The Long Journey Home
of James Nguen
By Rick Castiglione
The Long Journey Home of James Nguen began in a small village in rural South
Sudan. It was a night that began like many before it. Curled up on a sleeping mat
with his brothers and sister, his mother saying good night and that she would see
him in the morning. He was just seven years old. His thoughts were likely on the
games he would play with his friends the next day…. or of the little dirt floor school
that he would go to. But on this night the family’s village was attacked by soldiers
engaged in a brutal civil war. It was about 5 o’clock in the morning. James was
awakened by the sound of gunfire and of screaming people. He ran into the dark to
hide.
When the sun rose and the village was quiet, James crept home. All he found was
“corpses and burned huts”. His family was gone and so, he would soon realize, was
the carefree life of a seven yearold boy.
He began to walk, joining up with groups of other children that had become “lost”.
They learned of a refugee camp in Ethiopia, run by the Sudan Peoples Liberation
Army and they began walking there. By the time they reached the camp (there were
no tents, latrines or food), there were 26 thousand boys and a few girls.
Over the next four years the children moved from place to place, constantly
threatened by rebel soldiers and bandits. They watched as some among them were
attacked by animals or perished from the equatorial heat, disease and starvation. By
the time the children arrived at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya,
four years later, only 16,000 were still alive. James Nguen was one of them.
In that camp, James and 3 other boys (he was now eleven), with bits of building
material supplied by the UN, had to build their own mud home. He attended a
simple school in the camp and became part of a group known as “The Lost Boys”.
Their mud homes formed little villages in Kakuma Camp. They became families
among themselves, caring for and protecting each other. It was in Kakuma Camp
that many of the Lost Boys and Girls learned about Christ.
In 2001, James was brought to Canada with about 600 Lost Boys, as a refugees.
Considering their past, they have done extremely well. They’ve become hard
working, reliable citizens. James is working on a degree at Mount Royal College.
His partner, Elizabeth, a young woman who also lived in the Kakuma Refugee
Camp, and James have a 2 yearold old son. His name is Dor. Dor in the Nuer
language means "bush", where his father came from
Some of the Lost Boys and Lost Girls have found a caring new family in Grace
Presbyterian Church. They have been offered a place to meet and they are working
with members of the congregation to map out a future that will assist those that
wish to finish their education and grow their families or need relief from
government debt. (another story for another time!)
Two years ago, when a peace agreement was signed between the Government of
Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, ending the civil war, James learned
that his mother, a second mother (his father, who died during the war, had 3 wives)
and two of his siblings had survived the war and were living in South Sudan.
On June 10th of this year, James Nguen boarded an airplane and began a long
journey home, to a village in South Sudan, to be reunited with a family he lost 19
years earlier.
Cielo Pictures and CTV Alberta joined forces to tell the story of The Long Journey
Home of James Nguen. CTV Photojournalist Kevin and I travelled with James
throughout his journey all of the way back to that little mudhut village in South
Sudan .
In Nairobi, Kenya we had to arrange for special “travel permits” with the Sudan
Peoples Liberation Movement to allow us to enter South Sudan, though our first
stop would be the Kakuma Refugee Camp where James had lived for ten long years.
We also had to find a pilot, with a small plane, willing to fly us into a dirt airstrip in
an area many still consider a war zone.
The first leg of the “inside Africa journey” began on June 16th. In a chartered plane
we flew into a remote corner of Northern Kenya. Once inside the camp, the
memories came flooding back. James showed us where his home had once stood (it
has since fallen down … the pieces taken away by those who were still living in the
camp). He showed us the tree he sat under, as a child, the place where he began his
education. In a small mud house he chatted with a young man lying on a stained
mat. After a few minutes, the conversation became a joyous celebration. They
realized that they new each other. Lauren was much younger than James and had
been the youngest of his group…a child left behind when others were taken to North
America. They shared old memories and James left him a few Kenyan Shillings and
a promise of more help to come.
