Resettled in the foreign land of America, the Lost Boys struggle to find an identity,
a home and they are as lost as ever.
By Molly Sunwoo
I was walking back home from work, exhausted. I was working as a laborer then. It was the worst job for someone as weak and skinny as me but I didn’t have many choices - $8.50 per hour as a ticket clerk just wasn’t going to earn me enough money for an education. When I opened the door of the apartment, I was surprised to find my American ex-girlfriend lying down on the sofa, humming a tune I wasn’t familiar with. I had broken up with her a week ago. After sending me endless texts and phone calls, and now, entering my house without permission?! It was ridiculous. Was this a part of American culture as well?
We had a huge dispute that night. She refused to break up with me. Suddenly, within the blur of the situation, I felt a hand strike across my face as she screamed, “You’re just a refugee here in America. I can kill you!” 1
Panic and fear building up inside me, I frantically pushed her out of the house and shut the door. She continued screaming outside the door for a few hours but even after she left, I could hear her furious voice echoing through my head, ‘You’re just a refugee here, I can kill you.’
Just a refugee.
I can kill you.
Peter Deng remembers one of the most horrific days of his past. His voice, strained, as he mentions that he had to place a restraining order on this woman. Besides this incident, Peter has been through several other terrible experiences in America. Within the first year of his arrival, he was assaulted, carjacked, fined $1,200 for driving without licenses, - which no one taught him was needed - and was falsely accused of fathering a child. As he lists each event, his body tenses, as if reliving these traumatizing days.
Peter now insists on staying home, for fear that he might be assaulted or be sent to jail for false accusations. He has simply given up trying to fit in - like a glass piece dropped to the ground, Peter’s determination has shattered into pieces.
“If I go to public places, the mall or a club, somebody might hurt me for that,” he says, with a voice drenched with fear. 2
It is undeniable that there were great physical sufferings for the Lost Boys in Africa. But back then, they relied on one another and supported each other. In America, most of the Lost Boys are outsiders, turned down, with no one to turn to. Just as Peter experienced, they are often harshly mistreated and pointed at for their dark skin tone. They are neither Sudanese or American anymore and rejected from society as they strive to find a home.
Though, of course, when Peter first arrived in Phoenix in 2001, he was thrilled, just as any other, completely unaware of what may be waiting for him. “So I was thinking that America is a good country. Maybe if I go there I will make money; I will go to school.” he says with a faint smile. 3
After years and years of aimlessly roaming around Africa, constantly chased by war and poverty, the Lost Boys seized any opportunities to escape.
This seemingly endless journey started when the Sudanese Civil War spread to Southern Sudan in 1987.
Nearly none of the native villages escaped from the abrupt strikes of the government and the murahaleen - arab militias on horseback who were armed by the Sudanese Government to attack SPLA and the Dinkas. Those who survived the raids would hide or run until they met other signs of settlement. Separated from their families or sometimes sent willingly by their parents, a total of 27,000 young orphaned boys and girls gathered, soon forming the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ and starting their walk towards safety.
Constantly running from violence, these boys were never able to settle down completely. Roaming around the endless continent of Africa, the boys spent 4 years in Pinyudo Refugee Camp, 9 years in Kakuma Refugee Camp and 1 year during a walk to Kenya. Wounds on their bare feet became deeper and deeper and every day was a new nightmare. “We chewed tall grasses and ate mud to stay alive.”4 John Bul Dau frowns as he recalls his walk.
Until finally, they caught the world’s attention and opportunity was in sight. Their simple wish became crystal clear them - to feel safe, to stop worrying, and live a life of peace and serenity.
Hence, when the US started resettling some of the Lost Boys to America in 2001, they grabbed it without any hesitation.
Jany Deng, is one of the exceptionally fortunate former Lost Boys who found a place in America. He was remarkably lucky to graduate high school, followed by university and in May 2005, become a US citizen. Now working as the Program Director at the Lost Boys Center for Leadership Development in Arizona, Jany works towards helping fellow victims of the war in Sudan and acts as a role model to most other Lost Boys.
But until now, Jany has had an extraordinarily painful past.
One of the first to leave the chaos in Sudan, Jany and his older brother, Simon arrived in America together in Phoenix in 1995, before most others. Unfortunately, they were separated straight away in America, as Jany (then 16) was put with foster parents while Simon (then 23) was placed in a small apartment shared with a few others. This was a common method in resettlement - the younger boys were given better environments and circumstances.
But regardless of age, whether the lost boy lived with a caring foster family or lived alone or with a few strangers, made an indescribable difference. Living conditions were the start of their new life and it could either act as a shadow or sunlight to their futures.
Though Jany started attending high school straight away, Simon could not. Already too old, no opportunities of education were provided for him. While constantly being chased by bills and economic struggles, Simon also had difficulties coping with racial discrimination. Living in his tiny apartment with a few other strangers, he was quickly filled with isolation and loneliness in an unfamiliar land. Depression soon crawled into his life - soundless, yet menacing.
Simon had landed in America with his determination strong, ready to fight. But every disappointment feeling like a punch in the gut, it didn’t take long for him to simply put down his weapons and give in.
Jany mentioned, by 1997, two years after his arrival in America, Simon had ‘grown despondent’ 5 and ‘began to speak of suicide’. 6 Completely different from his previous occasionally dispirited moods, he was constantly sorrowful.
A while after these observations, Simon Deng died in the same year. Driven from mental instability, Simon was shot by the police while damaging a Catholic Social Services Building with a pistol.
His brother’s death was an unbearable shock to Jany.
“Why here?” he asks. “He could have died over there. I could have died over there,” he says quietly, voice shaking. “The way it happened, it was not a good way.”7
America was an escape from war and violence for the Lost Boys. But, are they really safe? As a result of great social and economic difficulties now their most dangerous threat is essentially, themselves.
Around 80-90% of the Lost Boys resettled in America suffer a mental disorder called PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Caused by traumatic past experiences such as war, sexual assault, natural disaster and more, it is only natural that PTSD is exists within the Lost Boys. Though, through research, it has been proven that their current environment is also a large development factor of PTSD and that patients often experience lack of sleep, anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks.
It is a true tragedy that these bright boys are shadowed by such struggles. Still taunted by their past, they are being pulled back, unable to move on.
