"Lost Boys of Sudan's Story: How I remembered it?"

This "trekking journey" began between 1987, and 1989 when groups of young boys and men fled out of South Sudan for Ethiopia to which the country was at the civil war with itself: South Sudan against the Old Sudan. I was younger than almost eight years (8 years old)younger at that time and therefore I did not make it until later in 1999 with resettlement program directly to Loki town, Kenya after all these young men and boys trekked for lengthy dayswithout proper clothings, malnutritions, running clean water, shelters, and shoes acrossing and dissecting that long trajectory distance of ‘Ajah-geer’ semi-arid known as in the native Dinka language as ‘Sahara ee Ajahgeer’ since country was awfully pummeled and wreckagely ravaged by the Khartoum government in the North Sudan. It would be good that it were canopy desert, however only dispersed and scattered deserted trees were found in this ‘whiring’ wild desert of ‘Ajah-geer’ where untamed animals such as giraffe, elephants, rhinos, antelopes, breed deer type, tigers, leopard, lions, hyenas, wolves, and the rests of other dangerous carnivore preys—‘the flesh-eating mammals’ of this order of species’—tensely crowded this desert. 

Of course, there must be so different ways to narrate and tell this un-thinkable story of the ‘Lost Boys’ of South Sudan, however they left the South Sudan probably precisely between 1987 and 1989 since they did not leave and take off at one time together---the rest of these group of young men and boys departed in 1989 with escort of few South Sudanese Liberation delegate to take them to the Ethiopia where they can have better future of basic educations since they can not get and afford within South Sudan----everything was skewed to the North Sudan and that put South Sudanese people in unproportional disadvantages. It was probably coming out from the top of South Sudanese leaderships and it was meant to as a long term ‘exit grand strategy’ and the way forward to lessen the low level of illiteracy found amongst South Sudanese people who have already joined and were participating in the system for liberations and for the nation-building soverenity in the 2005 Naivasha-Kenya CPA agreements for fixed six years fold protocol referendum independence from the Old Sudan. 

Nearly every Payam districts in three South Sudan regions: Bhar el ghazal regions, Equatorial regions, and Upper Nile regions participated in the selections of these youngmen and boys who left for Ethiopia in the time period between the 1987 and 1989 to pursue basic educations there since it was the stronghold of the liberations. Payam district chiefs and ‘magak’ boma administration leaders had hand-picked the exact crunchy-number of these young men and boys from their respective families and extended families for permission type of agreements since this was a ‘win-win situation’ for both size of participating parties: individual picked persons’ families and the South Sudan liberation leadership delegate. It took the South Sudanese liberation delegates to get this exact number of young men and boys going for Ethiopia since there were not any fixed number required. It was depending onto the individual persons picked to go for Ethiopia families to give as many young men and boys to the delegates as they can generate. 

This was not a drafting version meant to join the South Sudanese liberation troops in the Ethiopia, but it was the different version of the program to eradicate ill and desperatedrate of illiteracy that was found in those participating ethnic groups in the liberation struggle fronts. And it was not much similar to ‘the ROTC training programs’ in the America, but a quazi-type of getting as many young men and boys to Ethiopia for basic educations. Thousands of young men and boys agreed to go for Ethiopia since there was not any draft for soldier training attached to the program. So make no mistake, it was a totally different version of illiteracy eradication in the South Sudan since majority of South Sudanese people did not go to school to which it gave the liberation for referendum independence much more difficult to foster and attain as well. 

As drafting version of program finished, these courageous South Sudanese young men and boys from these stronghold South Sudan regions: Equatorial region, Bhar- el ghazal region, and Upper Nile regions took off for their lengthy journey for Ethiopia without proper laggages, running water containers, poor malnutritions, and filthy clothings and wrecked walking shoes as well. Hundreds of hundreds of young men and boys collapsed in the ways of dehydrations and poor malnutritions. I do not know an exact figure of those who had perished and had died in the long trajectory ways for Ethiopia: Bilpam town and Panyudo town destinations. They trekked in the scotchy summerlong until these young men and boys reached Bilpam town and Panyudo town—Ethiopia with accurate navigation guidance from the few South Sudanese liberation delegations. 

This disasterous lengthy journey should have had been avoided if they had traveled during the rainy seasons, however the South Sudanese liberation delegations did not think and foresaw this untimely death and perish of these young men and boys by taking them during the so-called ‘wet seasons’. South Sudaneseliberations’ delegation probably had thought that rainy seasons was not the good time of the year to travel bare-foot acrossing that ‘the days and months long distance’ in the muddy-partially tropical savannah areas, although there is a solely desert of ‘Ajahgeer’ sahara put in place to crippled right a cross to the Ethiopia destinations. However it is hard to label it as a poor planning and advisement from the delegations and from the South Sudanese liberation leadership who crammed this program in the first place to take these young men and boys without proper preparedness and equipments to avoid collapse and malnutritions incurred and encountered in those times of seasons. 

