Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Sudanese ‘Lost Boy’ John Dau ‘11 to Give Author Reading Nov. 19

Monday, November 16, 2015, By Rob Enslin
Share
speakers

An internationally renowned human rights activist and member of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” is giving an author reading at the University.

John Dau

John Dau

John Dau ’11 will headline the Writing Program’s Nonfiction Reading Series on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 3:30 p.m. in 207 Hall of Languages. He will read from his critically acclaimed memoir “God Grew Tired of Us” (National Geographic, 2007), also the subject of an award-winning documentary by the same name, and from his children’s book, “Lost Boy/Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan” (National Geographic, 2010). The University Bookstore will be on hand to sell copies of both books.

The reading, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Writing Program in the College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, call 315-443-1091.

“We’re honored to present a reading by John Dau, whose experience of surviving the second Sudanese civil war and then resettling in the United States is both courageous and inspiring,” says Eileen Schell, associate professor of writing and rhetoric. “His story is a reminder of not only the hardships of war and privation, but also the strength and resilience of the human spirit.”

In 1987, 13-year-old Dau fled his village in Sudan, narrowly escaping Arab troops who had been sent to exterminate black Christian men. He soon joined 27,000 other exiles, known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” and spent the next 14 years alternately crossing the sub-Sahara on foot and living in refugee camps. In addition to being pursued by soldiers, the boys  fended off wild animals and faced starvation, dehydration and disease on a daily basis.

god_grew_tired_of_us“We chewed tall grasses, and ate mud to stay alive. I was barefoot and wearing no clothes; at night the desert was so cold. We thought about our parents all the time,” he says.

More than half of the “Lost Boys” died by the time Dau and others reached an Ethiopian refugee camp, from which they were forced to flee and return to Sudan, only to be subjected to twice-a-day bombing raids.

“When the bombardment became unbearable, we moved south,” says Dau, who eventually wound up in a refugee camp in Kenya. “There, at age 17, I started my formal education, writing letters and numbers with sticks in the dirt.”

The compelling story of how Dau relocated to Central New York, earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Syracuse, and worked to raise money and awareness for health and education projects in Sudan is traced in his memoir. Today, he is president of both the John Dau Foundation and the South Sudan Institute.

“John Dau is an influential part of many efforts to bring hope and peace to the people of South Sudan. He speaks out and advocates for human rights across the globe,” adds Schell, whose Honors course, “Reading and Writing War” (HNR 340), Dau will also visit to discuss the challenges that refugees face when fleeing war-torn nations.

 

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • ‘Putin’s Rules of the Game’
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Lily Datz
  • Important Public Health Update: Barnes Center Will Pause Distribution of J&J Vaccine
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By News Staff
  • ‘Should the COVID-19 Vaccine Be Required for the Military?’
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Lily Datz
  • Student Assembly of Interfaith Leaders Highlights Importance of Interfaith Collaboration
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By News Staff
  • LLL Provides Students a Virtual Taste of Italian Food and Culture
    Monday, April 12, 2021, By Dan Bernardi

More In Uncategorized

“Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line?”

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of food studies in Falk College, was interviewed for the Syracuse.com story “Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line?” Minkoff-Zern, an expert on the intersections of food and social justice, comments on the…

“Biden to broaden US-Mexican relations, keep immigration at top.”

Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history in the Maxwell School, was quoted in the Al Jazeera story “Biden to broaden US-Mexican relations, keep immigration at top.” McCormick, an expert on US-Mexico relations, believes that Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador…

“The long game: COVID changed the way we play, watch, cheer”

Dennis Deninger, professor of practice in Falk College and the Newhouse School, was quoted in the Associated Press story “The long game: COVID changed the way we play, watch, cheer.” Deninger, an expert on sports television and media, believes that…

“Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview Draws 17.1 Million Viewers.”

Robert Thompson, Trustee Professor of television, radio and film and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture in the Newhouse School, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal story “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview…

“7 Women Scientists Who Defied the Odds and Changed Science Forever.”

Christa Kelleher, assistant profession of earth environmental science in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in the Newsweek article “7 Women Scientists Who Defied the Odds and Changed Science Forever.” Kelleher, an expert on hydrology, comments particularly on…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.