And because they were brought apart from their culture, family and are isolated in a foreign land among strangers, the Lost Boys often have no one to talk to, let out their troubles and feelings, which forces them to keep it all in.
Just like Simon Deng, who was not able to build personal and intimate relationships like his younger brother. Who, at the end, was left alone and helpless, to the point where he slowly cracked.
This heartbreaking story of Simon is what the majority of the resettled Lost Boys are going through. After all the deprivation in Africa, it only takes them one moment, one single moment, to let go of the willpower that kept them through their entire journey.
In the unknown land, they are fragile.
And these unfortunate yet brave boys deserve to be accepted and embraced. Like beautiful doves, wings broken from their horrible history, with love, their wounds can be bandaged, damages cured. And with encouragement, a helping hand, they can spread their wings and fly away, leaving their past behind.
References:
1. "SALON." Saloncom RSS. Leigh Flayton, 26 Aug. 2005. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.<http://www.salon.com/2005/08/25/lost_boys_3/>
2. "Boston University." Browse. N.p., 6 June 2005. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.<http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news/releases/display.php?id=951>
3. "Sudan: The Passion of the Present." 'Sudan: The Passion of the Present' N.p., 30 Sept. 2005. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.<http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2005/09/equipping_lost_.html>
4. "Impact A Village – Blog." Impact A Village Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://impactavillage.org/blog/?tag=deng-jongkuch>
5. "ExplorersBio." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr.
2013.<http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/bios/john-bul-dau/>
6. "Sudan: The Passion of the Present." 'Sudan: The Passion of the Present' N.p., 30 Sept. 2005. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2005/09/equipping_lost_.html>
7. Collom, Lindsey. "Stress Issues Still Plague 'Lost Boys' of Sudan." N.p., 7 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.<http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0407lostboys0407.html?nclick_check=1>
8. Weddle, David. "LA Times- Lost Boys of Sudan." LA Times- Lost Boys of Sudan. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.<http://www.lostboysfilm.com/articles/laTimes.html>
9. "Lost Boys of Sudan." WolfWikis RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. <http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Lost_Boys_of_Sudan>
Showing posts with label Gender Equality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gender Equality. Show all posts
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Lost Girls Empowered
Despite the hardships they have faced and the pressures of cultural norms and gender roles, the Lost Girls refuse to be forgotten.
By Aditi Pooviah
Aduei Riak sat demurely with one leg crossed over the other. She breathed softly, smoothing the fabric of her clean cut black work pants and absentmindedly stroked the red velvet lining of the deep red armchair, a splash of colour in the corner of her Boston area apartment. She was dressed as any average American lawyer would be: a crisp black blazer, hair cropped short and a delicate silver chain around her slender neck.
"I've seen a lot of things that a person of my age should not have been exposed to. The (memories) tend to be very dark and gray. I don't like talking about them, because for me talking about them is living them again." she said, eyes still glued to the floor, and even as her eyes swiveled up at me, she seemed far gone. Her usually lively eyes, the colour of sunlight shining through a glass of rum, were misted over with memories. “I was pretty much on my own at age six”.
Riak was one of the 89 ‘lost girls’ to survive the Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005), and succesfully escaped from the desolation, migrating to America. Along with other children, all torn from any sense of security, she embarked on a harrowing journey from South Sudan to Ethiopia. Facing a myriad of diseases, fatigue and starvation these children defied all odds and survived, finding refuge in a camp in Kenya. In 1999 the UNHCR created a US resettlement program for Sudanese children, and successfully resettled 4,000 boys across the United States. These boys were given the opportunity to take control of their futures in a newer, safer environment, often guided by facilitators and host families, while hundreds of girls remained forgotten, never even told about the option of applying for resettlement.
To be eligible for the program, you had to be an orphan, and for cultural reasons girls could not be left alone in camps and were sent to live with surviving families or adults. During the year that the resettlement program began, the girls had been living with these guardians for 9-14 years and were no longer considered orphans, leaving them ineligible. Repressed by a system that was made to protect them but instead restricted them, and cultural values that did the same, Sudanese girls had little hope of escaping from the future that had been chosen for them.
Aduei Riak’s survival and resettlement was a testament to her luck and perseverance, but the fact that she is thriving, an independent career woman who has more than overcome her horrific past, is what makes her story an inspiration. Riak is a beacon of hope to all who have been held back, restrained or oppressed, and especially to those that still dream of breaking the cycle, and choosing their own path.
Riak reached for her coffee, stirring with a degree of intensity, sombre as she mulled over her next answer. Like many Sudanese children, she had grown up with a warped sense of belonging. Separated from her loved ones while fleeing from danger, Riak has been a part of three foster families since being relocated to Boston. Now supported by her current foster family and a network of friends, she accredits her job as a paralegal at the law firm ‘Ropes and Gray” to this community saying: "I am where I am right now (at Ropes & Gray) because a lot of people have invested in me." Her foster parents share her affection and are ever supportive. "I'm amazed," says Garrett Parker, Riak’s foster father, clean cut in a homely grey sweater. "I think everybody that meets her is amazed at what she's been able to do. She came here with a lot of drive. She had always wanted to be more than what her culture wanted for her."
The Kakuma refugee camp has a population of 70,000 but only has the resources and services of a town of 5,000. Diseases like cholera, typhoid and malaria are extremely common. The lost boys took part in a psychological program where they were offered guidance, while the girls were supposed to seek comfort and advice from their families. This analysis was part of the criteria that was considered when choosing the candidates for resettlement, and this lack of foresight is why so few girls were resettled. The girls that were moved were mostly sisters, cousins and friends of the boys, who were personally recommended. While the girls lived with their foster families, the boys were placed in a group home and loosely supervised by adults. The girl’s homes were supposed to provide them with a more wholesome and nurturing environment, but instead these girls simply went missing over the years. Even to this day, many of the girls left at the camp (those who were not resettled) are still living with exploitative foster families. These lost girls, the pinnacle of strength when overcoming adversity, are being forced into labour as domestic servants or sex workers. They are being degraded through beatings, rape and cruel mistreatment at the hands of their families, or in many cases other men who pay a bridal fee of between 5-50 cows for them. "They think that war only affected the men," Riak says. "They do have sisters. … We do exist."
