War Child: A Child Soldier's Story

by Emmanuel Jal, Megan Lloyd Davies (Contributor)

In the mid-1980s, Emmanuel Jal was a seven year old Sudanese boy, living in a small village with his parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. But as Sudan’s civil war moved closer—with the Islamic government seizing tribal lands for water, oil, and other resources—Jal’s family moved again and again, seeking peace. Then, on one terrible day, Jal was separated from his mother, and later learned she had been killed; his father Simon rose to become a powerful commander in the Christian Sudanese Liberation Army, fighting for the freedom of Sudan. Soon, Jal was conscripted into that army, one of 10,000 child soldiers, and fought through two separate civil wars over nearly a decade.
But, remarkably, Jal survived, and his life began to change when he was adopted by a British aid worker. He began the journey that would lead him to change his name and to recording and releasing his own album, which produced the number one hip-hop single in Kenya, and from there went on to perform with Moby, Bono, Peter Gabriel, and other international music stars. Shocking, inspiring, and finally hopeful, War Child is a memoir by a unique young man, who is determined to tell his story and in so doing bring peace to his homeland.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, Memoir, Biography, War, Sudan, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Emmanuel Jal has no fixed record of when, exactly, he was born, but he is fairly sure that he was about seven years old when he was recruited as a child soldier in his native Sudan. He didn't need much persuading to join: three years previously, his father, a police officer, disappeared at the onset of the country's second civil war (raging from 1983 to, despite the 2005 peace agreement, this very day), and his mother had just been killed in the conflict. Hellbent on revenge, Jal very much wanted to represent the Sudan People's Liberation Army because, as he explains, "no one else in the world was going to help us".

From a vantage point of some 20 years, Jal still harbours fond memories of the SPLA. "Unlike many armies that have children," he says, "the SPLA trained us well." He recounts that the training lasted a full year, in which time he was taught how to cook, camp and how to be handy with both spears and AK-47s. "By the time they sent us out to battle, we couldn't wait. My friends, my family members, had been murdered; I wanted to kill as many Muslims and Arabs as I could."

Two decades on, the fact that Jal escaped with his life is just one remarkable aspect in what has come to be a remarkable life. Now in his late twenties – he estimates 28 – this strikingly good-looking young man has settled in London, and become intent on telling his story, not just once but over and over again. Today, he is a rapper, an author and even the subject of a documentary film. "I believe I have escaped for a reason," he says, quoting the title track of his forthcoming album, Warchild. "To tell my story, to touch lives."

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An at-times horrifying read, but in the end a truly inspiring biography and a great portrayal of the awful ways war affects children and young adults.

"War Child" is not for someone inclined to freak out at explicit descriptions of violence and misery, or famine-level poverty, hatred (at times racial hatred) and frustration. Jal has lived through a lot and here he does not shy away from describing any of it, from the blood and guts to the racial tension and hatred.

Jal was a child soldier with the SPLA (antigovernment rebels, at the time predominantly Christian/Animist) in Sudan and witnessed the rape and murder of members of his family. After the war despite the kindness of several strangers, he had a ROUGH time getting "rehabilitated," finding his behavior was affected in all sorts of ways by his past; he had a tendency toward violence, an automatic impulse to steal when he could, an inability to concentrate. I imagine that from the perspective of anyone who's ever worked with the children of trauma or immigrant populations, this book would be invaluable. It's also just an amazingly human story. The author's style is stilted and clearly colloquial at times, which means you'll be learning many terms from the languages of Sudan (often terms that are cobbled together from several languages, or have an unclear meaning). That, and the book's snapshot of village life in Sudan even outside of the context of war, add up to a book that is absolutely not to be missed.

Also, the last fifth or so of the book has a lot to do with Jal's music career; indie artists are advised to check it out. Because he could not get play from Nairobi radio stations, against all odds Jal and his friends got a grant and released his album and one of his friends', self-produced, self-promoted, basically no help from any music industry sources until Peter Gabriel gave him a vote of confidence at Africa Calling. At one point Jal describes giving well-attended concerts in London and then sleeping on park benches. Good to know it's not just the U.S. where the corporate music promoters are brain-dead sleazebags who wouldn't know good music if it bit them on the ass.

