1956: Sudan becomes an independent nation. The government pushes Islamic rule that the southern tribes are against.
Late 1950s: Civil war begins when the north tries to stop a southern rebellion by burning villages.
1969: Southern Sudanese continue to revolt, fearing the government will make Sudan a Muslim country.
1972: Northern and Southern Sudan reach a compromise with help from the United Nations and the World Council of Churches.
1973: The Socialist Republic of Sudan is formed. The south becomes self-governing and the north makes Islam the state religion.
Late 1970s: Southern Sudan’s self-governing begins to fall apart.
1983: A second revolt begins when the north begins a policy of rotating soldiers between the south and north. Southern soldiers do not want to leave their families. A Muslim legal code is put into place.
1984: The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement announces it will bring down the government with help from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The SPLA attacks northern army and government stations in Southern Sudan, resulting in open warfare.
1987: Northern armies raid John’s village. John flees.
1989: Northern armies raid Wernyol, the village where Martha and Tabitha are staying with family. The two little girls flee.
1992: The forces of Sudan’s ruling government begins the largest offensive of the long civil war.
December 19, 2000: After years as refugees, Martha and Tabitha arrive in the United States.
2001: Negotiations begin between the SPLA and the government in Khartoum.
August 2001: John arrives in the United States after years of life as a refugee.
2005: A peace agreement ordering a permanent cease-fire is signed. Humanitarian organizations begin helping to bring hundreds of thousands of refugees home.
May 2007: John Dau opens the Duk Lost Boys Clinic in Southern Sudan where thousands of Sudanese receive lifesaving medical care.