Riak moved about her apartment with ease, her sensible heels clacking on the wooden flooring as she disappeared into her kitchen, reappearing with a bowl of mixed nuts and a variety of biscuits, which she proceeded to set on the table. Apologizing immensely about her lack of equittequete at having so little to offer me she encouraged me to eat, continuing to anxiously smooth the fabric of her work pants. Her fidgeting fingers were the only telltale sign of her discomfort, flitting between the chair and the fringe of her blouse, re adjusting the chain around her neck and running across the top of her head. Riak was well adjusted to her new surroundings, but her expression was that of a woman who knew well what she had overcome to get where she was today. A woman who remembered her home before it was a plush Boston apartment and wants to leave her past far behind her.
Riak watched me as I served myself, smiling politely as I did, hands now clamped together on her lap. “I’d just like to say,” she said cautiously, but as I beamed at her, she seemed to shake off some reluctance. “Thank you.”
Some have tried to bring attention to the lost girls and their troubles, but few have been successful in inciting change. In the December of 2000, Julianna Duncan, an anthropologist specializing in refugee children wrote a report about the fate of the lost girls but even then, drama in the Kakuma camp pulled attention. In April of 2001, over 20 employees in the Nairobi UNHCR office were arrested for extorting money from refugees. “The girls were back-burnered again,” said a humanitarian worker who spent four years in Kakuma. The state department gave $6 million in 2003 to support the resettlement program, hoping that more cases would be referred and more lost girls moved, but part of the money was used to create a UNHCR staff position in Kakuma and nearly three years after Duncan’s report, no more lost girls have been referred to the department for resettlement. The situation of the lost girls seems desperate, but women like Riak show that not all hope is lost. Despite their often horrific pasts, and the fact that many lost girls are still overcoming various cultural and social challenges, the lost girls that have persevered and are living in the US have achieved a lot. Many have college degrees, careers and are happily married. Some have even returned to their homes in Sudan and are working with the government to rebuild their country, while others are sharing their stories and educating others on the plight of the lost girls, and the devastation of war.
The dedication and success of the lost girls of South Sudan is evidence of human endurance and faith. Although they continue to be repressed, broken down and ignored these women have shown courage and tenacity despite the trials they have faced. Being raised in a strict culture, facing gender inequality, overcoming their past, searching for a sense of belonging and thriving in a new setting is no easy task. Their lives have been difficult, but they will continue to prevail. Women like Aduei Riak grew up fast, and in adulthood they are even stronger. The lost girls are growing more independent by the day, and now that they understand their own potential, refuse to be left in the shadows.
Bibliography
"The Lost Girls of Sudan Try to Tell Their Story - 2004-08-31." VOA. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-a-2004-08-31-29-1-66893542/262006.html>.
"'Lost' in Sudan's Violence, She's Found Hope in USA - USATODAY.com." 'Lost' in Sudan's Violence, She's Found Hope in USA - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-23-lost-girls_N.htm>.
"BlogHer." BlogHer. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.blogher.com/frame.php?url=http://allezoup.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/lost-girls/>.
"Bio | Aduei Riak." Bio | Aduei Riak. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://beta.iwlchi.org/2008/bios/Aduei_Riak.html>.
BBC News. BBC, 06 July 2002. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2031286.stm>.
"The Lost Girls of Sudan." BlogHer Editors. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.blogher.com/lost-girls-sudan?page=0,0>.
"Opinion." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/03/26/how-lost-girls-became-forgotten-girls/hqucGFxsmMYsjnN56LRR5J/story.html>.
By Aditi Pooviah
Aduei Riak sat demurely with one leg crossed over the other. She breathed softly, smoothing the fabric of her clean cut black work pants and absentmindedly stroked the red velvet lining of the deep red armchair, a splash of colour in the corner of her Boston area apartment. She was dressed as any average American lawyer would be: a crisp black blazer, hair cropped short and a delicate silver chain around her slender neck.
"I've seen a lot of things that a person of my age should not have been exposed to. The (memories) tend to be very dark and gray. I don't like talking about them, because for me talking about them is living them again." she said, eyes still glued to the floor, and even as her eyes swiveled up at me, she seemed far gone. Her usually lively eyes, the colour of sunlight shining through a glass of rum, were misted over with memories. “I was pretty much on my own at age six”.
Riak was one of the 89 ‘lost girls’ to survive the Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005), and succesfully escaped from the desolation, migrating to America. Along with other children, all torn from any sense of security, she embarked on a harrowing journey from South Sudan to Ethiopia. Facing a myriad of diseases, fatigue and starvation these children defied all odds and survived, finding refuge in a camp in Kenya. In 1999 the UNHCR created a US resettlement program for Sudanese children, and successfully resettled 4,000 boys across the United States. These boys were given the opportunity to take control of their futures in a newer, safer environment, often guided by facilitators and host families, while hundreds of girls remained forgotten, never even told about the option of applying for resettlement.
To be eligible for the program, you had to be an orphan, and for cultural reasons girls could not be left alone in camps and were sent to live with surviving families or adults. During the year that the resettlement program began, the girls had been living with these guardians for 9-14 years and were no longer considered orphans, leaving them ineligible. Repressed by a system that was made to protect them but instead restricted them, and cultural values that did the same, Sudanese girls had little hope of escaping from the future that had been chosen for them.
Aduei Riak’s survival and resettlement was a testament to her luck and perseverance, but the fact that she is thriving, an independent career woman who has more than overcome her horrific past, is what makes her story an inspiration. Riak is a beacon of hope to all who have been held back, restrained or oppressed, and especially to those that still dream of breaking the cycle, and choosing their own path.
Riak reached for her coffee, stirring with a degree of intensity, sombre as she mulled over her next answer. Like many Sudanese children, she had grown up with a warped sense of belonging. Separated from her loved ones while fleeing from danger, Riak has been a part of three foster families since being relocated to Boston. Now supported by her current foster family and a network of friends, she accredits her job as a paralegal at the law firm ‘Ropes and Gray” to this community saying: "I am where I am right now (at Ropes & Gray) because a lot of people have invested in me." Her foster parents share her affection and are ever supportive. "I'm amazed," says Garrett Parker, Riak’s foster father, clean cut in a homely grey sweater. "I think everybody that meets her is amazed at what she's been able to do. She came here with a lot of drive. She had always wanted to be more than what her culture wanted for her."
