Asylum Seekers

John Hiatt’s upcoming album, Same Old Man, focuses largely on the comforts and struggles of the things that endure, especially love and the memorable experiences, large and small, that make up one’s life. Due out May 27, the album returns repeatedly to relationships, including the song “What Love Can Do,” which includes the chorus: “That’s what love can do / Make you feel brand new / That’s what love can do / Lose someone you thought was you.”

It’s a fitting song for a benefit Hiatt headlines Wednesday when he and the equally incisive singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier join forces to raise money for the Lost Boys Foundation of Nashville. The foundation, started by photographer Jack Spencer, assists the 150 Sudanese refugees residing in Middle Tennessee.

African charity organizations initially provided the name The Lost Boys to an estimated 20,000 children who fled Sudan to escape the genocide of the Second Sudanese Civil War over a 20-year stretch beginning in 1983. Infant to teenaged survivors endured horrific marathon journeys beset with starvation, disease, crossing a dangerous river and attacks from animals and soldiers. Their stories have since been chronicled in numerous articles, books and documentaries, including the award-winning film The Lost Boys of Sudan.

After living in a Kenyan refugee camp, some 3,600 young Sudanese refugees were relocated to the United States in 2001. They settled in various cities, with about 150 coming to the Nashville area. Spencer began making black-and-white portraits of some of the refugees; one of his subjects, a sensitive and intelligent young man named Pel Gai, was stabbed to death in 2004 in a South Nashville nightclub by a drunken soldier on leave. Gai had been out with a large group of Lost Boys when the soldier, without provocation, began bullying some of the refugees, repeatedly pushing Gai until a friend came to his assistance. The soldier went to his car for a knife and stabbed Gai and his friend, Dourading Duop. Gai was pronounced dead at Vanderbilt Hospital, where Duop was treated for his injuries.

To raise money to pay for Gai’s funeral and burial, Spencer started the Lost Boys Foundation of Nashville. Under the guidance of president Andy Van Roon, the foundation continues to provide educational and emergency funds for the Sudanese refugees, helping with everything from computer and job training to medical bills to uniforms for a Sudanese soccer league.

Van Roon recruited two of Nashville’s most powerful singer-songwriters to perform solo for the May 14 benefit at The Belcourt Theatre, both of whom have overcome their own personal trials to make it to where they are today. The evening also will feature traditional Sudanese art and dance, including sculptures, paintings and masks by members of the local Lost Boys community. Filmmaker and activist Molly Secours will emcee the program. For more information, check the local website, thelostboysfoundation.org and belcourt.org.