The Lost Boys of Sudan are a group of over 20,000 young male refugees, primarily from the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups, who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War, which began in 1983. These boys fled violent attacks by northern Arab militias on southern Sudanese villages, traveling thousands of miles over harsh terrain to seek safety in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Many faced extreme hardships including starvation, dehydration, attacks by wild animals, and violence during their journey. Approximately half of them did not survive the journey. After years in refugee camps, around 4,000 of the Lost Boys were resettled in the United States starting in 2001, where they sought education and new lives. The name "Lost Boys" was inspired by the characters in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, reflecting their status as displaced children without families.