The Kakuma refugee camp has a population of 70,000 but only has the resources and services of a town of 5,000. Diseases like cholera, typhoid and malaria are extremely common. The lost boys took part in a psychological program where they were offered guidance, while the girls were supposed to seek comfort and advice from their families. This analysis was part of the criteria that was considered when choosing the candidates for resettlement, and this lack of foresight is why so few girls were resettled. The girls that were moved were mostly sisters, cousins and friends of the boys, who were personally recommended. While the girls lived with their foster families, the boys were placed in a group home and loosely supervised by adults. The girl’s homes were supposed to provide them with a more wholesome and nurturing environment, but instead these girls simply went missing over the years. Even to this day, many of the girls left at the camp (those who were not resettled) are still living with exploitative foster families. These lost girls, the pinnacle of strength when overcoming adversity, are being forced into labour as domestic servants or sex workers. They are being degraded through beatings, rape and cruel mistreatment at the hands of their families, or in many cases other men who pay a bridal fee of between 5-50 cows for them. "They think that war only affected the men," Riak says. "They do have sisters. … We do exist."
Riak moved about her apartment with ease, her sensible heels clacking on the wooden flooring as she disappeared into her kitchen, reappearing with a bowl of mixed nuts and a variety of biscuits, which she proceeded to set on the table. Apologizing immensely about her lack of equittequete at having so little to offer me she encouraged me to eat, continuing to anxiously smooth the fabric of her work pants. Her fidgeting fingers were the only telltale sign of her discomfort, flitting between the chair and the fringe of her blouse, re adjusting the chain around her neck and running across the top of her head. Riak was well adjusted to her new surroundings, but her expression was that of a woman who knew well what she had overcome to get where she was today. A woman who remembered her home before it was a plush Boston apartment and wants to leave her past far behind her.
Riak watched me as I served myself, smiling politely as I did, hands now clamped together on her lap. “I’d just like to say,” she said cautiously, but as I beamed at her, she seemed to shake off some reluctance. “Thank you.”
Some have tried to bring attention to the lost girls and their troubles, but few have been successful in inciting change. In the December of 2000, Julianna Duncan, an anthropologist specializing in refugee children wrote a report about the fate of the lost girls but even then, drama in the Kakuma camp pulled attention. In April of 2001, over 20 employees in the Nairobi UNHCR office were arrested for extorting money from refugees. “The girls were back-burnered again,” said a humanitarian worker who spent four years in Kakuma. The state department gave $6 million in 2003 to support the resettlement program, hoping that more cases would be referred and more lost girls moved, but part of the money was used to create a UNHCR staff position in Kakuma and nearly three years after Duncan’s report, no more lost girls have been referred to the department for resettlement. The situation of the lost girls seems desperate, but women like Riak show that not all hope is lost. Despite their often horrific pasts, and the fact that many lost girls are still overcoming various cultural and social challenges, the lost girls that have persevered and are living in the US have achieved a lot. Many have college degrees, careers and are happily married. Some have even returned to their homes in Sudan and are working with the government to rebuild their country, while others are sharing their stories and educating others on the plight of the lost girls, and the devastation of war.
The dedication and success of the lost girls of South Sudan is evidence of human endurance and faith. Although they continue to be repressed, broken down and ignored these women have shown courage and tenacity despite the trials they have faced. Being raised in a strict culture, facing gender inequality, overcoming their past, searching for a sense of belonging and thriving in a new setting is no easy task. Their lives have been difficult, but they will continue to prevail. Women like Aduei Riak grew up fast, and in adulthood they are even stronger. The lost girls are growing more independent by the day, and now that they understand their own potential, refuse to be left in the shadows.
Bibliography
"The Lost Girls of Sudan Try to Tell Their Story - 2004-08-31." VOA. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-a-2004-08-31-29-1-66893542/262006.html>.
"'Lost' in Sudan's Violence, She's Found Hope in USA - USATODAY.com." 'Lost' in Sudan's Violence, She's Found Hope in USA - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-23-lost-girls_N.htm>.
"BlogHer." BlogHer. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.blogher.com/frame.php?url=http://allezoup.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/lost-girls/>.
"Bio | Aduei Riak." Bio | Aduei Riak. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://beta.iwlchi.org/2008/bios/Aduei_Riak.html>.
BBC News. BBC, 06 July 2002. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2031286.stm>.
"The Lost Girls of Sudan." BlogHer Editors. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.blogher.com/lost-girls-sudan?page=0,0>.
"Opinion." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/03/26/how-lost-girls-became-forgotten-girls/hqucGFxsmMYsjnN56LRR5J/story.html>.
Forgotten, Abused, Abandoned
Women are ripped of their dignity and pride, and are succumbed to being mere objects in the eyes of Sudanese men.
by Antara Verma
A brick came at her head. He was furious, that day. The sun was relentlessly spitting rays of scorching sunlight onto the mud hut, causing a far drier atmosphere than usual. This angered her husband of three years. The brick struck Anak’s temple with a vicious slap, leaving a red-orange trail of dust and a pool of blood behind. She crumpled with affliction and shock. He walked over and grabbed Anak by her throat, holding her up to block out the sunlight. Villagers walked by the open show of abuse, trying not to make eye contact with either of them. This was not an uncommon sighting. “Do not cross me again, woman. I am already providing you three meals a day, water and clothes.” Her orange dress was barely on her body when the brick had come hurling at her head, and was slipping off as she gasped for air. He dropped her. She recoiled and crawled to the corner of the hut, where she curled up into a ball as her husband grabbed his small brown tote and left.
This was not uncommon in Southern Sudan. A country full of gender inequality. It is unconventional how many women in Sudan are treated with such injustice, that they are not permitted to leave their spouse even if they are on the treacherous brink of death. Sudan is ranked 169th out of 187 countries in Women’s Rights in the United Nations. This implies that women are constantly harassed on the street, are sold by their families to shady men, and are brutally abused and raped. There seems to be no change due to the partial and unfair rules that the Sudanese Government relies on.
Anok cannot divorce her exceptionally abusive spouse as women have very restricted rights as to divorcing men. Divorce is only permitted if there is a case of extreme domestic assault or if the male is unable to provide financially. Often women are too battered to travel to court to defend themselves. There is also extreme bias in legal courts of Sudan, as applying for a divorce and carrying it through is a lot of work and requires a lot of time and effort. This bias leads to a woman sometimes being evicted for provoking a man, or being blamed for being beaten.
