War Child

Sudanese-born hip hop artist Emmanuel Jal has had charthits in England and the USA. Before becoming a successful rapper, however, he was forced to flee his village as a six year-old, when rebel forces attacked. After his mother was murdered, Jal fought for five years as a child soldier in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), where his father was a commander. At the age of eight, he was walking around with an AK-47, full of hate for the Islamic government troops. Jal managed to eventually escape the rebel army with thanks to British aid worker Emma McCune. He recorded a song about his experiences for a War Child CD released in 2008. In this film, director Christian Karim Chrobog sketches Jal’s lost years in the SPLA. Still today, the rapper struggles with his past. After nearly twenty years, he returns to the country of his birth to be reunited with his father, sister, and other family members.