Jal is a Christian (raised a Christian, became an atheist during the war, then was "saved") and I am most emphatically not (though I was raised Roman Catholic). Jal's faith is critical to his rescue from despair, but he doesn't especially preach. Descriptions of his music necessarily carry some expression of Christian joy, particularly his early work which was more explicitly Christian -- before he started writing about his war experiences. If you can't handle that, you probably won't like the last part of the book. I think one of the strongest messages Jal presents is how he learned to not be prejudiced against Muslims, after a lifetime of hating them with all his heart (the war in Sudan was for all intents and purposes a war against Islamic and Christian/Animist populations, though its roots go deep into OIL). So avoiding his faith would have been thoroughly disingenuous, and I'm glad he's been honest about it here. It also means that if you ARE Christian, there will be a lot for you to like about the last part of the book, which ends on a SERIOUS up note and an inspiring sense of hope despite the fact that there is some HARROWING reading preceding it.

[Puoch Dit]

I feel the same way when I read the previews of Emmanuel Jal or Jal in short in Nuer language book. I knew it has been a long journey toward the peace process in Sudan, but hope is what generate me days and nights for my 21 years of waiting for the peace to pop up in Sudan, which indeed happened in 2005. As a former child soldier myself, I knew how hard it is to live and go through the process of bad things. I couldn't agree more on Jal is reflections on those things that happened to him during the struggle for self determination in the South Sudan. The whole stories he just told were all true through my memoirs. I used to lived in the same camp Emmanuel used to be in, but because there were so many children in that camp we happened not to knew each other. I cannot wait to read the full text from his book and reflects back on all the things that occured and saluted the lost ones along the way too.

All I can say as of now Jal is thank you Jal for sharing this fascinating story by letting the whole world known about our struggle and how we lost our love ones while searching for the place to settle our fate.One again Jal you are my hero for doing this for the past heroes, and the incoming ones as well.

Thank you
By former lost boy from Panyindu camp child soldier

Puoch Ruot Dit

[Carly Crile]

I didn't like or dislike this book. It's not a book I would casually read, considering I never think about reading memoirs, unless I want to open up my reading choices, which I don't do all of the time. This book is about a guy named Emmanual Jal, and what he lived through as a person who had to go into war as a child. He was fighting in the Sudan war and was pulled away from his family. His sister was always being used for her body, and his mother was going through her struggles as well. After a while, his mother died, but he always still had his mother's singing voice in his mind when he was in stressful moments. Then, what he thought was that "God came to him" and then he went on to make rap songs about what his life used to be like, and ever since then, his life has changed for the better. I felt like in the beginning/middle it got boring and repetitive, because it always talked about the same thing, which was him going to a new town and his friends dying, so he has to move on to a different town. Although that got repetitive, I understand the reason why he put all of that into the book. It was a traumatic experience for him, having to live through the same fate over and over again isn't the most fun thing to happen to you. I started to get more interested in the book when he started to talk about his music career. It was something new, and it made me realize how important things like music can be to people. I also really liked how he talked about Emma McCune a lot, because she was another important thing to him, because of how she helped him when he was a child, and she wasn't judgemental of him. I give this book 4/5 stars, just plainly because once again how it was kind of boring and repetitive at the beginning, but then when "God came to him", things started changing, and new topics were brought up.

[BrookesMoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

There haven’t been many books that have been able to shock me and leave me absolutely stunned after reading, but this was one of them. The fact I am privileged enough to never have to experience any of the things Emmanuel Jal did as a child and able to learn about his experiences in the comfort of my own home is something in itself of itself. But we must read these stories, we must continue to learn even when it’s horrifying to hear about. yes it’s horrific to learn about, now imagine having to LIVE through it. I am glad Jal was able to share his story with the world and I will continue to encourage others to listen because it’s the least we can do. War and violence is ongoing in Sudan as I type this review out, we need to learn an educate and do everything we can as a society to end the horrors children, women, and men have to endure

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read, though harrowing as you would expect. I was totally engrossed in his story, which is brilliantly told. Having known some Sudanese people while living in Uganda, including some involved in the peace process, and having read "Emma's War", (Emma features in the later part of Emmanuel's story) I had a bit of understanding of the war for independence in South Sudan. But the devastating impact on those involved, including the Lost Boys, comes across vividly and horrifyingly in Emmanuel's telling. Since getting out of Sudan, he has been advocating for his country and has become quite a well-known rap artist, featuring on one of the War Child albums, and one of his songs was used as part of the sound track for the film Blood Diamond. Highly recommend this book.

[Paula3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first person account from one of the Lost Boys of Sudan that will leave you saddened, yet hopeful. Emmanuel Jal truly explemplifies the resiliency of the human spirit and how one never knows how we can affect the lives of those we meet. Jal provides very vivid and detailed accounts of the atrocities of war and the disturbing way young children are trained to become soldiers. As much as this book broke my heart, it also reminded me that there are so many areas in our world where people, especially children, struggle on a daily basis in ways I can not even fathom.

[Brandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great memoir about a child soldier in Sudan. I liked the story although I was horrified, sad and angry for Jal throughout many parts of the book & couldn't imagine facing the challenges he endured. I felt like the first half of the book was a much stronger and enjoyable read than the second (If 3.5 stars were an option, I probably would've chosen it), however, overall I enjoyed the story which is inspirational.

[Alexandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally somewhat liked it, somewhat didn't. It was a good book, I just personally found it hard to understand. It also repeats the same thing over and over again. Like, he was in this war, now he's in this war, now he's explaining about another war and how he survived. So, it's kinda all over the place, and sometimes it has too much detail, sometimes not enough. So, it's hard to understand. I liked it because it was about someone's life, and about how he survived through war. About how he went to school, and how he found his sister. It explains so much about his life. Sometimes it can be a little gorey, but it's a book about war. It's gonna have some blood. I don't mind blood, I know some people might though. This also mentions a lot of other stuff, stuff I don't really wanna explain. You'll have to read the book to find it. But, I would recommend this book to people who like books about people's lives and don't mind blood, or cussing. I also think that if you read this, it's easier to read if you understand what he saying. So, I definitely wouldn't recommend this to younger readers.

[sydney kueber · Rating 5 out of 5]

War child is all about war, (as stated in the name). A boy (the main character) goes through the problems of losing teammates, friends and family. The boy is in war, who has to fight and try to make it out alive. But, along the way he loses many friends, teammates, and people he may even consider family. Since he loses people that he loves it makes him stronger. Then, in the end of the book, he defeats the other team, and in the end he comes out even stronger then before. He learns what it's like to be on his own. And also he learns what its like to have a family. Or some what of a family. The main character goes through multiple battles and he loses his friends and teammates along that way. He develops a way to let out his anger and stress. Even if that way is killing others ( the opponents ) or putting himself in danger. This book is very inspiring. It made me feel more empowerment, because I saw the character evolve from this boy to a grown strong male adult/male teenager. This book I highly recommend!! Especially, if you like empowerment and seeing the main character evolve into this stronger version of himself. The author wrote a great book.

[Omar Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I liked this is because it is based on a real conflict and the journies that refugees take through their life. The fact that Emmanuel lost his dad and mom, it was something that many suffer from, and thats sad. I don't think he wanted to fight for the SPLA's for his country but he had to or he would be eaten or killed by them. The fact that he had to see his friends die was very sad and made me think of when I left my first school. Emmanuel has made many records in rapper history, and he loves that, I only imagine how it feels to come this far.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

see my Blog on War Child at: Millerstime.net or go to

http://web.me.com/Samesty84/MillersTi...