“You girl, wait.” Two Sudanese men called to Safia Ishag, a teenager and a budding artist at the time. Safia attempted to run but was unable to escape the strength of the men. Brutally shoved into a small white car, Safia was driven to a run down building located near a bus station in Southern Sudan. She was beaten ferociously, hit on the leg and temple. Passing out for 15 minutes, Safia woke to the dreadful sight of three men constantly raping her. She was also still being beaten. Safia was in the building for two days, praying for the torture to conclude. After what felt like a year, she was released. “If we ever see you again, this will seem like a joyride.” One of the men called to her as she attempted to walk out of the building. The men received no consequences for the rape and assault whatsoever.
Thousands of girls like Safia are raped on a day-to-day basis in Sudan. According to the World Health Organization, 90% of women in North Sudan have undergone gender mutilation, a process where a certain part of a woman’s genital is cut off to make intercourse more pleasurable for men. Due to lack of sympathy, this is done when the woman is awake, causing extreme pain and discomfort for the woman. Most of these women are impregnated by the rapist, and due to Sudanese Laws, are unable to get an abortion unless it is to save their life.
Rape is defined as the offence of “zina” which is intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to one another and performed without consent. Often, if the women is not able to prove it was rape, she is charged with zina as she is admitting to have intercourse out of marriage, and is then beaten. Basically, she is punished for being a victim. Rape is a crime in Sudan, that is punished by either 10-100 lashes. However, there is no law criminalizing domestic violence, sexual harassment or spousal rape. Also, a man can avoid punishment due to rape by marrying his victim, providing the woman agrees.
Another arising problem in Sudan are child marriages. 36% of women in Sudan are married off before the age of 18, and 12% before 15. In total, 26.7% aged 15-19 were married. This was in 2006, it is estimated these percentages have grown by a large amount.
Her uncle told her she was to marry. Akuot was only 15, and wanted to get an education. She wanted to study and practice medicine. He told her her father didn’t pay enough dowry for her mother, but that she was beautiful and would be worth plenty of cows. Akuot refused her uncle, and demanded to be excused from wedlock until she turned 18. Instead, her uncle ambushed her, locking her into a mud hut for 3 days, tying her arms and legs with an electric cable. Akuot had to drink her own urine to stop herself from dying of dehydration in the scorching Sudanese sun.
In most cases, after the actual act of marriage, and the events leading up to it, comes years of physical and mental abuse. Sometimes this also ends in abandonment.
Being 14, Mary had very little experience as to what do if ever attacked by 42 year old man. She was being slapped multiple times. Her spouse wanted to prevent her from leaving. She was beaten till she was on the ground. Mary’s husband then retrieved an old axe from under the bed, slapping Mary with it. He wanted to cut her head, but Mary held onto his arm. Trying to defend her face, she raised her hand but was instead cut by the axe. She called out for her mother.
Thousands of girls are also impregnated by their spouses at the horrific age of 12-16. The younger the girl, the more risks there are for long term health issues, and often death. Many girls die during pregnancy, sometimes because the family cannot afford to take the girl to the hospital, also because babies just don’t come out due to lack of dilation. Often, girls are forced to be cut open to receive the baby, usually without anesthetic causing unbelievable pain.
Sudan has very few shelters for fleeing girls to seek refuge in. These girls have nothing when they leave. No source of income or food to depend on. This is because of extreme lack of awareness. Few people outside Sudan are aware of the severity of the situation. Already being one of the poorest counties in the world, Sudan has close to no funds to help these escaping girls, the donations they do receive, automatically goes to medicine, food and building wells for a steady income of clean water. It is vital for the Sudanese to have these things, which is why this is one of the few cases where money is not the most distinguishable exponent.
As a UWC student, it is highly unlikely for a person of a calibre as low as mine to alter the way Sudanese men treat women, however, it is very likely for a person of a calibre as low as mine to influence and inspire the way my parents, friends, or teachers think of the situation. As students of an institution as powerful and prosperous as UWC, we all have the extreme advantage of knowledge. Knowledge, and connections. Having the information in our heads, and knowing what exactly is going on will help us spread this knowledge to our connections. These connections have their own connections, and those to their own. Slowly, a whole community would have a relatively general understanding of gender inequality where at least a small percentage would like to take action.
Girls do not get any education. Girls are married off to a stranger, where they must protect and pray for themselves everyday, hoping not to die. Girls are often blamed if raped. Girls cannot divorce their spouses, even if they come to court with scars and cuts. They are basically objects, objects that are born to marry and produce babies. It is a vicious cycle that has been going on for decades, should we just let it?
by Antara Verma
A brick came at her head. He was furious, that day. The sun was relentlessly spitting rays of scorching sunlight onto the mud hut, causing a far drier atmosphere than usual. This angered her husband of three years. The brick struck Anak’s temple with a vicious slap, leaving a red-orange trail of dust and a pool of blood behind. She crumpled with affliction and shock. He walked over and grabbed Anak by her throat, holding her up to block out the sunlight. Villagers walked by the open show of abuse, trying not to make eye contact with either of them. This was not an uncommon sighting. “Do not cross me again, woman. I am already providing you three meals a day, water and clothes.” Her orange dress was barely on her body when the brick had come hurling at her head, and was slipping off as she gasped for air. He dropped her. She recoiled and crawled to the corner of the hut, where she curled up into a ball as her husband grabbed his small brown tote and left.
This was not uncommon in Southern Sudan. A country full of gender inequality. It is unconventional how many women in Sudan are treated with such injustice, that they are not permitted to leave their spouse even if they are on the treacherous brink of death. Sudan is ranked 169th out of 187 countries in Women’s Rights in the United Nations. This implies that women are constantly harassed on the street, are sold by their families to shady men, and are brutally abused and raped. There seems to be no change due to the partial and unfair rules that the Sudanese Government relies on.
Anok cannot divorce her exceptionally abusive spouse as women have very restricted rights as to divorcing men. Divorce is only permitted if there is a case of extreme domestic assault or if the male is unable to provide financially. Often women are too battered to travel to court to defend themselves. There is also extreme bias in legal courts of Sudan, as applying for a divorce and carrying it through is a lot of work and requires a lot of time and effort. This bias leads to a woman sometimes being evicted for provoking a man, or being blamed for being beaten.
