USU journalist shares experiences
Upon arriving in Syracuse, N.Y., John Bul Dau had never seen the use of electricity and thought from the plane that either everyone had their cooking pots out or there had been a volcanic eruption and the city was covered in lava.
This is just one experience Mike Sweeney, of USU’s journalism and communication department, shared with prominent Salt Lake City businessmen at the Little America Hotel during Sunrise Session Friday morning. Sweeney, who worked with Dau to create the book “God Grew Tired of Us” from Dau’s memories of life as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, shared how his work still involves research.
Sunrise Session is held four times a year and focuses on research at USU, while allowing the community to learn more about current topics. The meetings are sponsored by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah.
“This is a bit of a different focus,” USU President Stan Albrecht said while introducing Sweeney.
While most people involved in research take years to become experts in their fields, journalists aim to become “instant experts” on the topic they are covering, Sweeney said. Interviewing is their primary tool for collecting, he added.
Sweeney’s experiences with Dau were no different. After being commissioned by National Geographic to compile Dau’s memoirs, Sweeney said he read a shelf full of books on Sudan, the Dinka people and the Lost Boys. He also watched the movie “God Grew Tired of Us,” a 2006 Sundance Film Festival honor winner.
After conducting a pre-interview with Dau, Sweeney flew to Syracuse to spend 10 days with Dau and learn about his past. Rather than head straight into the interviewing, Sweeney said he wanted to make a connection with Dau, and as such, they attended church together. While the two were from completely different cultures, Sweeney said the two hit it off by finding similarities such as having agricultural ties and attending the Presbyterian church.
This is when the journey began, Sweeney said. Here was where Sweeney saw the United States from fresh eyes, those of a boy who had lived in a war-torn country his whole life.
Dau came to the United States in 2001 after living in Sudan his whole life and never having seen a doorknob or showerhead, Sweeney said. He recounted the night Dau’s village was bombed during a civil war. Dau fled his home and found who he thought was his father. After hiding in the bushes all night, Dau discovered the man he thought was his dad was really his neighbor, Abraham.
To find safety, the two fled naked and carrying no food, Sweeney said. They walked 500 miles to Ethiopia, Dau believing his family had died. There he became a Lost Boy, one of thousands of children orphaned in the war. The boys ranged in age from 3 to 14 and formed families. Dau was in charge of about 1,000 younger boys and, as a young leader, was in charge of burying the dead.
“They were trying to make a life for themselves,” Sweeney said.
Dinkas place a high value on family, education, hard work, sharing everything, taking care of others and wrestling or physical activity, Sweeney said. These Lost Boys continued to teach others these values, and when the opportunity came, they received education.
“I started first grade when I was 18 years old,” Dau said in a quote from Sweeney.
The United States began letting some of these Lost Boys come into the country, and Sweeney said Dau was excited when he saw his name on the list. He came to Syracuse and lived with a sponsor family, beginning a new life.
After living in the United States for six years, Dau married a Dinka woman and started his own charitable organization, the John Dau Foundation.
Interviewing isn’t usually the first research tool people think of, but Sweeney said for himself and Dau, it was the key to a successful book.
-alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu