the next two years, he and his sister followed a river of refugees--including 12,000 children, mostly boys. They walked more than 600 miles to find food and safety.

"There was no food, no medical, help. We were eating green leaves," Emmanuel, now 17, remembers. "Many people died. Some were eaten by wild animals. Many drowned when we tried to cross the rivers." All-the while, the refugees were hounded by the government army and its aircraft.

No one knows how many children died during the trek. "There was much sickness and starvation, and people would sit down by the side of the road and couldn't go on," Emmanuel told JS.

In 1992, Emmanuel and the other refugees reached the Kakuma (KAH-koo-mah) Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. "I finally felt safe when in Kakuma," he says. "I didn't hear gunshots there."

A Terrible Fate

To the outside world, Emmanuel and this group of young Sudanese refugees are known as the "lost boys"--nicknamed for Peter Pan's parentless gang in Neverland. But unlike the fairy-tale characters, they are living symbols of the terrible fates that overrun children of war throughout the world.

Some of these children have been driven from their homes and orphaned like Emmanuel. Others have been handed a weapon and forced to kill. Still others have been raped or maimed. Some have taken their own lives.

All of these children face suffering unimaginable to the average American teen.

Even so, says Molly Daggett, a social worker who has helped children in the Kakuma camp, "These kids are remarkably resilient (able to recover). They want you to know that they love to sing, dance, and play sports--just like other kids."

Emmanuel now has his chance to enjoy such activities. Last month, he and his sister arrived in Seattle, Washington, as part of a program to resettle 3,500 of the Lost Boys in the U.S.

Kids on the run

It's nearly impossible to tell how many refugees worldwide have been forced from their homes by war or natural disasters. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates the number at 24 million people-- about half of them children.

Many African countries have been ravaged (greatly harmed) by ethnic and religious conflicts. In Sudan, for example, the Arab-controlled government has been fighting black Africans--Emmanuel's people. The civil war has dragged on since 1983, leaving 2 million dead and driving another 500,000 from their homes. The war shows no signs of ending.

War is horrible enough, but these conflicts demonstrate two alarming trends that put children on the front lines. First, the soldiers aren't just shooting at each other, they're also attacking defenseless civilians (nonmilitary people). Many kids have died in such attacks, or have watched their parents and siblings killed, and their homes and villages burned.

Second, the armies often capture kids and train them to be combat soldiers. According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation, there are about 300,000 children throughout the world who are forced to fight in wars (see map, p. 11). "The smallest boys are placed closest to the enemy," the report says. "In war, they are said to be fearless.... They are cheaper to keep, as they eat less, and are easier to manipulate.... Some are sent into battle high on drugs to give them courage."

"Many of these child soldiers learn to handle guns before they learn to handle toys," says Guenet Guebre-Christos of UNHCR. "And it's very difficult to rehabilitate these young soldiers after the war is over."

Life in a Refugee Camp

Social worker Molly Daggett says that most of the Lost Boys at the Kakuma Refugee Camp fled Sudan in part to avoid becoming one of those soldiers. Kakuma, which holds more than 70,000 refugees from Sudan and other countries, is a safe haven for them. But it's no holiday resort. "It's in a remote corner of northwest Kenya. It's very arid, desert really, so nothing much grows," says Daggett.

Not able to grow their own food, the refugees must rely on the kindness of strangers. International-aid agencies like UNHCR send sacks of grain. But there's never enough, says John Majol, 12, a Sudanese boy who lives in Kakuma with his mother and sisters. "We eat only once a day, and we eat only ugali [porridge] and lentils," he says. "When I go to school I have a hungry feeling in my stomach."

There isn't much to do at Kakuma. But John is resourceful. He inflated a rubber glove, bound it with cord, sewed it into a patchwork pouch, and made a ball tough enough for a rugged soccer match. Kakuma's sports and school classes keep the kids there from going nuts, says Daggett.

"Vegetating in a refugee camp is a terrible thing," says UNHCR's Guebre-Christos, who has worked in such camps for 14 years. "You wouldn't wish it on your enemy."

For John and other young people, their time in Kakuma is coming to an end. Since they have lost their families and are unable to return to Sudan or settle in Kenya, the Lost Boys are coming to America.

"When worse comes to worst," says Guebre-Christos, "resettling in the U.S. is the best solution for them. It gives them a future, a dream."

Dreams of the Future

About 500 Lost Boys were scheduled to arrive in various U.S. cities by the end of 2000. More than 3,000 will arrive in 2001. The Sudanese refugee kids who have arrived are doing well so far, says Daggett. "It's kind of amazing. This isn't just resettlement for these kids. It's a total change of culture."

She laughs. "I think the elevator has surprised them the most: the idea that they can get in a box and zip ... they're on the 23rd floor."

But bad memories die hard. Emmanuel tells of hearing a truck backfire on a Seattle street and thinking it was a gunshot. "I was afraid again," he says. "Like in the war."

Emmanuel is happy to be in the U.S. "There's no place in Africa where I'm really comfortable," he says. "I fear for my life there. God wills that I come here to the United States. There's no sound of guns. No one hitting someone. Everyone smiles and greets one another. There's no hunger."

He plans to study agriculture in the U.S., then hopes to return to Sudan when the war finally ends. "Maybe I'll become the Minister of Agriculture in Sudan someday," he says.

That might be the happiest ending of all for Emmanuel and other Sudanese refugees: to return home and rebuild Sudan so that there need be no more "lost boys." In the meantime, the U.S. welcomes them.

Child Soldiers Around the World

Throughout the world, children under age 18 are fighting, suffering, and dying because of armed conflicts. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in more than 30 countries. Some are used as servants, messengers, and spies. Others fight on the front lines.