Transcript
U of M students heading to Sudan on one-of-a-kind human rights mission

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Kidnapped at age three and 18 months old …

That’s the story of Kou’s …also known as Gabriel Solomon’s two nieces.

“Yar and Ajak are my nieces and that is very personal to me. 07:02 and I was driven by it…”

So driven, that Kou is leading a small team of University of Minnesota graduate students to Sudan to help start negotiations he hopes will help bring Yar and Ajak, his two nieces, back to their families.

Kou says the two little girls were taken by a nomadic, Sudanese ethnic group and will likely be force-married to young men in that group.

“…because the girls are mostly considered an asset.”

 “The trip to Sudan is part of a class currently underway here at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus …the goal, is to bring light to one of the lesser-know evils in a complex country, full of horrendous human rights violations.”

“It’s been overshadowed by other human rights issues in the area, which are very significant too, but this is a really important issue.”

U of M student Robyn Skrebes, with Humphrey Institute for Foreign Affairs, will be on the trip and is realistic about their goals.

“We’re not doing a rescue mission. It wouldn’t be safe, it wouldn’t be feasible.” “What we really hope to accomplish on this trip is to build momentum to work on behalf of getting Yar and Ajak back and abducted children back.” 36:36

And with Kou, a former Sudanese refugee and child soldier himself, this group brings a unique perspective to the negotiating table.

“Here I started from one finger, from writing A and B in the sand …and I come here and have to write things on paper and in textbooks.”

Kou, now a U of M graduate student himself, is proof of what can happen when children are given a chance in a place like Sudan …and hopefully the best argument for giving children like his nieces, the same chance.

For the University of Minnesota, I’m Justin Ware.