MATTHEW CAPOWSKI/Arizona Daily Wildcat "Lost Boy" Peter Chol speaks to UA students and Tucsonans in the Economics building last night. Chol was one of 12 Sudanese refugees who spoke about their experiences escaping Sudan and coming to Tucson.

Sudanese men made decade-long journey to flee from civil war

Imagine fleeing your home with thousands of other children to escape from violent militia groups at the age of 8.

That's exactly what David Nyok, a Sudanese refugee, and his friends endured almost 14 years ago.

Nyok is a member of The Lost Boys of Sudan, a group of men living in Tucson who shared their stories of struggle with more than 200 people last night in the Economics building.

After each of the 12 men introduced himself, a soft-spoken man named Abraham Maluk stood up, thanked the audience for its support and began his tale.

"I miss my father the most · he was killed by an Arab in the war, and I don't even know where my mother is now," Maluk said.

Maluk's words are not uncommon for this group, which was forced to flee Sudan amid a brutal civil war.

Unrest began in the predominately Christian nation shortly after a Muslim group overthrew the government.

Denied civil rights and a fair economy, women could no longer work and children were unable to attend school.

"In 1987, we surrendered ourselves to the war when our village was attacked," said Nyok, the most vocal of the group. "Some lost their parents, but more so, some decided to leave their parents and families for a foreign country."

So began the journey of more than 20,000 young people between the ages of six and 14 who were forced to leave Sudan and seek safety. Traveling thousands of miles on foot, mostly without food and water, the "lost" boys found it necessary to use extreme survival measures.

Unable to find water, the boys ate mud, sucking the moisture out of it to avoid becoming dehydrated.

"I prayed to God. I knew I was strong inside and I kept telling my mind not to die," said a shy young man named Peter Chol.

After trekking east across Sudan, into Ethiopia, south through Somalia and finally into Kenya, many of the boys were eager to find a permanent home. After spending nine years in Kenya as refugees, many began to seek the help of the United States.

In 1995, the Sudanese government began to form an agreement with the United States to help the then teenage men get out of Africa. With help from agencies such as Immigration Naturalization Services, the refugees were able to leave Kenya.

"America is the land of opportunity, a land where you can do anything you want," Garang Marier said.

Currently, more than 1,000 Lost Boys live in Arizona, including 52 in Tucson. Through the efforts of the International Rescue Committee, the men have been set up with places to live, educational assistance and a family-like support system set up through volunteer assistance.

After hearing the stories presented, family studies sophomore Katherine Christian found herself affected by the tragedy.

"I found it so interesting," Christian said. "I don't think I could ever do something like that, which makes me really admire them."

The event was sponsored by Beyond Tolerance, a club that works to fight racism.