A Modern Holocaust is any mass slaughter or destruction of life. The Nazi party that took place in Germany during WWII was not the only genocide to take place. Just one of these many tragic events took place during the Sudanese civil war. The Lost Boys was the name given to these children affected by the violence. This major genocide is still affecting these people today, some of which are still separated from their families and their homes.
The Lost Boys of Sudan is the name given to the thousands of Sudanese boys that were forced to flee during the civil war that irrupted there. The
war broke out in 1983, when the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the
Sudanese Government began fighting in southern Sudan. Because of this conflict
500,000 lives have already been taken and many families have been torn apart
due to displacement. Out of all the separated families there are at least
20,000 children between 7- 17 years old who were torn from their homes. A large
majority of these children are boys. Many children are forced to flee to avoid
the violence, but the boys are most at risk. Even young boys that are still children
could be asked by their village to fight the war. Other reasons the children
had to flee was because the needed to find food, work, schooling, and safety. The
'lost boys' of the Sudan walked huge distances over a vast wilderness, seeking shelter
from the fighting. Starving, afraid and weak by exhaustion and disease, some
could not make the hike and would fall down it the middle of the dirt roads.
Though they may not immediately die they are too weak and vulnerable to continue. Some are even attacked by lions but have no possible way of defending themselves.
Though many are not able to make the hike to camps that were built to protect them, the ones that did make it are in for a disappointment. Many of the boys left their villages and headed for cities such as Juba and Khartoum. Others headed for refuge camps in Ethiopia. The boys heading toward the cities soon discovered that many others had the same idea and there just wasn't enough resources for everyone to use. They lived on the streets in poverty, stealing for survival. The others that made it to refuge camps lived mostly peaceful lives until May, 1991. The Ethiopian government is changed and the boy's are no longer welcome, they are forced to flee back to Sudan. This time though they are marched back during heavy rains. Rivers are swelling over and the trip is even more dangerous than before. Arial weapon's are used on the lost boys heading back to Sudan and many are killed by the bombings. By sheer luck some of the boys make it back to the camps were the Red Cross tries to do everything to help the sick and the injured. Later that same year the relative safety in Sudan is destroyed when fighting erupts again. The children must flee toward Kenya to find safety. The same children are forced to walk back and forth from country to country as the are chased by violence, insecure governments, and hate. They are torn from their homes and their families again and again. An organization called UNICEF has been working since 1992 to reunite families. They have been able to reunite 1,200 boys but about 17,000 still remain in refuge camps.