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little c: main setting of the book

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Sudan , officially Republic of the Sudan, Country, northeastern Africa. Area: 710,693 sq mi (1,840,687 sq km). Population: (2023 est.) 46,392,000. Capitals: Khartoum (executive), Omdurman (legislative). People identifying themselves as Arab predominate, but other ethnic groups also live in the country. Languages: Arabic, English (official working languages), Nubian languages, others. Religions: Islam (predominantly Sunni); also Christianity, traditional beliefs. Currency: Sudanese pound. The country encompasses an immense plain with the Sahara Desert in the north-centre, sand dunes in the west, and semiarid shrublands in the south-central belt. The Nile River flows through the entire length of the country. Wildlife includes lions, leopards, elephants, and giraffes. Sudan has a developing mixed economy based largely on oil and agriculture. One of the largest irrigation projects in the world provides water to farms between the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Chief cash crops are cotton, peanuts, and sesame; livestock is also important. Major industries include food processing and cotton ginning, and petroleum is the main export. The country is ruled by a military-backed regime; the head of state and government is the president, assisted by vice presidents. Evidence of human habitation dates back tens of thousands of years. From the end of the 4th millennium bce, Nubia (now northern Sudan) periodically came under Egyptian rule, and it was part of the kingdom of Cush from the 11th century bce to the 4th century ce. Christian missionaries converted the area's three principal kingdoms during the 6th century ce; those black Christian kingdoms coexisted with their Muslim Arab neighbours in Egypt for centuries, until the influx of Arab immigrants brought about their collapse in the 13th-15th centuries. Egypt had conquered all of the Sudan region by 1874 and encouraged British interference there; this aroused Muslim opposition and led to the revolt of the Mahdī, who captured Khartoum in 1885 and established a Muslim theocracy in the Sudan that lasted until 1898, when his forces were defeated by the British. The British ruled, generally in partnership with Egypt, until the region achieved independence in 1956. Since then the country has fluctuated between ineffective parliamentary government and unstable military rule, with the distraction of long-running civil wars (1955-72; 1983-2005) between the northern-based government and southern rebels. Meanwhile, fighting broke out in 2003 in the Darfur region of western Sudan; tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced. In 2011 the southern Sudanese population voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from the north and seceded on July 9.

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Sudan's military rule, Mahdī revolt, and the Darfur crisis

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Sudan , officially Republic of the Sudan, Country, northeastern Africa. Area: 710,693 sq mi (1,840,687 sq km). Population: (2023 est.) 46,392,000. Capitals: Khartoum (executive), Omdurman (legislative). People identifying themselves as Arab predominate, but other ethnic groups also live in the country. Languages: Arabic, English (official working languages), Nubian languages, others.

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little c: Nya and Salva's settings

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CAIRO (AP) - Sudan's security forces violently dispersed on Monday the camp at the center of the protest movement that in April forced the army to remove Sudan's strongman, Omar al-Bashir, after 30 years of rule - and then stayed in the streets to keep up pressure on the generals who took his place.

For months, tens of thousands in the camp and other protest sites have been demanding a speedy transition to civilian rule. The break-up of the sit-in threatens to escalate the struggle between the protesters and the army to a new, more volatile level.

Many protest leaders see the confrontation with the army as part of the struggle to purge the state's institutions of al-Bashir's army and Islamist supporters. The autocrat's time in power will likely be remembered as among the most oppressive in Sudan's modern history.

Here is a timeline of key events in the rise and fall of al-Bashir, and Sudan's unfinished revolution:

1980s - A career army officer, al-Bashir assumes a leading role in the war against rebels in the south.

1985 - Sudanese army overthrows former President Jaafar al-Nimeiri in a bloodless coup. The army quickly hands power to an elected government, which proves dysfunctional and only rules for a few years.

1989 - Leading an alliance of the army and Islamist hard-liners, al-Bashir stages a coup against Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, dissolving the government and all political parties. He appoints himself chair of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, which rules the country, and is named defense minister.

1990 - Coup attempt fails to unseat al-Bashir.

