Chol Abraham Clei Biography

Born in Anyidi village, east of Bor, Sudan in 1982. I went to Anyidi primary school in 1988-1990. When the war started by SPLA in 1983 escalated and reached our village, I was displaced. John Garang De Mabior had a better idea for displaced children like me. He formed what he called the Red Army and mobilized all the kids. We were going to study in liberated areas where he had control over and John Garang became our new father. With the help of assigned guardians, we trekked nearly 700 kilometers to Polataka in Eastern Equatoria region, avoiding main roads, towns and settlements. We were united with several other kids from different villages. We didn't know each other but it was a chance to meet friends for the first time whose language I couldn't understand. At the age of 8, I started my school in a new found home. But what was going to be a better school started with some sort of military training, tactics, drills and intense labor. Without parents to look up to, life had totally changed and I had to develop a new attitude to cope with the unfolding chain of events. To be continued.....