In a small group of huts, James found three nephews, adolescent boys that had
walked from Sudan to the camp when their father had died and there was no one left
to care for them. They had heard that their uncle was living in Kakuma but by the
time they arrived, James had already left for Canada. He brought a suitcase filled
with clothes and shoes and he left with promises to return for them.
The next day we hired a car to take us to Lokichoggio, a small town known for it’s
“arms dealers and gun runners” and climbed into the airplane hired to carry us to
Leer, South Sudan, the town closest to his mothers village. Leer is not really a
town… more like a collection of thatched roof huts, a small war hospital, food
distribution tent and a compound run by an NGO called Assistance Mission for
Africa.
Our pilot swooped low over the dirt airstrip, on a fly past, to chase the kids, cattle
and goats from the runway before he could land.
We set up camp in the mission compound and the next day set out for the village in
a 4 X 4 truck. It should have been a 1 ½ hour, or less, trip through the marshy
plains to his mothers home but the truck got stuck. Even with the help of a dozen
friendly locals the truck remained stuck.
So we set off on foot, resting occasionally in the shade of a tree when the sun and
40 degree heat became too much. We passed by groups of huts, led by a young man,
carrying a spear and assuring us he knew exactly where to go. He was right....
though the short “African walk” took 2 1/2 hours.
Finally we approached a small group of mud huts. The fence to keep the goats in
and the hyenas out was falling down. A lone calf, tied to a stake, was all that stood
in the yard. As James approached one of the houses, two women emerged. They
ran to him crying, hugging and talking, excitedly in Nuer, their native language.
The Lost Boy was home.
of James Nguen
By Rick Castiglione
The Long Journey Home of James Nguen began in a small village in rural South
Sudan. It was a night that began like many before it. Curled up on a sleeping mat
with his brothers and sister, his mother saying good night and that she would see
him in the morning. He was just seven years old. His thoughts were likely on the
games he would play with his friends the next day…. or of the little dirt floor school
that he would go to. But on this night the family’s village was attacked by soldiers
engaged in a brutal civil war. It was about 5 o’clock in the morning. James was
awakened by the sound of gunfire and of screaming people. He ran into the dark to
hide.
When the sun rose and the village was quiet, James crept home. All he found was
“corpses and burned huts”. His family was gone and so, he would soon realize, was
the carefree life of a seven yearold boy.
He began to walk, joining up with groups of other children that had become “lost”.
They learned of a refugee camp in Ethiopia, run by the Sudan Peoples Liberation
Army and they began walking there. By the time they reached the camp (there were
no tents, latrines or food), there were 26 thousand boys and a few girls.
Over the next four years the children moved from place to place, constantly
threatened by rebel soldiers and bandits. They watched as some among them were
attacked by animals or perished from the equatorial heat, disease and starvation. By
the time the children arrived at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya,
four years later, only 16,000 were still alive. James Nguen was one of them.
In that camp, James and 3 other boys (he was now eleven), with bits of building
material supplied by the UN, had to build their own mud home. He attended a
simple school in the camp and became part of a group known as “The Lost Boys”.
Their mud homes formed little villages in Kakuma Camp. They became families
among themselves, caring for and protecting each other. It was in Kakuma Camp
that many of the Lost Boys and Girls learned about Christ.
In 2001, James was brought to Canada with about 600 Lost Boys, as a refugees.
Considering their past, they have done extremely well. They’ve become hard
working, reliable citizens. James is working on a degree at Mount Royal College.
His partner, Elizabeth, a young woman who also lived in the Kakuma Refugee
Camp, and James have a 2 yearold old son. His name is Dor. Dor in the Nuer
language means "bush", where his father came from
Some of the Lost Boys and Lost Girls have found a caring new family in Grace
Presbyterian Church. They have been offered a place to meet and they are working
with members of the congregation to map out a future that will assist those that
wish to finish their education and grow their families or need relief from
government debt. (another story for another time!)
Two years ago, when a peace agreement was signed between the Government of
Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, ending the civil war, James learned
that his mother, a second mother (his father, who died during the war, had 3 wives)
and two of his siblings had survived the war and were living in South Sudan.
On June 10th of this year, James Nguen boarded an airplane and began a long
journey home, to a village in South Sudan, to be reunited with a family he lost 19
years earlier.