1991 - Al-Bashir and his Islamist allies impose Islamic or Sharia law, fueling the division between the country's Muslim, Arabized north and the mainly animist and Christian south.

August 1993 - U.S. State Department lists Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

October 1993 - Al-Bashir is appointed president.

1996 - Al-Bashir is re-elected president.

1997 - U.S. imposes sanctions against Sudan's government, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

June 1998 - Sudanese legislators draft a new constitution that lifts the ban on political parties.

December - Al-Bashir dissolves the parliament after an Islamist political ally proposes laws limiting the president's powers.

2000 - Al-Bashir wins another presidential election with over 85% of the vote.

2003 - Rebel groups in Darfur attack the government in an uprising against alleged abuses and mistreatment by authorities. Al-Bashir seeks help from the Janjaweed militias, whose brutal tactics terrorize people in the region and displace more than 2 million people. A small peacekeeping force from the African Union arrives.

2005 - Under international pressure, a peace deal is reached between al-Bashir and the southern Sudanese rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The agreement gives southern Sudanese the right to determine whether the south would remain part of Sudan.

July 2008 - International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor calls for an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, citing charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur. The Sudanese government, which is not a party to the treaty creating the ICC, denies the accusations and proclaims al-Bashir's innocence.

March 2009 - The ICC issues an arrest warrant for al-Bashir - the first time that the ICC seeks the arrest of a sitting head of state - charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity but not genocide. Later, a second arrest warrant is issued against al-Bashir, this time with a genocide charge.

April 2010 - Al-Bashir is re-elected with about 68% of vote in the country's first multiparty elections in more than 20 years. Two main opposition rivals withdraw over alleged fraudulent practices.

July 2011 - South Sudan gains independence after a referendum in January. South Sudan's independence causes economic difficulties in Sudan as the new country gains control over the southern oil fields, which had accounted for three-quarters of the country's oil production.

April 2015 - Al-Bashir wins another five-year term in a vote marred by low turnout.

November-December 2016 - Hundreds of protesters take to streets against a government decision to slash fuel subsidies, as required by the International Monetary Fund.

October 2017 - U.S. announces partial lifting of long-standing sanctions against Sudan, citing progress by Khartoum in fighting terrorism and its commitment not to pursue arms deals with North Korea.

January 2018 - Protests break out across Sudan against price hikes caused by government austerity measures.

August 2018 - Sudan's ruling National Congress Party says it would back al-Bashir as its candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

Dec. 16, 2018 - Al-Bashir becomes the first Arab League leader to visit Syria since civil war erupted there nearly eight years ago. He is greeted at the Damascus airport by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Dec. 19, 2018 - Anti-government demonstrations erupt across Sudan, initially over steep price rises and shortages, but soon shift to calls for al-Bashir to step down. Security forces respond with a fierce crackdown that kills dozens.

Feb. 19, 2019 - Al-Bashir declares a state of emergency, bans all unauthorized gatherings and gives security forces sweeping powers to quash the protests.

April 6 - A large sit-in protest begins outside the military's headquarters in Khartoum. Over the next five days, security forces kill 22 people in attempts to clear the sit-in. The protests gain momentum after the resignation earlier in the week by Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power for 20 years, in response to similar demonstrations.

April 11 - Sudanese army arrests al-Bashir and says it takes over for the next 2 years, suspending the country's constitution and closing its borders and airspace. A three-month state of emergency is also imposed.

April 12 - Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan replaces the coup leader who is linked to the bloodshed in Darfur, Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf, after street rallies against him.

April 17 - Sudanese officials say al-Bashir has been transferred to a prison in Khartoum.

April 21 - Protest organizers suspend talks with the ruling military council, saying it has failed to meet their demands for an immediate transfer to a civilian government.

April 25 - Under pressure from mounting protests, three members of the ruling military council resign.

April 27 - Protest leaders resume talks with the ruling military council.

May 13 - Sudanese prosecutors say they have charged al-Bashir with involvement in killing and incitement to kill protesters during the uprising.

May 14 - Protesters says security agents loyal to ousted leader al-Bashir attacked their sit-ins overnight, setting off clashes that killed five people, including an army officer.