Animals preyed for them all summer long until they finally reached to the destinations. It was heart-breaking both at the individuals homestead and in the front barrack destinations in Panyudo  town and Bilpam town in Ethiopia when hundreds of hundreds of these young men and boys roll-call recorded and announced collapsed in the ways without more muscles and stamina to get and to enable them to the proper destination---known today Ethiopia in the first place. Names of collapsed individuals were of course sent back to their respective homesteads and families as well to the Payam district chiefs and ‘magak’ boma administration leaders. 

After their arrival in both stronghold areas: Bilpam and Panyudo towns, they were enrolled in those basic educations virtual class rooms to learn Math and English as well as other courses such as Social studies and Sciences. It took them years to learn and to develop mortal development skills necessary until when Ethiopian government got ‘regime change’ from Eritera province today became a country in 1991. This was a disastrousupheaval since they took a power with overwhelming ‘manpower’ including both men and women were heavily armed against the Ethiopian government of Magisto Haile Marriam. Few Ethiopian forces tried to resist the uprising known as ‘intifida’, however they were miserably defeated to which mass people who were dwelling in the Addis-abbas capital city as well as in the suburbian areas escaped in disarray to save their lives and well-beings. 

So groups of these South Sudanese young men who had spent hand-fulled years in Ethiopia ran as well. As they acrossed the river Gilo in the mountainous valley, thousands of thousands drown since they did not know how to swim and as well eaten by water alligators and crocodiles and other water speciespreyed on them. Not only did they know how to swim, however, they drown because river Gilo’s water was filthy due to theovercrowded masses on the run and fear of water—hydro-phobia crippled in. Almost everywhere you see a person screaming for transcendant help, but they did not get through river Gilo basin shore since everyone was hazzling and rushing to get out of the deadly river Gilo and enemies---the Eriterean armies engulfed thousands of lives onland and as well as many lives, who were drown in the river Gilo, were still counted as their swords. 

Few who survived the 1991 coup d’etat in Ethiopia to which led to overthrow of Magisto Haile Marriam finally arrived in Pochalla town and Kapoeta town in the Equatorial region of South Sudan. Almost the same year in 1991, the Eritrea government declared its independence from recently Ethiopian governemt and installed their leadership in the today Eritrea. South Sudanese youngmen and boys with South Sudanese leadership delegates,----known as ‘care-takers’, who were assigned to stay with them, organized them again in Pochalla town and Kapoeta town in South Sudan demarcations and figured out who were missing and who have made it alive. Of course, the roll-call rubrics were passed along to uncheck your names and subsequently list of those who have been found deadaccording to the roll-call rubrics were reported back again to the South Sudanese liberations’ leadership Council. And so these South Sudanese young men and boys with their guidant care-takers as it was referred to, stayed through 1991 until 1992 when they took off again with young men and boys for Kakuma—Kenya for refuge and resettlements under the United Nations for High Commissions of Refugees (UNHCR) and the Lutheran World Federations (LWF) since they were starving in the South Sudan border of Equatorial region with both Kenya and Ethiopia, where they had spent years there until the militarily‘change of regime’ in 1991 for democracy experimentations in the ‘horn’ of East Africa Countries. 

As South Sudanese delegate literally was known as ‘care-takers’ saw this issue of starvation strike, they urged these young men and boys from South Sudan who had survived the deadly coup d’etat in Ethiopia to ‘claspingly’ organize and buckle-up their laggages for Loki town ‘sprint’ journey primarily since this was a place where the United Nations programmes’ agencies ‘headquarteredly’ stationed with the thorough advices from the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation (SSRR) agency to undergo for refugee resettlements in Loki town as a resettling reception and accomodation places they---the UNHCR subsequently ‘uhauled’ them to the Kakuma Refugee Camps, Kenya, in the semi-arid heart land of Turkana district. With days of travel from both towns: Pochalla and Kapoeta—South Sudan border towns, they finally arrived in Loki town---Kenya for refuge short-term receptions. Of course, they were received with warm-welcome after few days of deliberations and decisions awaiting for them to qualify for refugee resettlement in Kakuma---Kenya. 

