Emma McCune
Encyclopedia
Emma McCune was an expatriate
British
foreign aid worker in Sudan
who married guerrilla leader Riek Machar
. She was killed in a car accident
in Kenya
.
McCune was born in India
to ex-colonial parents who could not adjust to life in England after their return. Eventually her parents divorced and her father committed suicide. She attended the School of Oriental and African Studies
at the University of London
.
In 1985 Emma flew to Australia
and back in a single engined light aircraft with her friend Bill Hall.
McCune went to war-torn Sudan
in 1987 at age 23 to teach for the British organisation Volunteer Services Overseas. After reluctantly returning to England in 1988 McCune once again returned to Sudan in 1989 to work for the UNICEF-funded Canadian organisation Street Kids International
, which founded or re-opened more than 100 village schools in the country's south. McCune spent much of the late 1980s in the south in the midst of war and famine.
McCune met and married Riek Machar
, one of two leading southern guerrilla commanders, and became a high-profile khawagiyya (foreigner). They were instantly attracted to one another, and Machar, who already had a wife, proposed on their second meeting a year after the first. After taking up with Machar, including using a UN-supplied typewriter to produce manifestoes, she was fired by Street Kids International. She lived with Machar as war intensified and he split his faction away from the larger movement. At one point they fled a machine-gun attack. In 1993, after becoming pregnant, she moved to Nairobi
; she and her unborn child died in a car crash in Nairobi, Kenya.
Journalist Deborah Scroggins
wrote an unauthorised biography of her, Emma's War. "In my heart, I'm Sudanese," she once said, according to Scroggins. Scroggin's depiction of the young British aid worker is complicated and often critical. McCune is depicted as a woman willing to bravely confront military warlords for help allowing Sudanese children to be schooled in their villages but later, after marrying that same warlord, is able to deny to herself the corruption and horrific violence resulting from her husbands civil war struggle.
The book has been optioned for a film, but the family objected to a film based on the book, delaying a project with Tony Scott
and Nicole Kidman
attached.http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Nicole-enters-movie-maelstrom/2005/04/15/1113509924831.htmlhttp://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/news/article8096.ece Scott was reported to have been seeking locations in Morocco
with filming set for 2007, the film has however been further delayed with an expected release date of 2011.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370533/
Emma also saved more than 150 war children in Sudan including hiphop artist Emmanuel Jal
and is the title subject of his song "Emma McCune" on his 2008 album Warchild.
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
foreign aid worker in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
who married guerrilla leader Riek Machar
Riek Machar
Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon , is the first vice-president of the independent Republic of South Sudan.Riek Machar obtained a PhD in mechanical engineering in 1984 and then joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War...
. She was killed in a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
McCune was born in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to ex-colonial parents who could not adjust to life in England after their return. Eventually her parents divorced and her father committed suicide. She attended the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
.
In 1985 Emma flew to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and back in a single engined light aircraft with her friend Bill Hall.
McCune went to war-torn Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
in 1987 at age 23 to teach for the British organisation Volunteer Services Overseas. After reluctantly returning to England in 1988 McCune once again returned to Sudan in 1989 to work for the UNICEF-funded Canadian organisation Street Kids International
Street Kids International
Street Kids International is a Canadian based non-governmental organization founded by Peter Dalglish in 1988. The organization focuses on providing street youth with the opportunity to lead safer and better lives through three main programme avenues: street health, street work and street rights...
, which founded or re-opened more than 100 village schools in the country's south. McCune spent much of the late 1980s in the south in the midst of war and famine.
McCune met and married Riek Machar
Riek Machar
Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon , is the first vice-president of the independent Republic of South Sudan.Riek Machar obtained a PhD in mechanical engineering in 1984 and then joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War...
, one of two leading southern guerrilla commanders, and became a high-profile khawagiyya (foreigner). They were instantly attracted to one another, and Machar, who already had a wife, proposed on their second meeting a year after the first. After taking up with Machar, including using a UN-supplied typewriter to produce manifestoes, she was fired by Street Kids International. She lived with Machar as war intensified and he split his faction away from the larger movement. At one point they fled a machine-gun attack. In 1993, after becoming pregnant, she moved to Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
; she and her unborn child died in a car crash in Nairobi, Kenya.
Journalist Deborah Scroggins
Deborah Scroggins
Deborah Scroggins is an American journalist and author. A graduate of Tulane University and Columbia University, she was a reporter and editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from 1987 to 1998...
wrote an unauthorised biography of her, Emma's War. "In my heart, I'm Sudanese," she once said, according to Scroggins. Scroggin's depiction of the young British aid worker is complicated and often critical. McCune is depicted as a woman willing to bravely confront military warlords for help allowing Sudanese children to be schooled in their villages but later, after marrying that same warlord, is able to deny to herself the corruption and horrific violence resulting from her husbands civil war struggle.
The book has been optioned for a film, but the family objected to a film based on the book, delaying a project with Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
and Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
attached.http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Nicole-enters-movie-maelstrom/2005/04/15/1113509924831.htmlhttp://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/news/article8096.ece Scott was reported to have been seeking locations in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
with filming set for 2007, the film has however been further delayed with an expected release date of 2011.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370533/
Emma also saved more than 150 war children in Sudan including hiphop artist Emmanuel Jal
Emmanuel Jal
Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese musician and former child soldier.-Childhood:Born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan, Jal was a young child when the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out. His father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army and when he was about seven years old his mother...
and is the title subject of his song "Emma McCune" on his 2008 album Warchild.
External links
- Out of her depth - review of Emma's War
- Emma's War - review at Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- Emma's War - official book site