“You girl, wait.” Two Sudanese men called to Safia Ishag, a teenager and a budding artist at the time. Safia attempted to run but was unable to escape the strength of the men. Brutally shoved into a small white car, Safia was driven to a run down building located near a bus station in Southern Sudan. She was beaten ferociously, hit on the leg and temple. Passing out for 15 minutes, Safia woke to the dreadful sight of three men constantly raping her. She was also still being beaten. Safia was in the building for two days, praying for the torture to conclude. After what felt like a year, she was released. “If we ever see you again, this will seem like a joyride.” One of the men called to her as she attempted to walk out of the building. The men received no consequences for the rape and assault whatsoever.
Thousands of girls like Safia are raped on a day-to-day basis in Sudan. According to the World Health Organization, 90% of women in North Sudan have undergone gender mutilation, a process where a certain part of a woman’s genital is cut off to make intercourse more pleasurable for men. Due to lack of sympathy, this is done when the woman is awake, causing extreme pain and discomfort for the woman. Most of these women are impregnated by the rapist, and due to Sudanese Laws, are unable to get an abortion unless it is to save their life.
Rape is defined as the offence of “zina” which is intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to one another and performed without consent. Often, if the women is not able to prove it was rape, she is charged with zina as she is admitting to have intercourse out of marriage, and is then beaten. Basically, she is punished for being a victim. Rape is a crime in Sudan, that is punished by either 10-100 lashes. However, there is no law criminalizing domestic violence, sexual harassment or spousal rape. Also, a man can avoid punishment due to rape by marrying his victim, providing the woman agrees.
Another arising problem in Sudan are child marriages. 36% of women in Sudan are married off before the age of 18, and 12% before 15. In total, 26.7% aged 15-19 were married. This was in 2006, it is estimated these percentages have grown by a large amount.
Her uncle told her she was to marry. Akuot was only 15, and wanted to get an education. She wanted to study and practice medicine. He told her her father didn’t pay enough dowry for her mother, but that she was beautiful and would be worth plenty of cows. Akuot refused her uncle, and demanded to be excused from wedlock until she turned 18. Instead, her uncle ambushed her, locking her into a mud hut for 3 days, tying her arms and legs with an electric cable. Akuot had to drink her own urine to stop herself from dying of dehydration in the scorching Sudanese sun.
In most cases, after the actual act of marriage, and the events leading up to it, comes years of physical and mental abuse. Sometimes this also ends in abandonment.
Being 14, Mary had very little experience as to what do if ever attacked by 42 year old man. She was being slapped multiple times. Her spouse wanted to prevent her from leaving. She was beaten till she was on the ground. Mary’s husband then retrieved an old axe from under the bed, slapping Mary with it. He wanted to cut her head, but Mary held onto his arm. Trying to defend her face, she raised her hand but was instead cut by the axe. She called out for her mother.
Thousands of girls are also impregnated by their spouses at the horrific age of 12-16. The younger the girl, the more risks there are for long term health issues, and often death. Many girls die during pregnancy, sometimes because the family cannot afford to take the girl to the hospital, also because babies just don’t come out due to lack of dilation. Often, girls are forced to be cut open to receive the baby, usually without anesthetic causing unbelievable pain.
Sudan has very few shelters for fleeing girls to seek refuge in. These girls have nothing when they leave. No source of income or food to depend on. This is because of extreme lack of awareness. Few people outside Sudan are aware of the severity of the situation. Already being one of the poorest counties in the world, Sudan has close to no funds to help these escaping girls, the donations they do receive, automatically goes to medicine, food and building wells for a steady income of clean water. It is vital for the Sudanese to have these things, which is why this is one of the few cases where money is not the most distinguishable exponent.
As a UWC student, it is highly unlikely for a person of a calibre as low as mine to alter the way Sudanese men treat women, however, it is very likely for a person of a calibre as low as mine to influence and inspire the way my parents, friends, or teachers think of the situation. As students of an institution as powerful and prosperous as UWC, we all have the extreme advantage of knowledge. Knowledge, and connections. Having the information in our heads, and knowing what exactly is going on will help us spread this knowledge to our connections. These connections have their own connections, and those to their own. Slowly, a whole community would have a relatively general understanding of gender inequality where at least a small percentage would like to take action.
Girls do not get any education. Girls are married off to a stranger, where they must protect and pray for themselves everyday, hoping not to die. Girls are often blamed if raped. Girls cannot divorce their spouses, even if they come to court with scars and cuts. They are basically objects, objects that are born to marry and produce babies. It is a vicious cycle that has been going on for decades, should we just let it?
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Lost Girls
The lost boys of Sudan got to start a new life in America away from the dangers of Sudan whereas the lost girls were left behind in Sudan to face their unknown futures.
By India Bruin
Achol Kuol sits for a minute staring at her good work. The floor is as clean as can be. She hopes her mistress will approve. Achol waits for a minute to see if she can hear her mistress. Thankfully she hears nothing and takes the time to rest before her mistress gives her another job. She looks around the house, although she knows it inside out from cleaning it she looks at it, and imagines what it would be like to own a house as beautiful as this. She imagines how different her life would’ve be if the Sudanese war had not happened or if she had been on the list to go to America. But she did not get chosen and, she was left behind, to serve a family who can’t clean their own house or cook. BANG!! Her dreams are interrupted bringing her back to reality. The noise was caused by her mistress dropping a pot on the ground, trying to get her attention, to tell her to get back to work. But that noise reminded her of something, something that happened when she was just a little child.
Achol Kuol heard the sound of guns the outside her hut. One after the other, bullet after bullet. She ran to the window to see what was happening. People were running in all directions trying to escape their uncertain fate. People were shooting each other, killing each other. Her mother reached for her, took her away from the window and pulled her close. Bending down to face her, a tear rolled down her cheek as she said softly to her daughter. “We have to leave this place if we want to live. We will travel somewhere safe, away from all of the killing, but you have to be brave and never stop walking and never give up.” Her mother pulled her close in for a hug and she could feel the heat of her mothers’ breath on her neck. She forced a smile and kissed her on the head. She was trying to be brave for her daughter. Her mother gathered her four brothers and a few supplies and they left. Trying to escape the sound of bullets.
Achol Kuol was seven when she had to leave her village because of the war that had broken out between the rebels and the government. This was the beginning of the Sudanese civil war. A war that left many dead, but some survived and have had to live with the traumatic events that had happened to them during the war. Many children stared death in the face or watched other children be killed. Children watched as others got eaten by lions, watch their friends die of sickness, disease or hunger.