In 1992 after deliberations and decisions from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Lutheran World Federations (LWF) and other inter-governmental agencies, they ‘uhauled’ these young men and boys of South Sudan who recently arrived from South Sudan regionally border with Kenya to Kakuma Refugee Camps, where they will be resettled until problems of South Sudan with the Old Sudan resolved and be repatriated back to their country or stayed there in Kenya as long as they wanted. 

As these young men and boys from South Sudan with their ‘care-takers’ arrived in Kakuma Refugee Camps in the Turkana ethnic group district, they were given basic educations from kindergartens, Primaries and Secondary schools.-----it was a 8-4-4 curriculum system of Academia where they started primaries from first grade (1st grade) regardless of years of kindergartens pre-school works until eigth grades and then go on for High school educational studies from Form I, II , III and IV for diploma graduations and country-wide certifications. Higher education is also four years as well. And so these young men and boys from South Sudan did not qualify for kindergartens’ pre-school work accommodations and intakes because they they were grown up enough to which it put them to jump-start their fundamental literacy educations in the Primaries with Swahili language as being the mandatory subject. 

Kakuma Refugee Camps---Kenya was dissected into series of nominal zones (blocks in plain English) and of groups. There was nominal zone one with its respective groups and it went on with zone two with its groups, comes zone three and four with their groups. Primaries schools and food security distribution centres were divided and assigned according to their respective zones and groups to which you were identified and aligned to. For instance, if you were from zone four, group fifty (zone 4, group 50), and then you could go to primaries within the Zone four areas, but you were still eligible and flexible to transfer from any zone and groups you preferred to. Only High schools---Bor Town Secondary, and Napata Secondary were in almost one location, especially they were built in the zone one area, however they were built and constructed in the totally different groups: Bor Town Secondary was built in the zone four neighborhood area whereas Napata Secondary school was built much closer to group eighth area ( group 8). Just few miles apart where you could choose either to go to Bor Town Secondary or Napata Secondary school after eighth years completion of primaries educations to ignite your four years secondary school educations according to the so-called ‘the Eight Four-Four’curriculum system of Kenyan education systems known as in acroymn: 8-4-4. System. Travelling to either these Secondary schools were extremely hazzling oriented since they were much little far apart from one another. It was good if you picked the much closer Secondary schools to which it must be closer to your dwelling groups or a place of refugee residency. Was a location a choice? Of course, it was a choice where by you had a leeway to pick either any primaries or secondary schools of your choice and then you re-located to much closer schools where you will avoid hazle and lateness. 

As I arrived from South Sudan in 1999 to Kakuma Refugee Camps, I primarily landed by aircraft from Panyagor town, Twic East County, Jonglei State, South Sudan in Loki town where these young men and boys from South Sudan were once-time refuged and resettlingly accommodated under the United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) and as well under the Lutheran World Federations (LWF) and many other inter-governmental agencies in Loki town---Kenya like CARE International where they provided ‘medicines’ and betterments’ as they come from the ‘highest order slogan according to the University of Rochester phrasing. After days of refugees’ resettlement papers, I was as well ‘uhauled’ to Kakuma Refugee Camps for resettlements as pre-resettling young men and boys from South Sudan did. I did not have much difficulty as they had, because I knew where I was going in comparison to these young men and boys first hand experiences. The idea was not similar to the phrasal expressions that ‘first comes, first saved.’ It was a vice versa  only they had a chance of getting ahead of me academically since I  totally had holistic differentexperiences in the South Sudan after they had left the country for Ethiopia and then sought refuge in Kakuma---Kenya. And age was another attributes that had factored in our experiential-gaps in the different countries: Away from home country and stayed in the home country, but sought safety and hiding almost in the different fashions time variations.

Unlike these young men and boys experiences away from homestead Country: South Sudan since 1987 and 1989, I  also faced and encountered the so-called 1991 Nuer ethnic group insurgencies and massacre-cleansing in the Twic East County, where these mainly Nuer ethnic groups defected from the South Sudan liberation political organization----SPLM and formed their own liberation political factions known today the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), however it was known as in acronym as the South Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM) led by today current vice-president to South Sudan Engineer by professional training in Europe Riek Machar-Teny and with the United Kingdom born-citizen wife, Emma----who did not survive the insurgent struggles long enough, but perished beforehand she got to ‘the promise-lands’ to which she humanitarianly contributed immensely--- from the Nasir---Upper Nile State and Bentiu----today Unity State-----this is where you find the Nuer ethnic group strongholds inhabitations. We escaped the 1991 Nuer ethnic groups massacre-cleansing against the mainly residents of Duk County, Twic East County, and Bor South County of today Jonglei State---South Sudan and hid in the riparian basin of river Nile in the swampy areas where we had lived on water species----fishes, water-lily, and rooted plants order of species----literally known as in native Dinka Language—‘goor’ and ‘thoon’…It was a tragedic and awful experiences and lives without proper clothings, cookwares, mosquito-nets, blackest, beddings, and tent sheltering, medical treatments, and malnutritions especially to those civilians who did not have canoes and fishing-nets since everything were taken and lootedly trapped by the 1991 Nuer ethnic groups insurgencies. These young men and boys were lucky enough to get and received transient food security aide and medical treatments, and basic educations from the United Nations in the ends in 1992 in Kakuma---Kenya after years of tribulations and treks with bare-foot. 