In the last several years there have been a number of books about the horrors of child soldiers and the horrors occurring in various parts of Africa, including the best seller A Long Way Gone by Ishamael Beah (Sierra Leone), Emma’s War by Deborah Scroggins, and What Is the What by David Eggers.

Now comes one from Emmanuel Jal, one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan. It is excellent and deserves a wide audience.

Jal tells his story of his journey into hell, beginning approximately at age seven. It’s not clear to me how much of the book is his own writing and how much has been told to co-writer Megan Lloyd Davies. But that probably doesn’t matter as the authenticity of Jal’s journey is never in doubt

Born in Sudan in a time of peace, Jal’s life quickly turns wretched as the civil war between northern and southern Sudan develops (largely over oil). Jal’s family moves further and further south to avoid the devastating effects of the war . Within a short period of time, he loses his father, who leaves to train with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), witnesses the rape of his aunt, and becomes permanently separated from his mother and siblings. He is then sent to Ethiopia, supposedly to go to school. There is no schooling, and a two year period of almost unimaginable struggling for survival begins for this now nine year old.

Jal is filled with hatred, both by what he has been told by the adults in his world as well as what he has seen and experienced. Before long he finds himself training to be a child soldier. He is not forced into the child soldier role but chooses it (to the degree a seven-nine year old has free will) as he wants revenge for what the northern Muslims have done to his family and his world.

Jal wants to kill Muslims, but his first taste of war as a ‘soldier’ comes when the Ethiopians turn on the Sudanese orphans and rebels and begin to expel them. His life then gets worse, if that is possible, as the southern Sudanese rebels begin to fight amongst themselves as the Nuer and Dinka tribes turn against each other. Forced marches, food deprivations, betrayal by friends and witnessing man’s inhumanity barely describe what Jal experiences. He carries an AK47 which is bigger than he is. And when he finally does kill, it does not seem to quell his anger or hatred.

At one point Jal almost turns to cannibalism simply to survive, but according to War Child, he has a vision of Jesus and chooses not to go down that road. Shortly thereafter an English aid worker, Emma McCune (the same Emma from the book Emma), takes him into her home and seeks to rescue him from the life of a child soldier. And thus begins a long and rocky exit from his world of child soldiery, if not from the hate and emotional destruction he has experienced. When Emma is soon killed in an auto accident, Jal is without a sponsor. He is in and out of schools, lives on the streets in Kenya, meets other individuals who seek to and do help him. But it is not an easy journey from the hell he has lived.

Jal begins to mix music with his attempts at schooling. He and several other lost boys form a singing group and a society to help others in similar condition. Eventually he makes his way first as a gospel singer and ultimately as a hip-hop artist. At first he is successful in Kenya and ultimately internationally. His music takes him around the world as he uses it both to sooth himself and as a way to bring attention to what is happening in Sudan.

As unlikely an odyssey as this sounds, from the depths of depravity to the hopefulness of his recovery and achievements, War Child amazes. That an individual can survive what Jal has experienced and go on to devote his life to peace, for me, puts him in a category that has very few equals.

There are parts of the book that are beautifully written, if that word can be used for his graphic descriptions of the horrors of what Jal saw, experienced, and perpetrated. Certainly War Child deserves to rise to the top of the list of books on child soldiers and on what is continuing to happen in Africa today

[Declan Coakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jal writes straight from the heart and with no pretenses in “War Child,” delivering to readers a story that is captivating, inspiring, and informative.

