57 pages • 1 hour read
Alphonsion Deng, Benson Deng, Benjamin AjakThey Poured Fire On Us From The Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan
Alphonsion Deng, Benson Deng, Benjamin AjakNonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Alephonsion “Alepho” Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak
Alepho, Benson, and Benjamin are co-authors of the book and three Lost Boys of Sudan. They belong to the Dinka tribe from southern Sudan. After being forced to leave their villages during the Second Sudanese Civil War, they wandered for years before making it to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. They were then relocated to the United States as part of a resettlement program for Sudanese refugees.
Alepho’s first job after his arrival in the US was at a large grocery store. He went on to attend San Diego City College and later worked in the Medical Records Department at Kaiser Permanente Hospital. Along with his brother and his cousin, Alepho spent the first few years in America writing about his life and experiences, culminating in the publication of They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky in 2005. This launched his career as an author and speaker. Alepho has since spoken at numerous schools, universities, clubs, and organizations about his experiences in Sudan and adapting to life in America. Alepho has co-authored and published another book alongside Judy A. Bernstein, titled Disturbed in Their Nests: A Journey From Sudan’s Dinkaland to San Diego’s City Heights (2018).
Benson is Alepho’s older brother. He, too, worked at a grocery store for his first job after arriving in America. Since then, Benson has run a computer and digital photography system at Waste Management in El Cajon. He went to southern Sudan in 2014 to drill wells for the non-profit organization Water for South Sudan.
Benjamin is Alepho and Benson’s cousin. He was the last of the co-authors to arrive in the United States, and he just about made it in: He was meant to land in the country on the day of 9/11, but his plane was diverted into Canada on that day due to the attack, and he reached San Diego two weeks later. Benjamin has held numerous jobs during his time in America; like his cousins, he, too, started out at a grocery store. Since then, he has worked in different factories, played an extra in a movie, and spoken to numerous schools and organizations about his life experiences and insights.
Judy A. Bernstein
Bernstein is the American co-author of the book. She worked in the computer business for 20 years before joining the San Diego International Rescue Committee as an Advisory Committee member. She met Alepho, Benson, and Benjamin in 2001 in her role as a mentor for the committee. Touched by the life experiences they recounted to her, she encouraged the boys to write them down. She hoped the exercise would improve their English and help them heal. Once she discovered the potential for their stories to be shared with a wider audience, Bernstein helped the boys publish the book.
Bernstein continues to carry out volunteer activities, speaking engagements, and writing, including both articles and collaborative work with her co-authors.
Yier
Yier is Benson and Alepho’s oldest brother. He was a university student at Wau when he was caught in the massacre of the Black students there in 1985. He managed to escape with his life and eventually joined the SPLA. Yier’s family had no information about his whereabouts once he became an SPLA soldier until Benson reunited with him in Kapoeta. The boys were thrilled when they found Yier, as he functioned like an elder to them, especially since they had not seen their parents since they left their homes. Yier was the one who organized the boys’ transport to Kakuma, although they got hijacked along the way.
Joseph
Joseph is one of the boys’ cousins. He is a couple of years older than Alepho and the first “elder” in the family that Alepho reunited with after he left home. Joseph helped Alepho survive with his resourcefulness and drive to survive. The boys teamed up together and created a business selling mangoes in Palataka, and it was Joseph who finally mobilized their departure from the camp.
Joseph got separated from the boys when they made it to Kakuma, and he was recruited to fight for a few years. He eventually made it to Kakuma, and it took him a while to open up about the atrocities he had seen. When resettlements in America opened up, Joseph was the first from the family to leave.
Peter
Peter is Alepho’s younger half-brother. Although young himself, Alepho assumed care of Peter during their journeys across Sudan in search of refuge. Alepho counseled an exhausted and heartsick Peter that he had to toughen up since he was not in his mother’s home anymore—an exchange that underlines the theme of The Journey From Childhood to Adulthood Under Extreme Circumstances. Alepho and Joseph were forced to leave Peter behind when they escaped Palataka, as they knew that he was too young and weak to make the journey.
Peter was eventually reunited with his brothers and cousins at Kakuma, where he had been before the others arrived. However, Peter’s story is one of disappointment: When resettlements opened up to America, Peter’s papers were “lost,” and he was unable to leave with his family. Following the pause to the resettlement program due to 9/11 and the subsequent signing of the peace treaty in Sudan in 2005, Peter never made it out of Kakuma.
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