Of course, we finally got both humanitarian interventions and counter-insurgency intervention as well as in 1993 when South Sudan liberation leaderships decided and agreed to fight both counter-insurgency and the Old Sudan armies simultaneously on the ground with enough man-power necessary. After days of deliberation decisions from the South Sudan leaderships, they sent their troops to curb down counter-insurgency which had taken part of Jonglei State---South Sudan and made the Twic East County as their head-quarter capital town where they will fight the South Sudan liberation troops on the groups with rumor liason fashion alignments with Khartoum government at the time to stay strong against the South Sudan liberation troops as they can with enough immunitions and man-power. 

Right early in the morning when orbiting planet Sun arises from the East compass horizon, South Sudanese liberation troops opened fire against the 1991 Nuer ethnic groups massacres’ overpopulated militias and finally curbed them out of Twic East County----Panyagor town after one-day and half group fightings to their respective Ayod County and Nasir town---Nuer ethnic groups defection stronghold areas.  As they fought counter-insurgency against the 1991 Nuer ethnic groups militias, the South Sudanese liberation troops sent a success message back to the South Sudan leadership that they have curbed out the 1991 Nuer ethnic groups out of the Twic East County areas as well as in the areas of the two Counties of Bor South and Duk County in the today Jonglei town. After days, news developed right theyvacated Counties: Bor South County, Twic East County and Duk County to residential civilian people, who were dispersed and scattered along the riparian of river Nile basin swamps known as today as ‘tioc’ in the Dinka Language.  

Excitements and cheerings started to overshadow disappointments and fears and goods began to spread to civilian people across in the hiding areas.  And more and more residential and citizenry people sought new resettlement and relocations to the Panyagor town---Twic East County and part of Bor South County---Jonglei State----South Sudan since Duk County was still a target and vulnerabilities for insurgencies’ attacks and occupations-----It was basically left out as a battleground to fight and shell 1991 Nuer ethnic groups’ insurgencies as in ‘brink of an eye’ and they could distancely shell and bomb beforehand before they reached much closer to the Panyagor town----Twic East County, where residential civilians were surrounded in the suburbian villages and towns of ‘Patat suburbian villages (Panyagor town—capital town areas suburbians), Wangulei town(Nyuak Payam), Pawel town (Kongor Payam district), Paliau town(Ajuong Payam districts stronghold areas), Maar town (Pakeer Payam districts) and then goes back further to the Bor South County areas. 

After days of civilians’ resettlements in their respective areas with exception of Wernyol town(Lith Payam districts people) and part of Bor South County and almost whole of Duk County was susceptible and vulnerabilities to 1991-1993 Nuer ethnic groups insurgency attacks and takeover---who knows? Just to always keeps an eye from the rotating routine shifts standing on the water-tanks’ containers with teleoscopes monitoring insurgencies from further away intercepts from the Panyagor town. This monitoring of insurgencies with teleoscopes did not last longer because the ‘land-mine clustered bombs’ were subsequently sowed in the areas around the Panyagor town to all the way circulating vulnerable areas such as ‘Weraweer’ areas, ‘Baarzhot’ areas, ‘Dieeroor’ areas, ‘Payom’ areas, ‘Pageer’ areas known as ‘Piom e Duony tuong’, ‘Pamot’ areas, ----upto ‘Pataat’ suburbian villages of Panyagor town---Twic East County and back-yards of Panyagor town and Pawel town were left open from ‘clustered-bombs land lines’ since they were saved for defeat from insurgencies’ retrieval areas and ease-back for counter-insurgencies fightings and ‘Dahuam’ literally known in Dinka Language as ‘getting help’after fighting exhaustions and defeat and re-energized for readiness for fighting on the offense. 

