NEWS RELEASE
February 20, 2007
“Lost Boys of Sudan" to be Shown at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Former Sudanese Refugee Benson Deng to Appear at Screening
SAN DIEGO – The public is invited to view a screening of the award-winning film titled “Lost Boys of Sudan” on Monday, February 26, from 6-8 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 2120 San Diego Avenue, Room 200 of the Courtyard Building. Following the film, author and speaker Benson Athiin Deng will talk about his experiences as a lost boy of Sudan and the current conflict in Darfur. This event is co-sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson chapter of the International Law Society (ILS) and the Amnesty International Student Group.
“Lost Boys of Sudan” is an Emmy-nominated and Independent Spirit Award winning documentary by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk. The film follows the life of two Sudanese refugees, detailing their remarkable journey from underprivileged Africa to contemporary America.
The refugees, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor, became child-orphans during one of Africa’s most brutal civil wars. As boys, the two orphans, along with thousands of other children, endured lion attacks and militia gunfire in their quest to reach shelter at a Kenyan refugee camp. At the camp, the two were lucky enough to be selected to come to America. Now in America, free from hunger and out of harm’s way, Dut and Chuor find themselves battling the isolation of modern American suburbia.
"As the crisis in Sudan worsens, it is important for our community to not only become aware of the atrocities that have been committed there and to take responsive action, but to reach out to the refugees within our own community,” said Thomas Jefferson’s International Law Society President Christie Edwards. “The students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law are determined to reach out to the refugee and under-privileged groups in San Diego and in doing so, take a stand against human rights abuses and genocides around the world."
Benson Athiin Deng, is a well-known author who lectures about his former life as a Sudanese refugee. Deng taught himself the English language by writing the alphabet in the sand, using only a wooden stick. He left Kenya in 2001 to pursue a free life in America. After coming to America, Deng and his siblings began to write down their memories of being refugees in a book. These written experiences later developed into a published novel titled, “They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: the True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan.” Deng began his American employment at a grocery store in Hillcrest and now administers the computer and digital photography
system for Waste Management in El Cajon. He continues to speak about his former Sudanese refugee days in hopes of educating others about the troubling life of a refugee and the conflict that persists in Darfur.
To RSVP to this event or for more information, please contact Thomas Jefferson’s International Law Society at ils@tjsl.edu. Seating is limited. The ILS chapter is asking all attendees to please bring a paper goods item, such as diapers, toilet paper, or paper towels, to donate to the St. Luke’s Sudanese Refugee Network.
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