Salva has no choice but to migrate into neighboring Kenya-a dangerous journey which takes a year and a half, during which time Salva emerges as the leader of his group of more than one thousand young boys. Salva stays in the camp for six years, at which point the Ethiopian government collapses, and the new government forces refugees out of the country. Salva and the remaining members of the group march into Ethiopia, where they come to a refugee camp. Salva is devastated by his uncle’s death, but he promises himself that he’ll keep on moving-just as Jewiir would have wanted him to do. The soldiers steal the groups’ food, supplies, and clothes, and murder Uncle Jewiir in front of Salva. When the group is almost out of the Akobo desert, it crosses paths with a group of soldiers. To Salva’s amazement, some of the adults in the group give their water to the men, thereby saving their lives. Midway through the long march, the group encounters a group of men who are near death from dehydration. The group must cross the Akobo desert-a journey that will take them three days. The next stage of Salva’s journey is the hardest of all. The group then proceeds onward to the other side of the river, in Ethiopia. On the island, Salva enjoys more food than he’s had in months. By building boats out of reeds, everyone is able to cross to the middle of the river, where there is an island of fishermen. The group of refugees finally reaches the Nile River.

Jewiir guesses that Marial has probably been eaten by a lion. One night, Salva wakes up to find that Marial has disappeared. He becomes the de facto leader of the group, due to his gun and his military training.

Jewiir, recognizing that Salva’s parents are nowhere to be found (and thinking they are likely dead), promises to take care of Salva. A few weeks later, Salva is overjoyed to be reunited with his Uncle Jewiir, who used to be a soldier. Salva joins up with a large group of people from his village, and the group begins to wander across Sudan in the hopes of finding a safe refugee camp.Īfter weeks of wandering across Sudan, Salva befriends another boy in the group, whose name is Marial. He spends a few nights staying with an elderly woman in her barn, but the woman eventually tells Salva that he’ll need to keep moving, since there’s no more food or water. In the chaos, Salva is separated from his parents and siblings. There’s a violent civil war going on in his country, and Salva’s teacher yells for everyone to run away from their village as fast as possible. On day in 1985, Salva is sitting in school when he hears the sound of gunfire. The book alternates between two storylines: one beginning in 1985 and revolving around Salva Dut, an eleven-year-old boy living in the South Sudanese village of Loun-Ariik the other beginning in 2008 and revolving around a young South Sudanese girl named Nya.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park