This counter-insurgency fighting stayed foot in place with its ‘cluster-bomb landmines’ sowed in the grounds until 2005 when Comprehensive Peace Agreements (CPA)---the Naivasha---Kenya with its six protocols for after six years term referendum to which the 1991 Nuer ethnic groups’ insurgencies leader, Engineer Riek Machar—Teny and the South Sudan Liberation leader John Garang Mabior, Ph.D trained, signed the Nairobi-Kenya agreement before they togetherly headed for Naivasha-Kenya CPA agreement to end the two decades fighting with the Old Sudan. It was a remarkable agreement to unlock their horns’ from years of continuous fighting and arm struggles nationally and domestically across the ethnic groups’ lines and as well as the cross the heritages’ lines: African descent and Arabian descent. And still it is a break through and no doubt about those agreements they have had signed for peaceful co-existences and determinations in the sovereign nations: South Sudan. 

I started the holistically new refugee experiences in Kakuma Refugee Camps---Kenya after Loki town arrival by air-craft. This was unthinkable ‘first airspace flight’ ever to travel and orbited in the regional air hemispheric spaces of East Africa to which I have never had in my life since I was born in 1980 during the ‘Cold War ‘in the American political jargons. As I arrived in Kakuma Refugee Camps---Kenya, I began to continue with basic educations ---both primaries and partially High School educations to which I later completed it in the United States after three years in Kakuma Refugee Camps since January 1999 to April 03, 2001 when I arrived in the America, New York State. 

Upon arrival to the United States, the ‘cultural shocks’crippled in since it was for the first time to the ‘new world’ where my ancestral fathers probably had dreamed of. It was a big learning curve for me where you adjusted to variety of things such as foods, clothing laundry and works. As I could barely remember, I discolored my clothings with bleach detergent since I was used to manual washing of clothes with bare-soaps and rinsed with waters in the end in the Kakuma—Kenya. Unfortunately I did not read a manufacturing usage label clearly and it was so sad and awful that I had discolored my ‘blue jeans’ in the laundry to which I bought in Kenya----it was not inexpensive jean since getting hard money in Kakuma---Kenya was not easier rather in the place I was newly arrived. I subsequently learned a different between the bleach detergent and other detergent for mixed clothings---I did not know that the bleach detergent was only used specifically for white colored clothingly only----just did not literally glance at the manufacturing usage label is the appropriate answer for wrong doings to which it resulted in demolishing my clothings. After realizing that I destroyed my clothings in the laundry machine, I called one of first America volunteers who was helping number of South Sudanese youngmen and boys of South Sudan, Paula Streets, before I met Mzee Jerry and Anna-Maria Deluccio, Arthur and Betsy Malone, Cheryl and John Ericksons, Bob and Nancy, Professor Andrea Rubery and so on, just to mention the few who had been instrumental in helping us in the Rochester Area in conjunction with the Catholic Family Center(CFC), the local agency who also tremendously helped us transiting in the United States of America. I was so fortune that Paula Streets ran to the clothing markets and bought me tons of clothings and the same I applied to the local agency, the Catholic Family Centers, when I told the stories behind demolishing my clothings, they bought me more and more clothings---I was so overwhelmed when I received abundant of clothings superseding what I had before---especially my case worker from Catholic Family Centres, Suzanne Remitos was attached to me in getting helps I needed at the time.  She and local volunteering American families worked tirelessly and relentless in this process of absorbing to the America culture----learning how to use laundry machines with fluid detergents, cooking stoves, using a vacuum to clean the carpets, and how to get food from the local markets such as Walmarts, the Family dollars, and so forth. I was an example, however it was affecting some of my colleagues who recently arrived from Kakuma---Kenya and getting helps from local agencies and volunteering American people was necessary and vital. 

Adjusting to the weather conditions, especially the ‘winter seasons’ where bounty snow flakes fall from the sky, was so striking and hard since it gets colder and colder. This was a new weather condition to which people get used to it in over time. Of course, it took me a while here in the Western New York region, however wearing a winter jacket and hand gloves became a custom and I started to get acquainted as other my South Sudanese known as ‘the Lost of Boys’ across the country. As years passed by, I began to make some snow balls and did some snow boating----sliding over the snow glacier and it is an adventure and fun. It is so awesome and I enjoy every moments of winter seasons. Only later when I stayed long enough and was able to afford a vehicle that was when it was little scary on the road infrastructure. Getting tools necessary for the snow ball removal became vital in striving through the weather conditions. It gets blister and extremely cold after days when it stayed on the ground and wind current swang in---this is when it get colder and in the matter of few months is wind down for regular seasons. 