[Maddie Colbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but it was very repetative. It is a mermoir so I liked how I got to know from him what it was like being in the war as a young child. I almost cried when his mom was killed. She was like the only person that he loved because his dad was in the war. And he was separated from all of his siblings when his mom died because they were all running from the soldiers. Another part of the book where I almost cried is when he stayed up listening to his mom and aunt talk about his aunt's experience, she was taken by the enemies and was raped this happened to women all the time in Sudan. The author Emmanuel Jal is a christian. Through out the book he is talking to God trying to get through this rough time. During all of this he found his love for music. He bagan rapping and now is a famous artist. The repetition though was boring. Through the entire book it is war, war, war, rapping, war, and so on. It gets boring but also is good because it is about what he went throught and that is what he went through as a child to where he is now.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

War Child: A Child Soldier’s story is an story of a young boy who had to go through war all throughout his life and experience what it is like to live in a non war country. the book begins with Emmanuel and his family in their village trying to survive through attacks on his village. His father works in the military and is most of the time behind the attacks on other villages. Emmanuel and his family are often on the run because of the constant attacks. In one of the attacks, Emmanuel is separated from his siblings and mother, but he eventually finds out that his mother passed away because of the bombings. He runs away, hoping to find safety away from all the attacks, but finds himself in the military fighting for education and freedom. He along with the other troops have to go through training that often times ends in the troops getting hurt. He spends years in the military, so he becomes used to the very harsh and hostile environment. Emmanuel ends up meeting the ‘white people’, who end up teaching him simple education skills. One of the ‘white people’ take him to America to live the life of a normal boy. He has to forget everything that he learned in Africa during war, and adapt to the ways of life in America. He has to get used to the fact that he now has to take baths and use a toilet instead of being dirty and having to do his business in a ditch. Emmanuel has a struggle in school, he’s used to being very aggressive with other people instead of paying attention to his education. He grows in America with many struggles, but eventually he finds his passion which is music. The book ends with him trying to find solutions to these who lived the way he once did so they can have the opportunity to start over.
Overall, I thought that this was a very well written book. I think that the fact that it was an autobiography made it more real compared to a realistic fiction book. The book was very action packed for the majority of it, I just thought that it got very boring towards the end because he didn’t have as much as a struggle as he once did. I believe what made it boring was that he wasn’t dealing with as much and for the end of the book it was him talking about how much he has grown over the years. I was just excepting a little more interesting ending to the book. But, i thought that he had a great growth, especially considering the fact that he literally had to change his whole life to get used too living in America. It added a more ‘normal’ touch that it needed, because it brought be to a sense of happiness. I think I felt happy reading about his growth because it showed that no matter what type of background you’ve had, it doesn’t define the person you are now. I just think it makes you work harder so you’re not in that bad place again.

[Trupti Dorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the second book I've read on a Child Soldier. War Child is about 7 year old Jal or Emmanuel from Sudan who gets caught up in the war between Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan. His entire family is displaced, he gets sent to the Ethiopian refugee camp, gets recruited as a child soldier in the South Sudan Rebellion and eventually escapes war by getting to Kenya.

All I can say is I probably couldn't endure even half of what this kid has endured and come out of it sane. It's harrowing, heartbreaking and honest. Always honest. I'm surprised that he could even talk about some of the events in his life.

After he escapes to Kenya, his life is not a bed of roses suddenly. He describes how difficult it is to assimilate these aimless Lost Boys of Sudan to normal life. I'm amazed by his dedication towards the cause. The fact that he could perform in a huge concert, earn a decent amount of money and still have no place to sleep at night because he has donated all the money to the organization is what blows me away.

This book made me angry. Why can't people just stop killing each other? Is money, power, oil, religion, pride so important that it turns them into killing machines without a thought of what they are doing to their countries and their own families? Jal doesn't have any answers to those either. But he still has hope that if people work together they can achieve peace.

[Nicole (Reading Books With Coffee) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting. I've heard of the Lost Boys, but other than hearing the name, I didn't know anything about them.

I liked seeing what things were like for him, and how his life was changed because of what he's been through. I can't even begin to imagine what things were like for him...betrayal, being forced to fight, and starvation don't seem to cover half of what being a child soldier entailed. It was inspiring to see him go from child soldier to being a successful singer.

I'm glad I read it, because you see that while it's possible to move on, one can never truly recover from something so horrific.

I liked it, but it's more about what his own experience was like. You don't get an overview of what happened or anything, but I would like to learn more about what lead to the civil wars in Sudan. While it's a linear story, it felt a little disjointed. It was linear, but it didn't feel linear- if that makes any sense.

