Carrying the U.S. flag at tomorrow's Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing will be Lopez Lomong, who "spent a decade in a refugee camp in Kenya as one of the 'Lost Boys of the Sudan'" before he was relocated "in the United States as a teenager with a family in Syracuse," New York."Lost Boys" is the name given to tens of thousands of boys -- and some girls -- separated from their families during the late-20th century war that pitted southern Sudanese rebels against the Khartoum government led by President Omar al-Bashir. The children wandered for hundreds of miles, eventually reaching refugee camps like Kakuma in northern Kenya. Many died along the way; some found their way to new homes in the United States.
The man given the birth name Lopepe Lomong -- he calls himself "Lopez" now -- is one of those. (Yesterday ImmigrationProf Blog named Lomong, above left its Immigrant of the Day.) Lomong ran track at Northern Arizona University. (photo credit) And last month in Eugene, Oregon, he won a spot on Team USA by placing 3d in the 1,500 meters. Friday he will lead that team into the Olympic stadium. He will bring as well thoughts of his native country, according to this report:
Lomong, 23, is a member of Team Darfur, a global coalition of athletes using the focus on the Beijing Olympics to urge China to exert its influence on the Sudanese government to alleviate the suffering in the country's Darfur region.
Not all his team members will be near at hand, however; see below.
