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Emmanuel Jal War Child – The Life of Emmanuel Jal

This is a short biography of Emmanuel Jal. Born in war-ravaged Sudan, Emmanuel Jal was kidnapped from his home and taken to fight alongside the army made up of rebels in the civil war. He does not remember how old he was when he was taken, nor does he know the exact year when he was born. He speculates that he was six or seven years when he was taken. Emmanuel was a ‘warrior child’ that fought with an AK-47 rifle, that was much larger than he could carry at the time, for five years and managed to survive in the mass human graveyards. When he was thirteen years old, he already had been part of two civil wars and had witnessed other children soldiers being abused. After suffering through much trauma he was smuggled to Kenya, to the city of Nairobi by a British aid worker. In hopes of starting a new life and in order to heal from the emotional pain he started singing, never thinking that Emmanuel Jal’s music would be heard worldwide one day.

Emmanuel Jal – We Want Peace

After gaining international recognition, tv channels like MTV and CNN have broadcasted his message of peace all around the world. A documentary about his life won the prestigious award ‘Cadilac Audience’ at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. St. Martin press published Emmanuel Jal’s book, an autobiography in 2009. Although he has not forgotten about his native Sudan, Emmanuel now divides his time between London and Nairobi. He is the founder of a non-profit organization, called Gua Africa, which aims to provide education to young children that have been affected by war and are impoverished by it in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. He one day hopes to build a school in South Sudan, in his hometown of Leer, that even until the present day sees the largest number of child soldiers in the region.