Achol Kuol ended up walking for many years, first she walked to Ethiopia, back to Sudan and then to South Kenya. She has survived a horrible attempt of kidnap. At age 17 Achol was in a refugee camp when three Sudanese men tried to abduct her, but luckily social workers and other refugees saw what was happening and chased the attackers away. Achol was certain that if her attackers had achieved abducting her, they would have taken her back to Sudan, where they would have forced her into a marriage. In Sudanese culture, girls were encouraged to marry early. In their culture girls were considered of marriageable age as they get their period. In some villages and Sudanese cultures, they held celebrations to let the community know that the girls were ready to be married. Girls who were not mentally or emotionally ready to get married would try to hide their periods for as long as possible, so they don’t have to get married.
Today Achol works as an unpaid servant who cooks, cleans and collects firewood, as many of the surviving lost girls do.
So why did only 89 girls out of 3,700 refugees get sent to America??
The fact that the girls were almost invisible was due to their culture. People in charge of refugee camps tried to give unaccompanied girls into any foster family. Boys were put into group settings, leaving the girls to go back to what they always do with their new foster families, doing chores and housework(traditional female roles). They were often unable to go the camp schools or kids activities as a result of the work they had to attend to.The foster family in which the girls had been placed was supposed to nurture, be kind to and protect them. Instead they didn’t treat them right and, so they took advantage of them, the girls ended up being domestic servants to their foster families or even worse.
Many at that time of poverty used the girls, at a certain age they would sell the girls off to a man and they would get all the riches (dowery). In 1999 the US resettlement project was created and there were qualifications that had to met, such as that the people that they would take to America had to be considered orphans, and since they girls had been living with the family they had been placed with for more than 5 years. They were not considered orphans. They could not go to America to start over. This is why so many boys got the chance to go to America. Many of the lost girls were put into foster families and left to an very uncertain fate, overlooked and forgotten by the outside world. Aduel lived with her foster family but she knew they only wanted to use her, to sell her off to a man so they would get her dowry, "The problem is that my foster-parents could find a rich man, and then they will marry me off. Even if I don't want to go, they will insist."
Most of the boys escaped the attacks because according to Sudanese culture the girls had to cook and clean. Most of the girls had either been in the village cooking and cleaning their home when the war came so they could have been in the houses while it was being burnt to the ground, or kidnapped and sent to be slaves. So even to begin with, not many girls survived, but the ones that did had a hard time.
A refugee camp was not a safe place for young, orphaned girls. Sexual abuse, forced marriages and beatings were what mainly occurred. Aluel was one of these victims. She recalls how she used to live with an elderly guardian when she first arrived in Kakuma Refugee Camp. One night a man crept into her hut and raped her. Today Aluel, and her daughter Monday, live as outcasts because she and her daughter have not been accepted by their Sudanese community. Aduel lives in fear, for she does not want history to repeat itself.
Grace Anyiek walks back from the water stand pipe. She balances the big, heavy can of water on her head. She feels the weight pushing her down, the water moving rapidly inside the can. For every step she takes, the water moves with her. She tries not to spill any, she wants to return back with the most amount of water possible, water is precious. She has a long walk back to town. With the blazing hot sun shining on her face she struggles to keep her eyes open. Grace has not shoes and walks barefoot everywhere. She feels the gravel underneath her feet, piercing her skin as walks along the long dusty road. She must hurry, as soon her guardian will have to leave and she will have to look after the children. Her bright yellow and red shirt flows in the wind. The wind breathes fresh cold air, making the heat bearable. As she walks, the same thought wanders in her mind. Why didn’t she get chosen to go to America, to get a free education? Why not her? She asks herself everyday, but never seems to find an answer that satisfies her. She drops the thought and keeps walking, trying not to bring up the past, as it is too painful.
Grace is one of the surviving lost girls that was left behind. Today she is an unpaid servant, she cooks, cleans, washes, fetches water and looks after her guardian's children. "Why not the girls?" Grace asks, "I would have liked the chance to go abroad. You can be free there. Free to work, free to study.Women are being dominated. Not just in Sudan, but in all of Africa. Maybe people don't think we did much, because they see us as followers of the 'Lost Boys'. But the fact remains ladies were there."
Bibliography:
"Countries and Their Cultures." Dinka. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Dinka.html>.
Matheson, Ishbel. "The 'Lost Girls' of Sudan." BBC News. BBC, 06 July 2002. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2031286.stm>.
"Women Refugees: The Lost Girls of Sudan." IVillage UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ivillage.co.uk/women-refugees-the-lost-girls-sudan/80016>.
McKelvey3, Tara. "3,700 Young Sudanese Refugees Made It to America. Why Are Only 89 of Them Female?" Slate Magazine. N.p., 3 Oct. 2003. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2003/10/where_are_the_lost_girls.html>.
"The Chronicles of Travelling Womanists." The Chronicles of Travelling Womanists. N.p., 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://travellingwomanists.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/where-are-the-lost-girls-of-sudan/>.
"The Lost Girls of Sudan Try to Tell Their Story - 2004-08-31." VOA. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-a-2004-08-31-29-1-66893542/262006.html>.
Reisman, Suzanne. "The Lost Girls of Sudan." BlogHer Editors. N.p., 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.blogher.com/lost-girls-sudan?page=0,0>. "UNHCR - Women: Seeking a Better Deal." UNHCR News. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
By India Bruin
Achol Kuol sits for a minute staring at her good work. The floor is as clean as can be. She hopes her mistress will approve. Achol waits for a minute to see if she can hear her mistress. Thankfully she hears nothing and takes the time to rest before her mistress gives her another job. She looks around the house, although she knows it inside out from cleaning it she looks at it, and imagines what it would be like to own a house as beautiful as this. She imagines how different her life would’ve be if the Sudanese war had not happened or if she had been on the list to go to America. But she did not get chosen and, she was left behind, to serve a family who can’t clean their own house or cook. BANG!! Her dreams are interrupted bringing her back to reality. The noise was caused by her mistress dropping a pot on the ground, trying to get her attention, to tell her to get back to work. But that noise reminded her of something, something that happened when she was just a little child.