I give it a 3 out of 5. It's interesting, but I felt a little disconnected from the story.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have the background in Sudanese (and regional) history to judge the veracity of everything in this book, but even if it was only 1/2 true, it would still be an astonishing story.

I haven't had much luck reading autobiographical books lately, so it was nice to finally finish one that was good.

[Wendy Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a good book. Having met Mr. Jal I was already impressed, but his insightful writing and his ability to be both genuine and introspective about the lessons of war are tremendous.

[Nigel Kotani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emmanuel Jal came to my attention just before WOMAD 2019 when I was checking out the festival's online playlist. On hearing his track, Ti Chuong, I marked him down as one of my 'must see' artists. I was also intrigued by discovering that he'd been a child soldier in South Sudan, a place where I'd had some business dealings - somewhat improbably I'm the person who chose the name White Nile Ltd for the company that was supposed to become the state oil company - so when I saw that, as well as his music session at WOMAD, he was also doing a talk, I decided I had to seee that too.

The talk somwhat spoiled the book for me in that nothing can compete with hearing him in the flesh. He's warm, engaging, likeable and, to my surprise, very witty, the last characteristic being totally incongruous in the context of the stories he was telling, which were harrowing in the extreme. Positivity and redemption out of darkness is one thing but humour (which unfortunately doesn't come across in the book) was totally unexpected.

The book tells the story of war arriving in his life when he ws a child, of him trying to leave to study, instead becoming a refugee, then training to become and serving as a child soldier before becoming a refugee again and, eventually, a world-renowned musician. In a sense the book's main weakness, which is that by covering such an epic story inside 300 pages it necessarily does so superficially, is also its biggest strength in that the pages definitely turn themselves. The fact that the acknowledgements include someone who helped him in prison, someone who rescued him in the desert and also Peter Gabriel tells you all you need to know about what an astonshing life this man had already led by the time of the book's publication, when he had still not even reached the age of 30.

I'm probably not the best person to comment on the book, because its description of the temptation, when starving in the desert, to resort to cannibalism somewhat paled beside the author standing in front of me and describing a hunger and desperation so great that he no longer viewed his friend as a person but as a potential food source.


Three stars for me for the book - which would probably have been four had I not heard him speak - five stars for the story, five stars for him as a person and five stars for his music.

[Lubna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. On the whole, this was a very interesting book to read. The story is absolutely terrifying, all the more so because it’s a true story of a child soldier. It really is a disturbing story. Immanuel Jal was taken from his family at the age of 7, actually his own father gave him away, and made into a child soldier in South Sudan during the civil war in the 1980s and early 1990s. He survived war, horrific abuse, famine, disease and finally made it out of there with the help of an aid worker from the UK. There’s a lot of simplistic “Arabs bad” and “Africans good” and “Islam bad” vs “Christianity good” dichotomies but they’re told from the perspective of a brainwashed child who had seen his village burned and family killed or raped by the North Sudanese government troops, so it’s possible to see where he was coming from.

However, he does get a little preachy towards the end and as a secular, non-religious person, I found it a bit annoying, especially all the talk about “God rescuing” him and “finding God” and the cliche gospel-type songs he starts making in the end. He also still seems to idealise the very same people who used him as a child-soldier-slave (because essentially that’s what he was to them) to serve their own political ends. Or at least he doesn’t condemn them and still seems a little apologetic for them. I personally believe they were all horrible: the so-called Arab Sudanese as well as the Southern Sudanese SPLA who abused and exploited these children, ruining their lives. However, despite its weaknesses this is an important book, one that I recommend reading, while bearing these issues in mind.

[Victoria (TheMennomilistReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I have known of Emmanuel Jal for several years now and have been wanting to read this and see his documentary. I did see his acting in The Good Lie as well when it came out. I finally got the book. It was really a lot to take in and was very good. I loved learning his story and feeling what he feels while reading it. I can't imagine the hardships within his mind that he suffers still to be exposed to such painful things early on in life (my dad has PTSD from being in war, but to suffer even young would make this harder, I would imagine).

