James Garang was born in the village of Ajok in southern Sudan in 1977. War forced him from home at the age of ten. After a harrowing journey of five years, he arrived at a refugee camp in Kenya. In 2001 he was resettled in the United States as one of the “lost boys” of Sudan. He enrolled in community college and graduated from the University of Utah in 2006. Currently he is studying for a PhD in economics at UMass, Amherst.   

Commentary will be provided by:

Dr. Eric Reeves, Smith College professor and human rights activist 
Dr. Mohamed Elgadi, coordinator, Amnesty International Amherst chapter