Sudan

Five years ago at the MCC Leadership Camp, we met a young man from Sudan. He was hoping to study to become a doctor at Michigan State University; still, he had a lot of obstacles to overcome – culture, language, lack of educational preparation.

He lost his whole village, his family at the age of eleven. He finally made it to a refugee camp in Kenya when he was fifteen, after three and a half years of running and walking. His first contact with formal education was at the refugee camp.

His story touched me and led me to write this poem.

Eleven

Far village lights
Starry night
Goats around me
My brother at a distance
Cool night breeze
Warm sand on my skin
I slept.

Startled, awakened
Loud voices from the village
Horses, horses, horses
The village burning
In the firelight
My brother running
Guns; Boom, Boom, Boom!

I stood still, watching
Horses galloping
Silence fell
My brother, my mother, my father
Gone, I was no one!
I ran and ran and ran
Away from goats!

Away from ghosts!
Parched throat, sore feet
Hungry stomach
Goat’s milk, bare roots
Away from men burning villages
Alone, I was no one
What then? I was only eleven.