This book begins by focusing on Jal's upbringing and the memories of his mother in Sudan. He talks about the attack on his village where his family was separated.

One of the hardest parts to read was his trip to Ethiopia where so many children died along the way. Once there, he lived in a refugee camp and struggled to survive, eventually being led out by soldiers who recruited him. There he fought when so young.

Emmanuel Jal received a chance of living life in Kenya and received an education, as hard as that was. It leads up to his career of being a recording artist.

I loved learning his struggles with his belief in God, but ultimately seeing how He helped him, leading him to Christianity.

There is bad language in this book and graphic violence. Definitely not a book for kids, but it is important to teach your children about what he went through.

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Excitement rushed into my veins as I sang. I was a soldier now. I could sleep with one eye open and stop myself from crying out even when I was beaten until p!ss and sh!t ran out of me. I knew there were eleven ways to attack a town; how to open, fuse, and throw a grenade; how to load and fire an AK-47; how to raise a machete and hack at an enemy or use stones as a weapon when my bullets ran out. There was nothing to be afraid of.”

This all sounds intense enough, but considering these are the words of a child soldier, makes it all the more extreme. Sudan has well over 500 groups speaking over 400 languages and dialects. Jal belonged to the Nuer tribe, who joined up with the Dinka, (when they weren't fighting each other) as part of the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army), in order to fight against the Sudanese Arabs (by far the most dominant group) from the north, who wished to impose Sharia Law on the whole country as well as get access to all the country’s oil.

Jal’s journey is certainly quite an incredible one, with very few of the more gruesome details spared. What he had to endure and for how long, would scar anyone, to do so at such a young age, must inflict an immense amount of suffering. This a highly readable account about a highly volatile part of the world, where well over 2 million people have been killed so far, in a series of on-going wars that show no sign of ending soon.

[Jeffrey Chuang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Alert

War Child is a memoir written by Emmanuel Jal and focuses on the story of how Emmanuel survived in a child army. When Emmanuel was seven years old, he was forced to become a child soldier in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army which was fighting against the Muslims. In the child army, Emmanuel was trained alongside other young boys to kill. When there was insubordination or forming friendships, the children would be forced to whip their comrades until they bled. They were quickly taught how to use guns and were sent out on battles. One day, while the boys were stationed in a village, he befriended a British woman who quickly smuggled him out of Sudan, and into America. In America, Emmanuel found his passion for music and eventually became a famous singer. The memoir’s details are very specific and gut wrenching. There are so many crazy and unbelievable stories in the memoir that it is very easy to forget that the story is about a child. Personally, I am not a very big fan of the end, where it tells the story of how Emmanuel became a famous singer, but I can totally imagine other people loving the conclusion. This book focuses a lot on the conflicts in Africa, so I would totally recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the conflicts of Africa.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

One can't even imagine this kind of life when you have never been through it. What you might be able to imagine is the change of life from one of freedom and comfort to one of needing to grow up quickly and feeling an inordinate amount of fear, anxiety and all the feelings that a deep seated trauma can create. Many can imagine and empathize with that.
As I read this book by Emmanuel Jal my heart broke because how do you assimilate this kind of change and information when you are a boy, when you need your needs met and there isn't anyone to do it and you are left on your own to figure it out through brutal lessons, that again, are hard to assimilate because your mind as a child can't do that. My heart was sad for him and all the others who were thrust into a situation that was beyond their control, to do things that 'regular' people would never have to.
But through hard times of survival there can be light at the end of the tunnel when all seems lost. Blessed is Emmanuel to be able to work through the desire to hurt those who hurt him and to face all the challenges to create goodness from his pain and in so doing helping others in their journey's to overcome their trauma as Child Soldiers. May his life continue to be one of forward movement.