May 15 - Army and opposition leaders announce significant progress in negotiations; a three-year transition period, a Cabinet and the makeup of a 300-member, all-civilian transitional legislative body.

May 25 - Thousands of Islamists, long allied with al-Bashir's regime, rally to support military-backed Islamic rule in Khartoum.

May 28 - Protest leaders launch a two-day general strike to press the army to hand over power to a civilian-led authority.

June 3 - Protest leaders say security forces attack their Khartoum sit-in at the center of the movement, opening fire, torching tents and killing over 30 people.

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A timeline of key events in Sudan's unfinished revolution

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CAIRO (AP) - Sudan's security forces violently dispersed on Monday the camp at the center of the protest movement that in April forced the army to remove Sudan's strongman, Omar al-Bashir, after 30 years of rule - and then stayed in the streets to keep up pressure on the generals who took his place.

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little c: Nya's access to water dictates all events.

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Alexandra Barton, Guest Writer)

Sudan faces ecological crises like water scarcity and desertification. Rural Sudanese are displaced often by changing landscapes and a lack of agricultural production. The demand for water increases, but its availability to the country's inhabitants continually remains low. Access to water is needed, as much of Sudan's country has become neglected.

The livelihood of Sudan depends on its excess use of its water sources. Eighty percent of the country works in agriculture, which accounts for 97% of its water use. Most farms are rural and fed by rainwater. They provide for a family or a small community, making them the majority means of living for the Sudanese. Yet, their farming practices are hurting the environment. Much of Sudan's land is cultivated by mechanized farming . This intense agricultural system has reduced arable soil, and according the United Nations Environment Programme, has caused desertification to spread. The irrigation used to feed the mechanized farms and intense cultivation by rural Sudanese are causal to the arid environment diffusing over Sudan.

Women and children must devote the most time in their days to gather water from distant sources. They risk their health and safety by bearing frequent trips to a well remote from their home. Additionally, the women lose productivity from other domestic duties. In Sudan about two percent of water is available for domestic use (In the United States, water for domestic use accounts for 13% of total supply).

Most of Sudan's currently accessible underground water is shared with surrounding countries . Sudan utilizes part of the NileRiver Basin, but its use is not regulated or maintained by the government. This unrestrained use of shared water, mostly for irrigation and energy, creates tension with neighboring countries like Egypt and Ethiopia. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) uses the term water stress to refer to a situation where political or economic problems occur because of a lack of water. According to the Water Systems Analysis Group at the University of New Hampshire, about a quarter of Africa's population suffers from this problem. Sudan has a critical case of water stress.

The Sudanese are at high risks for contracting waterborne diseases. In 2006 there were 476 deaths caused by diarrhoea in just five months, with Cholera-causing bacterium present in stool samples. Similarly, the Darfur region had 3753 reported cases of hepatitis E from May to August 2004. Contaminated drinking water may also cause Dracunculiasis, or Guinea Worm Disease. It can rapidly affect a water supply for a village by one infected person, harming the total area. Three out of five cases of Guinea Worm Disease come from Sudan. Open water sources, such as standing ponds, are common modes of transferring diseases in villages.

Environmental changes have left the Sudanese to struggle for their own survival. The country strains to provide clean, accessible water to all regions.

The Water Project has twenty missions to build wells in Sudan that are either in development or have been completed. This well was built for St. Bartholomew's Orphanage, where it now provides clean water for 130 orphans in Southern Sudan. More plans will offer accessible water for thousands of Sudanese.

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Learn about the water crisis facing Sudan. Read about some of the causes and the differences found from one part of Sudan to another.

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little c: Salva's story is the story of this person

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Salva Dut was born in a rural village in southwestern Sudan to the Dinka tribe. At 11 years old, the Sudanese Civil War reached his village and separated Salva from his family. He joined thousands of boys, famously known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, on their journey by foot to seek safety in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. After living in refugee camps for 10 years, Salva was given the opportunity to move to the United States, where he was embraced by a family in Rochester, New York. Several years later, Salva learned that his father was still alive in Southern Sudan but was suffering with a disease caused by waterborne parasites. His father's illness inspired Salva to help both his father and his country by bringing clean water to those in need. This was the beginning of Water for South Sudan.

