Warchild - Emmanuel Jal

Emmanuel Jal is an ex-child soldier. He was born in Southern Sudan just before the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out in 1983. He doesn't know exactly when he was born, but Emmanuel approximates his date of birth to be around January 1, 1980.

The First Sudanese Civil War began in 1955 and ended with the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972. The Second Sudanese Civil War ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. The Sudanese Civil War is the longest running war in the 20th century leaving 2 million civilians killed and 4 million more civilians displaced over a time span of two decades.

Emmanuel and many other children were recruited by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and taken to military training camps in Ethiopia where they were trained to fight. The SPLA is a predominantly Christian rebel group that was formed in 1983 by rebellious south Sudanese soldiers of the Sudanese Army. These joined remnants of the Anyanya rebels of the First Sudanese Civil War based in Ethiopia. Emmanuel's father was a member of the SPLA. After Emmanuel's first boat to Ethiopia sank, his father never looked for him. Emmanuel became a "lost boy". Emmanuel's mother was killed by loyal government soldiers when he was seven years old.

In 1991, Emmanuel Jal was rescued by Emma McCune, a British aid worker, who adopted and smuggled him to Kenya, where he acquired a love for singing and music. Today, he is using music in the form of African hip-hop as a vehicle to deliver his message to bring to light the corruption of the Sudanese government and to reach the youth. Emmanuel is a spokesman for the Make Poverty History campaign, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Control Arms campaign.

I was deeply moved by Emmanuel Jal's testimony and by the end of his story, you will be too. I urge you to watch this video in it's entirety.



Related Links:

Wikipedia: Emmanuel Jal
Emmanual Jal: Official Site
Emmanuel's Charity: GUA Africa

Purchase the items below at Amazon.com:

Book: War Child: A Child Soldier's Story
Movie: WAR CHILD-EMMANUEL JAL (DVD/WS 2.76/2008)
Music: WARchild

Live, Love, Learn, Remember, and Tell

My sister, Barbara, passed away last week on the morning of Wednesday, February 3rd of 2010. I knew my sister was in bad health, but I didn't expect to hear that she died that day.

I realized that I'm the friend or family member that you never hear from. Isn't that how we all feel when we lose someone that's close to us? We wish we could have told them how much we love them or we want to say how sorry we are for not speaking to them for years because of the argument we had. My sister and I never had an argument. We just never talked. But is that an excuse? As I get older, I'm discovering how important it is to make an effort to stay in contact with friends and family, because you never know when the voice they have is silenced.

My father died in his sleep in 1981 when I was 16 years old. We spoke, but we really didn't speak. When I was a child we were close, but as I got older, my dad and I grew apart. My dad was born in 1916. That is 94 years ago. He lived through The Wall Street Crash of 1929, The Great Depression, World War 1 and 2, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King any many other historical events.

My message today would be for us to make an effort to reach out to friends and family, especially the elderly. Talk to them. Get to know them. Their memories are anchors to the past that could be lost if their stories are not told. Learn their life and share their stories with your children. I didn't just lose my sister. I lost the memories she had of my father. How I wish I had the opportunity to go back and ask my sister about him.

Support Disaster Relief in Haiti

Google posted information on their site compiling organizations participating in the Haiti earthquake disaster relief effort.  You'll also find ways that you can make your own contributions in supporting the people of Haiti.  I'm posting the link here for anyone that comes across my blog as a source of information. 

Support Disaster Relief in Haiti

Bleeding To Death

All at once, the light leaves my eyes and gives way to the darkness and then I'm left laying alone bleeding to death in a pool of my own blood. Life is leaving my body and all that was meaningful to me is gone. Then I ask myself, what's important to me and all I see is the truth. I'm free. Free from the fear of self and unclouded by what the media deems valuable. What's important to me now is life and life is all that matters to me.