Sudanese Lost Boy and Author John Bul Dau to Speak at USU

Sudanese Lost Boy John Bul Dau, the subject of the documentary film God Grew Tired of Us and autobiographical book of the same name, will speak on his “Journey to Leadership” Sept. 30 at Utah State University.

The talk begins at 1 p.m. in the Stevenson Ballroom in the Taggart Student Center (approximately 650 N. 800 East). It is free and open to the public.

 

The film chronicles the fish-out-of-water experience of Dau and two other Lost Boys as they move from East African refugee camps to the United States. It won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for best documentary at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Afterward, the National Geographic Society commissioned Dau to write his memoirs with the help of USU journalism professor Michael S. Sweeney.

 

At age 13, Dau fled his village in southern Sudan when it was shelled by invading northern Sudanese. He walked hundreds of miles, barely avoiding death from hunger, thirst and human violence before reaching sanctuary with thousands of other Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia. Driven from that country in a coup, Dau and the other Lost Boys — so called because they raised themselves with little or no adult supervision — settled in camps in Kenya. Nearly 4,000 resettled in America in 2000 and 2001. Dau landed in Syracuse, N.Y., where he is raising a family, studying public affairs and doing philanthropic work to build medical clinics in southern Sudan.

 

USA Today called the film “a moving documentary that informs, entertains and inspires.” Booklist says of the memoir, “Dau tells it quietly, in fast, simple prose true to the young teen’s viewpoint. He’s funny about the culture shock in America and honest about his years in the camp, even the fact that, trauma notwithstanding, he liked being tabbed as a leader.”

 

The documentary film, produced by Brad Pitt and narrated by Nicole Kidman, will be shown at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Emert Auditorium, Room 130 of the Eccles Science Learning Center. Sweeney will be on hand to offer commentary. The showing is free and open to the public.

 

Dau’s appearance is sponsored by the Associated Students of USU, the USU Provost’s office, College of HASS, Honors Program, and the departments of journalism, political science and English.

 

Contact: Michael S. Sweeney, 435-797-3123, mike.sweeney@usu.edu
Source: Department of Journalism and Communication