Who Is Emmanuel Jal In South Sudan?

Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese-Canadian musician, actor, former child soldier, and political activist born in the early 1980’s (Jal is not sure of the exact year) in Tonj, South Sudan. Jal is known for once being a child soldier veteran of the Sudanese Civil War, he finds his life story and redemption through a message of peace. His story represents one of the most hopeful and inspiring stories of the 21st centuries.
Jal has been through a lot in his life. He was born into the most difficult time when South Sudan was at war. Because of that, he was put in situations unimaginable. Jal’s mother died of exhaustion by running while she was pregnant, his sister and brother were scattered, all of his aunts died, all but two of his uncles died,
She illegally smuggled him into Nairobi, Kenya to raise him as her own. McCune had married Sudanese commander Riek Machar whom she convinced to not employ child soldiers. She rescued over 150 child soldiers including Jal. Sadly, shortly after adopting Jal, she died in a car crash. That left Jal “orphaned” once again. In Kenya is when Jal first heard hip-hop music. Some of the artists that affected him early on were Tupac Shakur, Public Enemy, and Biggie Smalls, though he gets his inspiration from contemporary hip-hop artist like Kayne West and Nas. He considers music his therapy to what he has gone through. He finds that he survived for a reason, to tell his story to touch lives. So, Jal uses his music to the world about his experiences. He also tells his story in his book and the film about his life both titled War Child. In the book and movie Jal aims to bring notoriety to the struggle of his people. He also started his own charity-Gua Africa-to help child soldiers get a second chance at life or a start over. He is working on building a school in honor of Emma McCune, the aid worker who rescued him, he promises to only eat on meal a day until he raises enough