Читать книгу Courageous Journey - Barbara Youree - Страница 7

PREFACE

Sometimes we look through a single window at one of the world’s many tragedies and are touched so deeply that we are forever changed. That happened to me when I met Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol and heard their incredible story.

I knew Sudan was in Africa, but I had not been aware of the civil war between the North and the South, in which more than two million Sudanese had died and even more displaced. The war was still raging in 2001 when I first learned of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan. Since I rarely miss a news cycle and am especially interested in global situations, I was shocked to learn that thousands of displaced children had walked for months across Sudan’s barren land, menaced by starvation, disease, wild animals and shrapnel from their own government’s helicopter fire. The world community made little effort to relieve their suffering. Though the peace accord was signed in 2005, a similar crisis has erupted in Darfur. Fortunately, this situation is receiving media coverage.

In 2001, when several of the Lost Boys—who had spent their childhoods in refugee camps—arrived in Kansas City, churches and community groups sought out mentors to help them adjust. I signed up. It soon became clear to me that these young men had goals in mind. Education was the first priority, followed by letting the world know about the plight of their country. They saw themselves as “seeds of a new Sudan.” You will understand why as you read this book. Ayuel and Beny asked me to write their story to get their message out—that there is a monumental crisis in Sudan. They and other refugees plan to do all they can, but their country also needs the resources of the rest of the world to help solve it.

This book presents the struggles of Ayuel and Beny, which, in some measure, reflect the universal experiences of millions of others.

My aim is to personalize the consequences of worldwide conflicts by showing how Ayuel, Beny and their friends dealt not only with the physical challenges, but also with the spiritual dimension of anger, revenge, faith and forgiveness.

My portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Greater Kansas City Lost Boys Network, Inc., a foundation that offers support and financial assistance to Lost Boys across the area.

—Barbara Youree