[Simon Ackroyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife met Jal at a conference. He told some of his story on stage and it made her tearful, so she insisted on meeting him afterwards and he wrote a lovely message to both of us in a copy of 'War Child' that we cherish.

During a gap year in 1999, I taught several former Sudanese fighters in a school in North West Kenya. Some were much older than me, had wives and children back in Sudan and one had cut the markings into his cheeks and forehead described in this book; I remember the younger Kenyans telling stories of all the people he'd allegedly killed. Stupidly, I never bothered to read about their war, their struggles and what drove them to seek an education in another country. Jal brings it all together for me.

The book is a challenging read. I put it down, for a while, but only because he's been through so much and I didn't want to read about the endless suffering. I haven't given it 5 stars because I struggled with the writing style but it's a story that needs telling and a highly worthwhile read.

[Joel Abbey]

Jal is a boy who lives with his aunts, uncles, parents, and siblings. Something that they never thought would happen came in and changed their lives forever. The beginning of the Sudan Civil War. Obviously some countries are just brain dead and don't think about the outcomes of fighting. Unfortunately, the Islamic government had a desperation for water, oil, and other resources for their country and army. Jal and his family had to constantly move where they would live. With this, Jal later on found out that his dad was a commander of the Liberation Army which meant that he wouldn't be coming home and his safety was jeopardized. When Jal found out about this he was extremely scared for his father. There was one move between Jal and his family where he got separated from his mother. Later on, he found out that his mother was killed. It did take him a while to get over it, but he eventually got over it. He was then adopted by a british aid worker. Jal had dreams to become a musical person and he pursued it over the years.

[Kim Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of hope amidst the darkest of times. It is easy to judge the adults who conscript child soldiers into war, but reading this raw account of civil war in Sudan will open your eyes to such profound brokenness that victimises all sectors of society. God clearly had a plan for Emmanuel Jal, who has shed his chains to become a voice of hope for other Lost Boys (child soldiers), and anybody, anywhere, who has reached the depths of despair. Having recently read an account of British Aid worker, Emma McCune's life and work in Sudan, it was interesting to learn that she was instrumental in helping Jal escape Sudan and begin a journey of healing and education in Nairobi. Today, Jal leads a life of dedicated service in helping others move forward after devastation. What a shining light he is in a world wrapped up in material excess and self-aggrandisement. Read this book if you are grappling with the meaning of life.

[Max Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opening first hand account of the war that ripped apart Sudan in the 1980s. Emmanuel Jal puts his experience as a child soldier into words. He describes the pain, misery, and hardship that was his childhood and the recovery that led him to his life today. This book had many great lessons such as the value of friendship, and the power of hope. The imagery was superb and aided in the delivery of the story. Symbolism and metaphors were also prominent throughout the book. However the word choice was rather simple in my opinion. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories of war and memoirs. I would not recommend it to anyone who cannot handle extreme violence and it is definitely not for children.

[Crystal M · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah you will probably like this as well although they take place in different countries. It follows the story of a boy growing up on war torn Sudan hell bent on becoming a child soldier. He succeeds and goes to battle around the age of 9 or 10 before being rescued by a couple who get him an education in some of the finest British schools in Africa. He eventually reunites with some family but remains a fairly detached person in general due to the trauma of the war - even towards his own family. This book focuses more on what happens after the war than A Long Way Gone does and is slightly less graphic. An excellent read and very informative on the conflict in Africa.

[Zhelana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love this book because it was a little darker than most things I usually read. I knew that going into it, but I needed to read a book by an author from South Sudan and a friend had this rated highly on her goodreads page. And while this book didn't wow me or sweep me off my feet, it was a solid book, and pretty interesting. Seeing Jal go from a hate fueled illiterate child soldier to the best school in Nairobi and a successful musician was worth reading this book for, and the last 5 or so chapters were really good. I think that a lot of the middle could have been wrapped up in a few fewer chapters, they got a little tedious and repetitive. But it works out in the end, and I think overall I liked, but didn't love this book.