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Salva Dut was born in a rural village in southwestern Sudan to the Dinka tribe. At 11 years old, the Sudanese Civil War reached his village and separated Salva from his family. He joined thousands of boys, famously known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, on their journey by foot to seek safety in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

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little c: Slava is a part of this demographic

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This lists the logos of programs or partners of NG Education which have provided or contributed the content on this page. Program

Directions Objectives Preparation Background & Vocabulary

1. Pre-teach the vocabulary.
Pre-teach relevant vocabulary, including human migration , immigrant, emigrant, refugee, and resettlement.

2. Build background.
Ask students if they're familiar with Peter Pan's Lost Boys-characters in the J.M. Barrie novel Peter Pan who formed a family and took care of each other in Never-Never Land. Explain that there is a group of over 25,000 young Dinka men who ran away from a civil war. These young men trekked across sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety, and eventually found homes in the United States. Relief workers called them the "Lost Boys" after the characters in the J.M. Barrie novel, and the media picked up on this; the group is now known collectively as "The Lost Boys of Sudan." Review the vocabulary in this new context.

3. Have students locate Sudan on the map.
Ask students to locate Sudan on a wall map of the world. Point out northern and southern Sudan. Point out the homeland of the Dinka-in southern Sudan along the White Nile. Ask: What physical aspects of Sudan contribute to civil unrest? What cultural aspects of Sudan contribute to civil unrest? Explain to students that Sudan's second civil war was caused by conflicts between northern and southern Sudan over oil and religion. Go to National Geographic's Sudan Facts page and invite volunteers to take turns reading aloud the information. Then discuss the historical, cultural, and geographic factors that contributed to Sudan's civil war and some of the consequences the civil war-which lasted over twenty years-had on Sudan and its peoples, including orphaned children, violence, famine, and disease.

4. Introduce the film God Grew Tired of Us and the excerpt students will watch.
Explain to students that the film documents the story of the Lost Boys of Sudan as they fled civil war, spent a decade growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp, and were eventually resettled in the United States. Tell students that they will see an excerpt, called "From Sudan to the United States." The excerpt includes stories from the Kakuma refugee camp. If possible, show students the full film, God Grew Tired of Us, during class time. If you do not have enough time, encourage students to watch the film at home on their own.

5. Have students watch the excerpt and write about it.
Show students the excerpt and have them list their questions about the video and its content as they watch. Then ask students to write a brief summary describing who the Lost Boys are and what they experienced. Students' summaries should include:

why the Lost Boys had to flee Sudan

reasons they could not stay in Ethiopia

what life was like in the refugee camp

what new things the Lost Boys experienced on the journey from Kenya to the U.S.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

define vocabulary terms

explain who the Lost Boys of Sudan are and how they got that name

locate northern Sudan, southern Sudan, and the Dinka homeland on a world map

describe the experiences of the Lost Boys in Sudan and after they fled Sudan

Teaching Methods

Discussions

Hands-on learning

Visual instruction

Writing

Skills Summary

This activity targets the following skills:

Critical Thinking Skills

Geographic Skills

Connections to National Standards, Principles, and Practices

National Council for Social Studies Curriculum Standards

National Geography Standards

Standard 13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface

Standard 9: The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

What You'll Need

Materials You Provide

Paper

Pencils

Pens

Wall map of the world

Required Technology

Internet Access: Required

Tech Setup: 1 computer per classroom, Projector, Speakers

Plug-Ins: Flash

Physical Space

Grouping

Background Information

The Lost Boys of Sudan are a group of Dinka youth who fled civil war in their native country, spent a decade growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp, and were eventually resettled in the United States. The Dinka are the largest ethnic group in southern Sudan.

