“In many cases, the Lost Boys of Sudan have no one else. The Lost Boys is not a nickname appreciated by many among our ranks, but it is apt enough. We fled or were sent from our homes, many of us orphaned, and thousands of us wandered through deserts and forests for what seemed like years. In many ways we are alone and in most cases we are unsure of where exactly we’re going.”

This is Deng’s explanation about how much the Lost Boys of Sudan depend on one another for everything. There are very few women or elders from their old home in Sudan, and so they are isolated from their own cultural roots and have only each other.

“Now create in your mind the best of days, and memorize these details, place this day center in your mind, and when you are the most frightened, bring forth this day and place yourself within it. Run through this day and I assure you that before you are finished with your dream-breakfast, you will be asleep.”

Deng uses this mental technique to help survive difficult circumstances, often taking himself mentally to another place and time, where things are better. He advises that is as a good way to sleep, when anxiety keeps you awake.

“Some sociologists, liberal ones, might take issue with the notion that one society is behind another, that there is a first world, a third. But southern Sudan is not any of these worlds. Sudan is something else, and I cannot find apt comparison.”

Western eyes are accustomed to seeing nations as either developed or developing. Deng argues that the trouble in Sudan is so intense that they are far behind even other countries that seek to become more economically and socially advanced.