As I spent three months in the hands of the Catholics Family Centres(CFC) inter-governmental organizations supports, they subsequently decided in liason fashion to find us entry level jobs with few of my colleagues to which we travelled and arrived here in Rochester together: Peter Akol, Mathon Agoth,  Abraham Biar Chol, and me as well. Of course, each one of us had different memoir stories and that does not meant that I will have to speak for them. Abraham Biar Chol had already written an amazing and concise anthology pertaining ‘the lost boys’ of South Sudan stories and Mathon Agoth Noi , on one hand, had taken a different size of life-----he found a non-profit organization known today as ‘Building Minds’ in South Sudan----it is a great an accomplishment and seminal works. And with that said, everyone is working tirelessly and relentless hard to express those tribulations and hardships that they had gone through. As I said I can not speak volume for them, each one of us went into the different directions on how to make life as they situated. Majority of these young men and boys who were uplifted to the United States of America across the heart of ‘the shining hills’ chose to go to workforce ----some of them go to school full time and work part-time---no rest just to achieve that transcent ideas of ‘exceptionalism’ to which the American people given them and sowed in the ‘so-called ‘bravery hope’ which President Barack Obama already spoke about it and yet working to fix our social and economic problems. The seminal idea is to speak about tribulations and work ethnics we had applied after we gotten off from the cares of the local intergovernmental agencies such as the ‘Catholics Family Centres’ , the United States Catholics Conferences for Bishops (USCCB) and Catholics Charity organizations in the part of Syracuse, New York. Almost all of us who are residing in the Western New York State region had a connection to these agencies. 

When we arrived we were popular and still today popular, especially in the media such as the newspapers and cable networks journalists relentlessly wrote and spoke volumes aboutus----I remembered Tom Brokaw from the NBC at the time, he was anchored of the National Broadcasting Corporations(NBC) netwroks and he did a headlines pertaining the memoir stories of the Lost Boys of South Sudan and even the acronym derivation of the so-called ‘lost boys ‘ of South Sudan formerly known as youngmen and boys[rohr-thii ci lo nhial in Dinka Language] was coming through the news media---‘the Lost Boys’ which stemmed from the media from the Peter Pan stories of those these young children who never grows up and stayed the same---I do not know what that literally means, however it was a fiction striking stories from the place known the Neverland---not Netherland from continent of Europe according to the American writers. Generally I found this generosity and caring to be something that I will never forget how to get to this paid media networks without paying anything. We did not pay probably local agencies and American volunteering people had paid the services and time lapsed in getting and embroidering the stories to the news networks. 

This generoscity and warm-welcoming we got when we landed in ‘the New World’ known today the United States of America was started from Kakuma, Kenya during the interviews from the Joint Volunteering Agency (JVA) intergovernmental organization until America. Of course, it is applied to immigrants, who come to America, they certainly get that sense of welcoming in getting situated in the new place they found. I am saying that we were not the only immigrants with refugee status in the time before naturalization to become an American citizen. As we got off the Rochester, New York airport, we saw a signboard written: “Welcome to America”. It was so touching and worth remembering it and expressed it in writing this ‘anthology’, it combined different life journey and memoirs stories we had gone through either away from home or remained at the home—meaning South Sudan and of course, we are today still at home depending on how you literally interpreted and unpacked it to get the whole meanings from my writing standpoint. We are not being philosophical here and I understand any audience who had read our memoir stories probably we looking and questing for intrinisic truths behind the stories of ‘Lost Boys’---probably you had run a cross the phrase ‘home’. In philosophical stand point, you would grasp spiritual and physical home to which we were dwelling. And spiritual homeis being that transcendant home of souls and spirit ---- according to those who have read works of Plato…it is bulky and you grasp well when you read more recent works of Aristotle----. Of course, I can say that America is ‘the heavenly home’ on the orbiting earth planet since it was found from the ideals and values stipulated in the humanistic works and partially in the religious values depending on how you interpreted, although we know there is the clear ‘separation between church and state’…probably there is a point where they overlapped simply getting knittly interwoven in the wall that set them apart from one another. 