Achol Kuol heard the sound of guns the outside her hut. One after the other, bullet after bullet. She ran to the window to see what was happening. People were running in all directions trying to escape their uncertain fate. People were shooting each other, killing each other. Her mother reached for her, took her away from the window and pulled her close. Bending down to face her, a tear rolled down her cheek as she said softly to her daughter. “We have to leave this place if we want to live. We will travel somewhere safe, away from all of the killing, but you have to be brave and never stop walking and never give up.” Her mother pulled her close in for a hug and she could feel the heat of her mothers’ breath on her neck. She forced a smile and kissed her on the head. She was trying to be brave for her daughter. Her mother gathered her four brothers and a few supplies and they left. Trying to escape the sound of bullets.
Achol Kuol was seven when she had to leave her village because of the war that had broken out between the rebels and the government. This was the beginning of the Sudanese civil war. A war that left many dead, but some survived and have had to live with the traumatic events that had happened to them during the war. Many children stared death in the face or watched other children be killed. Children watched as others got eaten by lions, watch their friends die of sickness, disease or hunger.
Achol Kuol ended up walking for many years, first she walked to Ethiopia, back to Sudan and then to South Kenya. She has survived a horrible attempt of kidnap. At age 17 Achol was in a refugee camp when three Sudanese men tried to abduct her, but luckily social workers and other refugees saw what was happening and chased the attackers away. Achol was certain that if her attackers had achieved abducting her, they would have taken her back to Sudan, where they would have forced her into a marriage. In Sudanese culture, girls were encouraged to marry early. In their culture girls were considered of marriageable age as they get their period. In some villages and Sudanese cultures, they held celebrations to let the community know that the girls were ready to be married. Girls who were not mentally or emotionally ready to get married would try to hide their periods for as long as possible, so they don’t have to get married.
Today Achol works as an unpaid servant who cooks, cleans and collects firewood, as many of the surviving lost girls do.
So why did only 89 girls out of 3,700 refugees get sent to America??
The fact that the girls were almost invisible was due to their culture. People in charge of refugee camps tried to give unaccompanied girls into any foster family. Boys were put into group settings, leaving the girls to go back to what they always do with their new foster families, doing chores and housework(traditional female roles). They were often unable to go the camp schools or kids activities as a result of the work they had to attend to.The foster family in which the girls had been placed was supposed to nurture, be kind to and protect them. Instead they didn’t treat them right and, so they took advantage of them, the girls ended up being domestic servants to their foster families or even worse.
Many at that time of poverty used the girls, at a certain age they would sell the girls off to a man and they would get all the riches (dowery). In 1999 the US resettlement project was created and there were qualifications that had to met, such as that the people that they would take to America had to be considered orphans, and since they girls had been living with the family they had been placed with for more than 5 years. They were not considered orphans. They could not go to America to start over. This is why so many boys got the chance to go to America. Many of the lost girls were put into foster families and left to an very uncertain fate, overlooked and forgotten by the outside world. Aduel lived with her foster family but she knew they only wanted to use her, to sell her off to a man so they would get her dowry, "The problem is that my foster-parents could find a rich man, and then they will marry me off. Even if I don't want to go, they will insist."
Most of the boys escaped the attacks because according to Sudanese culture the girls had to cook and clean. Most of the girls had either been in the village cooking and cleaning their home when the war came so they could have been in the houses while it was being burnt to the ground, or kidnapped and sent to be slaves. So even to begin with, not many girls survived, but the ones that did had a hard time.
A refugee camp was not a safe place for young, orphaned girls. Sexual abuse, forced marriages and beatings were what mainly occurred. Aluel was one of these victims. She recalls how she used to live with an elderly guardian when she first arrived in Kakuma Refugee Camp. One night a man crept into her hut and raped her. Today Aluel, and her daughter Monday, live as outcasts because she and her daughter have not been accepted by their Sudanese community. Aduel lives in fear, for she does not want history to repeat itself.
Grace Anyiek walks back from the water stand pipe. She balances the big, heavy can of water on her head. She feels the weight pushing her down, the water moving rapidly inside the can. For every step she takes, the water moves with her. She tries not to spill any, she wants to return back with the most amount of water possible, water is precious. She has a long walk back to town. With the blazing hot sun shining on her face she struggles to keep her eyes open. Grace has not shoes and walks barefoot everywhere. She feels the gravel underneath her feet, piercing her skin as walks along the long dusty road. She must hurry, as soon her guardian will have to leave and she will have to look after the children. Her bright yellow and red shirt flows in the wind. The wind breathes fresh cold air, making the heat bearable. As she walks, the same thought wanders in her mind. Why didn’t she get chosen to go to America, to get a free education? Why not her? She asks herself everyday, but never seems to find an answer that satisfies her. She drops the thought and keeps walking, trying not to bring up the past, as it is too painful.
Grace is one of the surviving lost girls that was left behind. Today she is an unpaid servant, she cooks, cleans, washes, fetches water and looks after her guardian's children. "Why not the girls?" Grace asks, "I would have liked the chance to go abroad. You can be free there. Free to work, free to study.Women are being dominated. Not just in Sudan, but in all of Africa. Maybe people don't think we did much, because they see us as followers of the 'Lost Boys'. But the fact remains ladies were there."
Bibliography:
"Countries and Their Cultures." Dinka. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Dinka.html>.
Matheson, Ishbel. "The 'Lost Girls' of Sudan." BBC News. BBC, 06 July 2002. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2031286.stm>.
"Women Refugees: The Lost Girls of Sudan." IVillage UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ivillage.co.uk/women-refugees-the-lost-girls-sudan/80016>.
McKelvey3, Tara. "3,700 Young Sudanese Refugees Made It to America. Why Are Only 89 of Them Female?" Slate Magazine. N.p., 3 Oct. 2003. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2003/10/where_are_the_lost_girls.html>.
"The Chronicles of Travelling Womanists." The Chronicles of Travelling Womanists. N.p., 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://travellingwomanists.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/where-are-the-lost-girls-of-sudan/>.
"The Lost Girls of Sudan Try to Tell Their Story - 2004-08-31." VOA. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-a-2004-08-31-29-1-66893542/262006.html>.
Reisman, Suzanne. "The Lost Girls of Sudan." BlogHer Editors. N.p., 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.blogher.com/lost-girls-sudan?page=0,0>. "UNHCR - Women: Seeking a Better Deal." UNHCR News. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
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