Recommended Prior Activities

Vocabulary

Websites

Credits

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Editor

Christina Riska Simmons

Educator Reviewer

Jeanne Wallace-Weaver, Educational Consultant

Sources

adapted from the National Geographic Xpeditions lessons "God Grew Tired of Us: Migration and Cultural Interaction" and "God Grew Tired of Us: Culture Clash and Community-Building"

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For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

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Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

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Christina Riska Simmons

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This lists the logos of programs or partners of NG Education which have provided or contributed the content on this page. Program Directions Objectives Preparation Background & Vocabulary 1. Pre-teach the vocabulary. Pre-teach relevant vocabulary, including human migration , immigrant , emigrant , refugee , and resettlement . 2. Build background.

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Bush: a large uncleared area thickly covered with mixed plant growth, trees, etc, as a jungle

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Bush: a large uncleared area thickly covered with mixed plant growth, trees, etc, as a jungle

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little c: characters are told to run into the bush rather than go to the villages

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This kind of boat was made to cross the Nile River

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As other fishermen haul in their catch a little after dawn, Temasgen Zelalem is just beginning to drop his net.

Looking weary in the faint morning light, Mr. Temasgen says it's his second drop in the last 24 hours. The nets he laid out last night were still empty at sunrise.

His knees poke through holes in his pants as he feeds the net out of the boat, chunks of Styrofoam on one end to keep it afloat, rocks weighing the other down. He's trying not to go home empty-handed.

Lake Tana 's fishermen slip out onto the water every morning in these flimsy boats of papyrus reeds lashed together with rope. Another cluster of reeds forms a seat, keeping them above water that pools on the boat floor.

Locals have been fishing this way since the 9 th century B.C., when Egypt's Nubian dynasty brought the practice to Ethiopia and Sudan. This is the only place where these papyrus boats are still used to eke out a living, says local tour guide Tesfaye Biazen. There are about 2,000 of them on Lake Tana.

The hulls look especially archaic as they glide over the reflection of a glassy high-rise building. The vessels can't carry much, nor move quickly. The fishermen estimate they make about 250 birr ($12.72) a week out here. Many of them know only this line of work.

Temasgen grew up on one of the many islands in Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile and the largest lake in landlocked Ethiopia. His father used these boats to fish and transport firewood from the islands to the mainland, where it was sold.

"This is my life job," says Temasgen, who guesses he has been a fisherman for about 12 years. He is unsure because he doesn't know his exact age. "I enjoy it. I like it. It's in my blood cells."

The papyrus is plentiful along the shoreline. Temasgen, who made his own boat in only three or four hours, says they sell for between 150 and 250 birr ($7.60 and $12.72) and last about a month before they become waterlogged, although some well-built boats can last longer. The fishermen prop the lightweight hulls on shore to dry every day, as their fathers did.

Yet nearby is a sign of a more modern method of fishing. Two men untangle a much larger net in their modest motorboat. One of them, Mihmet Baye, says they make 500 to 600 birr ($25 to $30) a week. They bought the boat for 70,000 birr (about $3,500) as a group and split the profits. They assume men like Temasgen will have no choice but to join them soon.

But as a traditional fisherman, he feels it is impossible to move up. "I can't afford leaving. I used to get 900 birr ($45) a month, and I couldn't [even afford to buy new] clothes," says Temasgen, who has a wife and child.

There are some positives to the old ways. Although they may cluster together as they fish - far from the hippopotamuses that lurk along the shoreline - the traditional fishermen relish their independence.

"I'm free and no one is there to give me instructions," says Temachew Gizaw, his head swathed turban-like in blue cloth, his shorts hanging off his lanky frame.

But he hopes to one day work in one of the big, loud, money-making motorboats. "The amount of money we make from fishing is hand to mouth," he says.

One man who drives motorboats for a local tour company says he used to fish papyrus-boat style. But now he nets 1,500 birr ($48) a month, a jump from the 700 birr ($22) he made then.

"You cannot improve your life. I can't say I miss it," he says.
Ariel Zirulnick reported from Ethiopia with the International Reporting Project.

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Fishermen ply Ethiopia's largest lake in papyrus boats, but hope for better

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On Lake Tana, locals eke out a living as they have since the 9th century B.C., in boats woven from papyrus growing on the shore. But some are eyeing the motorboats they say are the key to moving up in life.