Getting to learn English language became a seminal task when I first arrived, although I had learned basic English literally referred to English as the Second Language (ESL) from Panyagor town, in Twic East County, South Sudan and as well from Kakuma---Kenya, in the refugee resettling camps. Of course, the English we were learning were not coming from the teachers and instructors whom English is their first language. Although you got the college level of intensive trainings, you still do not get to the level of those whose that language is the first language, unless you come here younger; that means there is a tendency where you become bilingual----knowing both languages English and given native Langauge like Dinka language for instance in my case. Of course, it took me few years and yet still learning English, both both verbal and writing----up and down size is not the least, however I am still crippling where it will not peak the first language----getting to the same level with my first language---being Dinka Language. This problem of learning English was not my own problem, but it was also affecting my colleagues, the youngmen of South Sudan. Of course, those who came in the younger age like between the eight and twelve years old and below had now become bilingual----this is plus and advantage for those who came younger to the United States of America. Can that be true in our case? It must be right because there are some who under the age of eigthteenth (under 18 years old). Younger age seems to pick up language very easily comparing with those who come with old enough----learning phase seems to play role here in getting to the truth behind language learning. I crippled in getting to learn English until I got to the College and earned my undergraduate degree in Political Science in the Social Science spectrum and yet I still have ‘hope’ to someday commenced in graduate degree and post-graduate studies as well, although I will not stay in the same peak with those whose English is their first language.

Ascent is also another barrier to which I found to be another problem here in getting to learn English. When you communicate with those whose English is their first language, they probably had hard time getting to grasp your point and of the bulk of your theme to which you want to convey become a ‘deal’ here, unless they see writing skills that when that they will grasp what you literally meant. Or you say it back to them multiple time out loud and if you are ashy person and learner then, the tendency of getting to fluently learn English become thinner and thinner. Just say it the way phrased it, and there they will correct what you had just said. ‘Never try, never know.’ This is a beautiful phrase in getting to learn any language in order to fluent and be good at it in the plain English. I do really recall this when I first came; any people to which I spoke and communicated: they said, could you say that gain? It sounds awkward and wrong to the learner, however it is very helpful and worth remembering when learning any language. 

Interaction and television and digital printing news became very helpful in learning any language and I truly appreciated American people since the world become inter-connected through the great idea of ‘globalization’ where everything is accessable. Everyone now become a beneficiary to the ‘globalization’ through language learning, for instance leavesthe bulk part of economic size of it. More and more people including me are becoming appreciative to the ‘globalization’and without this idea of news cable networks and digital printing networks; I would have not been the way I am today. I am not reiterating that i become bilingual, but I could communicate much better than before when I was in the place where there was not any news cabled networks through High definition (HD) cable televisions. 

Just approximately five months after my arrival to the United States of America, New York City, especially the twin-towers and part of Pentagon, see classified document of the United States government, was attacked what would become today as ‘September 11’ attack roughly happened at 9 am when I was in my English class. This was a terrifying day and saddening day for American people including us the recent immigrants who just arrived to the country with the history of tribulations and hardship imposed against us by the Old Sudan government with the very connection with the Middle East world. I am not trying to narrate ‘the 9-11 attack’ in the United States’ soil, but I justwanted to showcase the ‘parallelism’ predicament to which these muslim extremists foster and carry out act of terrorizing innocent people in their own country with the‘foggy war’without any declared war so that people can thoroughly understand that there is a big tension between the two continents for per se. Of course, the previous administration of President George Bush and this administration of President Barack Obama have handled the pre-emptive attack magnificently. It did not matter what political partisan and/or alignment they are, however they are different in substances to which mass citizens including the immigrants at the time were coalesced and felt the sense of protection from another attack as that the September 11 attack was pre-emptibly planned. What properly poped up or got into my mind, was that I thought I got out from ‘one prying fans into another prying fan’----that means out of one havoc to another horrifying problem such as the South Sudan-Old Sudan(this is how I literally phrased it) civil war to ‘9-11 attack’  in the American’s soil. Of course, I made a personally visit to the ground zero, where twin towers were burned down in the barrel of Manthantan of New York City in the Upstate region of the New York state. I passed near the symbolic ‘cow bull’monument, which is the significant to the Wall Street and Main Street according to the economic terminology---meaningful to United States’ economies as well as to the World Trade Organization (WTO). I did not get to question when I saw it is beautiful and worth remembering when I got there before I headed to the ‘ground zero’ to see the list of people who were lost during the attack----from those trading center’s floors imagine the twin skyscrapers in the heart of New York State, where everyone around the world eager and dream to see someday in the lifetimes and span. Number of people where posted in the board in front of Chapel before you got to and across over to see the ‘ground zero’ where twin towers were featured and built so that victim family and regular people like me at the time can see them----give a condolency to the passed away people in the midst of the attack and as well as to their family members. It is ‘holocaust’ according to the way I sensed and felt the stories since I was not born during the World War II when thousand of thousand of Jewishs were massacred. Just as I put my foot in the victim people’s feet at the time, I was really horrified and felt deeply the same way as rest of American people by and at large felt toward the attack. Anyway I can notget to narrate whole September 11 attack experiences, but I was just showing the ‘parallelism’ with my past experiences in the South Sudan. 

