Sudan has an interesting yet devastating history. Civil war has broken out many times and unofficial war has also taken place. The first civil war broke out in 1953 and continued until 1972. The second civil war followed 11 years later in 1983 which continued until 2005.
The People of Southern Sudan thought that the Government was favouring the Northern Arabic people. Rebel forces erupted against the Government. The story of the Lost Boys however, relates mostly to the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). This rebel force fought the Government trying to get peace for their people. After taking down one of the Government's convoys, the Arabic Soldiers came chasing after them (The Arabic soldiers were secretly hired by the Sudan Government to fight and to kill people). The Arabic soldiers found themselves at Bahar El Ghazal, where the Dinka Tribe lived.
In the Dinka tribe, the males work out in the field, away from the houses. The females work at home. When the Arabic soldiers invaded the village, the men in the fields heard the gunshots. They ran for their life. The houses in the village were set on fire. Young girls were raped and shot by Arabic soldiers, however, some girls did escape. People were captured. Children were left without parents. After the boys/girls had ran as far as they could, they decided to see who was left in the village. Upon return, they found parents and siblings shot dead, or they could not find them at all. As the 'lost boys' left the village they met up with many other children from their village. Reunited with familiar faces, the Dinka people walked for days to find a new home. During their courageous journey, the children were shot at. Some were attacked by lions and some could not swim so they drowned whilst trying to cross the Gillo River (also known as the Blue nile). The children had no food or drink and the skin on their feet was wearing off. The Dinka youth finally found refuge in a refugee camp in Kenya. They were all each other had. They became 'family'. After the children had done exams to prove they could speak English well enough, some were chosen to migrate to America where they would start a new life (this was organized by refugee camp workers). Among the chosen were Peter and Santino. T hey were so excited, they thought that America would be 'Heaven on Earth'.
Upon arriving in Houston, Texas, Peter and Santino were given a house to live in, and the opportunity of a new life. The boys were left to find their own work and to set up their life on their own. Money was a big issue for them. The boys found that many local charities and local people were very nice, as they donated furniture and other household items to the boys. However, an education was not provided. Peter and Santino found getting well paid jobs difficult as they were not educated and did not have enough money to pay for an education. When the boys finally found jobs, they found that the pay either wasn't very good or that their fellow roommates could not help pay the rent. In African culture, family is very important, they share everything with their family. Peter and Santino were expected to send large amounts of money back to their 'family' at the Refugee camp in Kenya. This added to the money issue. To solve their 'money issues', the boys either didn't send money back, or they found new jobs (some however, borrowed money). When family from Kenya called expecting money, Peter and Santino would just simply not answer the phone. Finding new jobs was hard in Houston so many of the lost boys moved to different areas in America. An example would be Kansas
While most of the loc
al people in Houston were nice, the Africans did suffer from racism. The Americans saw Peter and Santino as scary because of their dark skin. One of the Peter and Santino's friends was hired at a local Wal Mart as a trolley mover. The boss told him that because he was from Africa, he must be used to working in the heat. Therefore he was 'well suited' to the job. This hurt the Africans feelings. When Peter, Santino and their friends faced racism, they couldn't really do much about it. They complained amongst each other and sometimes made jokes, but they knew better than to retaliate or pick fights.Peter and Santino noticed that everybody in Houston seemed to be busy, this made finding friends hard. Both boys were too old to go to High School, which reduced the chance of making friends. Peter, Santino and their Dinka family eventually managed to make some friends. Some of the boys changed their age and had new birth certificates sent from Africa. This allowed them to enroll in High School. Another area in which the boys made friends, was a church family. They joined church groups where they could make new friends and grow stronger with their lord Jesus Christ.
Peter, Santino and many of the other lost boys found adjusting to America hard. They were trying to decide on whether to stay in America, or return home. After the Boys had adjusted and their culture shock wore off, they managed to settle in well and make a great new life. The lost boys have touched many people with their dramatic life stories and continue to share them with the world.
If you would like to learn/read more, the movie and book are available-search them on google.
