About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR The author, poet and journalist, Akol Miyen Kuol, commonly known as Akoldit was born in 1974 in Thurkuruk village in the oil-rich region of Abyei, South Sudan. Due to the continuous political instability in Abyei, he deserted the region in 1978 and underwent studies in northern Sudan. He left Sudan in January 1993 and has since lived in exile until the country split into two in 2011. In 1997, the author was Secretary-General of the Abyei community in Egypt. From 2000 to 2001, he worked with UNICEF/Operation Lifeline Sudan on Life Skills Educational Programmes for South Sudan. He co-authored a booklet for UNICEF entitled, 'Life Skills Programme for South Sudan, HIV and AIDS, Information and Activity Book for Mentors', 2001. Akol was a contributor to the Sudan Mirror newspaper from 2004 to 2007 and was one of its columnists. His column was entitled 'The Sun Will be Rising' under the page called 'Focus on Abyei'. In 2006, he worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) on Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement. From 2001 to 2005, he was a regular contributor to the BBC on Sudanese, African and world issues. Akol's poems have been aired over the BBC World Service and Sudan Radio Service on several occasions. The author has published his second collection of poems titled 'The Last Train' as well as two other analytical books entitled 'A Case for the Capacity of South Sudanese to Rule Themselves', 2009, and 'Sudan: Understanding the Oil-Rich Region of Abyei', 2011. He also published a paper in 1997 in Cairo, Egypt entitled 'The Obstacles of Creativity in South Sudan', in which he proposed among other recommendations, a confederation system as a solution to Sudan and South Sudan problem. Akol is married to Christine Nyanakol Gordon Riak with whom he has three children, Mijak, Nyenawut and Kuol (Mandela, Jr).