After the post 9-11 attack, I got back to the work-force, of course, I had an entry level job by then and continued with the same routine getting to learn English as my other colleagues from South Sudan known the ‘Lost Boy’ as they were known. Yet they became young men of South Sudan. Subsequently since I came with the refugee resettling status, I applied for the ‘naturalization paper’ so that I become the American citizen before I got to five years eligibility term for citizens. As you probably know the whole immigration process since governmental bureaucracy become tight and there was the new legislation that was passed in the United States Congress known today as ‘the  Patriot Act’ since there was 9-11 attack in the American soil, and the department of Immigration Services and Citizenship was tightened and legislatively combined with the ‘Homeland Security’ Department for oversight and security clearance  until today, they become the same department to make a small government according to the American political jargon as one of the driving force behind the correction of the new holistic department with high and supisticated intelligence where they look first on any immigration document and petition clearly to see whether it will pose a threat to the country before they legalized the given petitioning immigrants to either become a parmenant resident with the status of ‘green card’ or become the American citizen with ‘citizen status’ as I was naturalized and become an American citizen from the nationality of South Sudanese. I am not getting to the old politics and walking you through the process and the history, however to showcase how hard and slow process of immigration became after the 9-11 attack. Do I blame them? Not at all, I had waited until I got my ‘naturalization paper’ during December 2008 after the United States presidential general election was held. Of course, I could have voted in the New York State election as well as in the Presidential election in November 6th, 2008 to which my naturalization paper or citizenship in the plain paraphrasing colloquial, came the latest and in the past the Presidential general election. This election could have been my second voting when talking my participation in the political arena as other my colleagues did. I am not feeling bad about it since I understand the breadth of delays in the process and I could still count them as historic election in the American politics and democracy. This delay in my naturalization paper gave me an advantage and leeway to participate in the South Sudan’s referendum to which my whole experience stemmed from become the United States gave me a long-lasting ‘hope and faiths’ in any dimensions. Good to expose the so-called ‘truth’ then hiding it. I felt proud that South Sudan becomes a country with its own sovereignity where I can go there any time to visit my family and extended family and friends as well. Yet I have both my legal papers from both countries----a thin blue card that showcased that I had participated in the South Sudan referendum and of course, with my United States passport and other documents that it shows that I am an American citizen, who had spent two years in the oversees, especially in the South Sudan. It is worth remembering the day I was naturalized and the whole processes. 

Yet with past experiences and with the present experiences in the United States of America, can I predict what my futures behold? It is a hard question to tackle and pre-mature to explain what ‘futures behold’, however it depends to the American people, especially on the side of the education since I already had earned an undergraduate degree in the field of social sciences in the Political Science from distinguished and nationally accredited University of Niagara within the Western New York in the border of Canada and the United States of America and probably stays foot and walks on the promotional ladder in the workforce to get a descent paying positions within my current employer, the University of Rochester. According to historians, it said that if you know the past trends and present trends, then you can predict what your futures behold. Or can it just stay as the legal educational paper with that said that you completed the college levels and sit under the bed as sometime phrased in Dinka language as ‘A bi toh a gelthoar’. Of course, I already thought about this trending experiences, I thought do what I was doing before ‘burning the candle’ at both end’ meaning I will continue with graduate studies if I am accepted for the SUNY at Brockport, in the New York State so that all my degrees should come out from State within the same region known as the ‘Western New York’. And there after commencing in graduate studies, I would be able to say that I have done a tremendous progress since my arrival to the United States and this will give a leeway to feel about myself introspect with the past experiences I had gone during my younger ages. Feeling good about self is the first priority since my father, Wuor Deng Joak did not have this chances to get to schools general. He has no educational background in English as well as in other language in the South Sudan and of course, he is great father with five sons, James Deng Wuor, Dengthii Wuor, Duot Wuor, Bior Wuor and one daughter, Apadang Wuor from three wiveswith one deceased son, Joak Wuor during the 1991-1993 Nuer ethnic massacre-cleansing against the people of Twic East County, Duk County, and Bor South County within Jonglei State, South Sudan in the Upper Nile region. I just got back from South Sudan this year of 2012 in April the same year I arrived in the United States when I was given chances by the United States Department of Immigration Services and Homeland Security---although homeland Security was just add-on agency to do an oversight and security clearances and this is not coming out from memoir as one of the groups of South Sudan Diaspora. It is true story and I have physically met them for the second time since 1999. I will not speak volume on the behalf of half-brothers and a half-sister, but they are working tirelessly and relentlessly in getting the education they wanted in the South Sudan and as well as in Kenya.