A LOST BOY FROM SUDAN

 

 While working at my security job in Nashville yesterday a man walked up to me and struck up a conversation. He spoke good English but with an accent. I asked what his country of origin was and he said Sudan. He asked if I had ever heard of the " Lost Boys Of Sudan". The only lost boys that I remembered were from the vampire movie of the 1980's starring Kiefer Sutherland. I told him no and he told me that he was one of the " Lost Boys of Sudan". He then began to tell me an incredible story that could easily be turned into a movie. When he was about six years old in 1987, I say about because he doesn't know exactly when he was born, the Northern Muslim Sudanese army m*rdered his parents. They destroyed his village and killed thousands of Christians in South Sudan. Over two million people di*d in that war. They k*lled people in some of the most hideous ways including burning people alive. This was part of the Second Sudan War which lasted from 1985 until 2006. Thousands of children were orphaned in this war. The war was caused by multiple issues but he says it was primarily the Muslims wanting the nation to live under Sharia law. South Sudan is Christian. We've seen this story play out many times before and let this be a warning for America.

 His name is Paul Manyok and he was one of 26,000 orphaned boys who began a 1,000 mile journey barefooted from Sudan, to Ethiopia and finally ending up in a refugee camp in Kenya. Only 16,000 would survive this walk. They walked across deserts and mountains. Many of their sisters were sold off into slavery.The boys died of disease, starvation, exposure and being shot by hostile soldiers. They survived on plants, fish, birds and animals. Some animals were eaten raw and others were cooked if they were lucky enough to find an open fire somewhere. He said that he was poisoned several times. In one refuge camp he was trained to be a child soldier in order to protect the camp. He carried an AK-47 and I asked him if he ever had to kill anyone. He said that he probably did but it was always in self defense. Upon reaching Kenya he remained in a refuge camp until he was 21. He met a woman there and they were married. In 2003 the U.S. government allowed four thousand "Lost Boys" to migrate to the United States and he was one of them. Upon arriving in New York he had culture shock. They had been taught to be scared of American's. They were put up in a motel waiting to be flown to their final destinations. Because of their fear of American's he put a do not disturb placard on the outside of his door causing himself to miss meals and his flight.

 He was eventually flown to Nashville where he was sponsored by local Christian churches. Paul was able to get his wife to the U.S. in 2005. They are both U.S. citizens now and have six children ranging in age from seventeen to seven I believe. I had the pleasure of meeting his two youngest yesterday. His daughter, who is in the third grade in Nashville was a sweetheart. While we were talking she came up and hugged me as if she had known me all of her life. Paul was one of only four thousand who made it to the U.S. I asked him what happened to the remaining 12,000 survivors and he thinks that most of them died fighting as child soldiers. He has three sisters still surviving in the Kenyan refuge camps where he says conditions are deplorable and people are starving. He has not been been able to get his sisters out of there. Paul is a Christian pastor today. He was also an ICE agent for many years working in San Diego and other cities. He loves president Trump, especially for his stance on protecting African Christians from Muslim atrocities. He is the chairman of the Sudan Republicans in this country. In 2011 Sudan was divided into two countries. Muslim Northern Sudan and Christian South Sudan. In four polls Paul has been picked as the preference for president of South Sudan but the dictator who rules there is corrupt and refuses to surrender power. Paul said that if he returns to Sudan to challenge him he would be killed. There is a good movie about the "Lost Boys" starring Reese Witherspoon. It is called The Good Lie.