Cielo Pictures and CTV Alberta joined forces to tell the story of The Long Journey
Home of James Nguen. CTV Photojournalist Kevin and I travelled with James
throughout his journey all of the way back to that little mudhut village in South
Sudan .
In Nairobi, Kenya we had to arrange for special “travel permits” with the Sudan
Peoples Liberation Movement to allow us to enter South Sudan, though our first
stop would be the Kakuma Refugee Camp where James had lived for ten long years.
We also had to find a pilot, with a small plane, willing to fly us into a dirt airstrip in
an area many still consider a war zone.
The first leg of the “inside Africa journey” began on June 16th. In a chartered plane
we flew into a remote corner of Northern Kenya. Once inside the camp, the
memories came flooding back. James showed us where his home had once stood (it
has since fallen down … the pieces taken away by those who were still living in the
camp). He showed us the tree he sat under, as a child, the place where he began his
education. In a small mud house he chatted with a young man lying on a stained
mat. After a few minutes, the conversation became a joyous celebration. They
realized that they new each other. Lauren was much younger than James and had
been the youngest of his group…a child left behind when others were taken to North
America. They shared old memories and James left him a few Kenyan Shillings and
a promise of more help to come.
In a small group of huts, James found three nephews, adolescent boys that had
walked from Sudan to the camp when their father had died and there was no one left
to care for them. They had heard that their uncle was living in Kakuma but by the
time they arrived, James had already left for Canada. He brought a suitcase filled
with clothes and shoes and he left with promises to return for them.
The next day we hired a car to take us to Lokichoggio, a small town known for it’s
“arms dealers and gun runners” and climbed into the airplane hired to carry us to
Leer, South Sudan, the town closest to his mothers village. Leer is not really a
town… more like a collection of thatched roof huts, a small war hospital, food
distribution tent and a compound run by an NGO called Assistance Mission for
Africa.
Our pilot swooped low over the dirt airstrip, on a fly past, to chase the kids, cattle
and goats from the runway before he could land.
We set up camp in the mission compound and the next day set out for the village in
a 4 X 4 truck. It should have been a 1 ½ hour, or less, trip through the marshy
plains to his mothers home but the truck got stuck. Even with the help of a dozen
friendly locals the truck remained stuck.
So we set off on foot, resting occasionally in the shade of a tree when the sun and
40 degree heat became too much. We passed by groups of huts, led by a young man,
carrying a spear and assuring us he knew exactly where to go. He was right....
though the short “African walk” took 2 1/2 hours.
Finally we approached a small group of mud huts. The fence to keep the goats in
and the hyenas out was falling down. A lone calf, tied to a stake, was all that stood
in the yard. As James approached one of the houses, two women emerged. They
ran to him crying, hugging and talking, excitedly in Nuer, their native language.
The Lost Boy was home.
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| Helping The People Of South Sudan Proceeds from the sale of DVD's of The Long Journey Home will be used to help with the rebuilding of schools and to drill clean water-wells in South Sudan. It will also be used to help James mother get proper medical treatment. James Nguen has established a special bank account for these funds and other contributions. James has teamed up with a local NGO, "Assistance Mission for Africa" to help make sure this work gets done properly and that all of the financial support gets to those in need. To purchase a copy of The Long Journey Home - send $45.00 care of Cielo Pictures Inc. - 80 Patina Rise SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. T3H 2W4. Donations to the fund will also be accepted. Make cheques payable to: James Nguen Include your return mailing address and we will send the DVD to you via Canada Post. At this point the fund is unable to issue charitable tax receipts. To contact James Nguen send email to: james@longjourneyhome.ca |
CTV Photojournalist Kevin Green
follows James Nguen on his Long
Journey Home.
follows James Nguen on his Long
Journey Home.
The truck taking James through the
plains of South Sudan gets stuck.
plains of South Sudan gets stuck.
|
|
Rick and James In Kakuma
Refugee Camp
Refugee Camp
James and his nephews in Kakuma
Refugee Camp
Refugee Camp
