Book DescriptionHere are the very real stories of how and why five men and women escaped the genocide in south Sudan and Darfur, made their way through Egypt and smuggled into Israel, the one country their Islamic government prohitited them entering. In desperation they fled across the border anyway, with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
In their hearts and minds they carried the prophecy of Isaiah: “At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty [to Mount Zion] from a people tall and smooth-skinned” (Isaiah 18:7). These people believe they are a fulfillment of that prophecy.
When hundreds of the tall, dark Africans began appearing in the popular beach town of Eilat, at the southernmost tip of Israel, curiosities were piqued. Where did they come from? Why would Christians, from a war-torn Islamic-governed country risk all to come to Israel, of all places? When a group of refugees entered The Shelter Hostel run by John and Judy Pex, these courageous peoples’ stories, both tragic and miraculous, began to be told.
Gabriel, Muna Maria, Yien, Rose, all persecuted Christians from south Sudan, and Muna from Darfur tell their heart-wrenching but inspiring stories. They are stories that the world – and the church – need to hear.
My Review
For years, we’ve heard about the struggles of the Sudanese people. In the news, we’ve heard the horrid stories of rape and murder, genocide and a country torn apart by civil war. Arabs to the north, tribal people to the south. But how many of us know the truth about the history of this war-torn country and it’s refugees? Rarely do we ever have the chance to put a face or name to the victims of this travesty. The author of this book does just that.
The book is a collection of memoirs, told through interviews with the author, in the words of 5 Sudanese refugees who have escaped into Israel. The author, an American Christian Jew, living in Israel, intersperses her own observations and a lot of history of Sudan throughout each story.
You will meet Gabriel. His presence is hard to miss in the small resort town of Eilat, Israel. He is very tall, very dark, and his skin is nearly hairless. Gabriel tells his story as a man of (about) 30 years old. But his story begins as a young boy, when he is forced to flee his country and family with thousands of other boys in danger of being killed or kidnapped by Arab militants. These boys came to be known as the “lost boys” of Sudan. He spends most of his childhood running, starving, thirsty, sick, sometimes imprisoned, and in imminent danger always. Growing up in southern Sudan, where most people are either Christians or animists, Gabriel has an amazing faith and trust in the God who makes and keeps promises. It’s his faith in the promises of Isaiah 18 that will eventually take him across the desert into Israel and to a hostel by the Red Sea. Before landing in Israel, Gabriel manages to travel through the countries of Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia without a passport, and learns to speak English. He eventually attends an Israeli university.
You’ll also meet Muna. A young mother abducted, by an Arab militant, as a little girl living in south Sudan, and taken to the north. Unable to speak English, her story is told by her husband, Andrew. Most children abducted from southern Sudan were taken to the north to live as sex slaves. But Muna was taken into the family of her Arab abductor and loved and cared for as his own daughter and raised Muslim. After her “father” dies things change drastically for her and she becomes a slave to her “brother”. Not knowing her real name, language or age, her journey to escape and find her “real” family is nothing short of miraculous.
The stories of 3 more refugees, just as powerful, tragic, and miraculous, continue. By the time I finished reading this book, I was filled with so many emotions it has been difficult sorting them all out. There is deep gratitude for people brave enough to tell the truth of the gut-wrenching horrors that have happened in their lives. There is heartfelt sadness and anger at the idea of it all. Then there is the challenge of being like the author and her husband, the very hands and feet of Jesus, befriending and ministering to these amazing people. We have many Sudanese refugees in our city. I’ve never met one of them. I’ve never listened to their stories. I’ve never reached out.
Read this book. It will teach you . . . challenge you . . . change you.
A People Tall and Smooth: Stories of Escape from Sudan to Israel
