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Songs of a War Boy
- Narrated by: Blessing Mokgohloa, Ben Mckelvey
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
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Songs of a War Boy
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Publisher's Summary
The true story of Deng Adut - Sudanese child soldier, refugee, man of hope. Movingly narrated by Blessing Mokgohloa.
Deng Adut's family were farmers in South Sudan when a brutal civil war altered his life forever. At six years old, his mother was told she had to give him up to fight. At the age most Australian children are starting school, Deng was conscripted into the Sudan People's Liberation Army.
He began a harsh, relentless military training that saw this young boy trained to use an AK-47 and sent into battle. He lost the right to be a child. He lost the right to learn. The things Deng saw over those years will stay with him forever. He suffered from cholera, malaria and numerous other debilitating illnesses, but still he had to fight.
A child soldier is expected to kill or be killed, and Deng almost died a number of times. He survived being shot in the back. The desperation and loneliness was overwhelming. He thought he was all alone. But Deng was rescued from war by his brother John. Hidden in the back of a truck, he was smuggled out of Sudan and into Kenya. Here he lived in refugee camps until he was befriended by an Australian couple. With their help and the support of the UN, Deng Adut came to Australia as a refugee. Despite physical injuries and mental trauma, he grabbed the chance to make a new life. He worked in a local service station and learnt English watching The Wiggles. He taught himself to read and started studying at TAFE.
In 2005 he enrolled in a bachelor of law course at Western Sydney University. He became the first person in his family to graduate from university.
This is an inspiring story of a man who has overcome deadly adversity to become a lawyer and committed worker for the disenfranchised, helping refugees in Western Sydney. It is an important reminder of the power of compassion and the benefit to us all when we open our doors and our hearts to fleeing war, persecution and trauma.
Deng Adut is a lawyer working in Western Sydney. He uses his spare time to help other Sudanese refugees. Ben Mckelvey is a freelance writer and editor from Sydney who has filed for Good Weekend, GQ, Voyeur, Rolling Stone, The Bulletin, Cosmo, Cleo and the SMH, Age and West Australian newspapers.
Ben's previous gigs have included editing Sport&Style and Juice magazines and working on the Sydney Morning Herald as a senior feature writer. He has been embedded with the ADF in East Timor and Iraq and has worked independently in Iran and Afghanistan.
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What listeners say about Songs of a War Boy
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-06-2017
Amazing story
Loved this story and the narration by Deng was perfect. A must read for every Australian.
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- Laura
- 17-11-2017
Great story
Very inspirational story, well read, amazing book. Would recommend to anyone interested in broadening their idea of refugees.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 25-05-2018
brilliant! inspiring! amazing!
this book is Truely amazing dengs story is unbelievable to think about my thoughts on refuges are very different now thanks to this book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Fungayi
- 25-04-2017
Brilliant Book
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
What a great story to listen to. Gives a great insight into the South Sudan political case
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-12-2016
Amazing story
Everyone needs to know this story. This is a an amazing story of Deng Adut 'early life. It is heartbreaking that his innocent childhood along with all those hos age was taken away from him so brutally. Deng has given us an insight into a world we have very little knowledge of and the majority of Australian people will be oblivious of the deplorable up war condition. A must read.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 25-11-2016
A lesson to us all
This book is so wise and so personal. There's a lesson in there for all of us about tolerance and the ravages of war. It really should be compulsory reading for all of us. To side the other side of the coin. Thank you Deng; even as an African who thought she knew, you gave me a totally new perspective.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Richard
- 17-09-2017
Amazing story..
A must read. Very inspirational and could not put it down. Made me appreciate how lucky we are.
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- mike
- 15-05-2017
An important poinent book
An incredible story of survival, family and resilience. The power of the story is only enhanced by its ubiquity in the refugee community and in the unflinching honesty of the protagonist.
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- Kiki
- 08-01-2017
Confronting and honest
A story that makes you feel grateful for the life we have in Australia, and helps put our everyday life into perspective. Deng has had an incredible life, and his ability to still give, after the atrocities that he has suffered, is amazing.
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- Sonia Higgs
- 26-02-2018
Amazing story delivered by the author/narrator
Loved this story, how it was written and narrated by the author gave it authenticity. Moving, inspirational story. Don’t miss this.
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