The Lost Boys

945 Words2 Pages

God Grew Tired of Us appealed to me because I lacked knowledge of the Lost Boys and the Sudanese Civil War. The Lost Boys’ trek across Sudan, first to Ethiopia then to Kenya, impressed me beyond measure. I was shocked by the fact that 20,000 young boys were forced to journey so far. The amount of death and loss that those boys had to go through made their transition into American culture that much more impressive. Even though most did not know where their families were, they kept on living and trying to be successful. The few that were able to come to the United States had immense compassion and generosity for those they left behind in refugee camps. I also found striking repetitions of past events. The murder of males in South Sudan reminded …show more content…

First of all, they had to leave behind the family of boys that had gotten through such terrors together. This made them not only miss the boys, but feel guilty that they were able to live a comfortable life in the U.S.. They were new to electricity, running water, the concept of states, American food, and the laziness of some U.S. citizens. While they had all of the physical comforts of a first-world nation, they had all of the mental anguish of the boys back home in Kakuma (known for producing suicidal thoughts, apathy, and waiting for the grave). The transition into a rather individualistic culture was also hard for them, since they always put family first. Conflicting work schedules and geographical distance made it increasingly difficult for the three men to spend time with people they cared about. They felt divided, like they were in a world of strangers, and grew lonely. Even strangers in their culture had an open-door policy, where no one from one’s own country was truly a stranger. If one was lost, they could enter any house as they pleased and inquire as to where they were. However, in the U.S. others were usually intimidated by the group travelling as a pack. The combination of guilt and loneliness made the men ever more eager to send money back home, and try to find their birth families. The …show more content…

At Kakuma, they received an education in math, science, and english, thanks to the UN. A few were even resettled in the U.S. Upon arriving in the U.S., there was someone to explain new technologies, such as the refrigerator and the shower. Even their first trip to the grocery store was rather assimilable, with the manager guiding them on a tour of all the unfamiliar food they would now have to eat. There was also a company that would help them to find their birth families. I was surprised that the majority of help the immigrants received in the U.S. was from their fellow Lost Boys. American citizens did very little to get them involved in the community and make them feel welcome. However, the immigrants were given a good starting point with furnished apartments that they shared with each

More about The Lost Boys

Open Document