Lost Boys of Sudan

The young boys of the Dinka tribe in the Sudan herd goats. That's why they were not in their village when the murderers came in the early 1990s. They had to flee. It was a long and harrowing journey with little food. Many of them died. And yet many managed to cross the river to Kenya and make their way to the refugee camps.

Ten years later, they had grown to young manhood, sharing a sense of family with the other refugees. In 2001, sponsored by various Christian groups, 4000 of these boys came to the United States. This is that story.

We meet them first in the refugee camp where they hope to be chosen to come to America. Then we see them on the big airplane. A half dozen are sent to Houston. Others are sent to Kansas City and a other states. We watch them learn to cook on an electric stove, shop in the supermarket, and attend church services. They stand out, even among African Americans because their skin is almost coal black.

One of the boys in Houston gets a job in a factory. He sends money back home and also buys a car, which he needs to get to work. We watch him take his driver's test, fail it, and then receive tickets for driving without a license. His small salary also pays the rent.

One of the boys goes to Kansas. Here he enters High School as a junior. We see him among his (mostly white) classmates and see him try to make friends. He tries out for the basketball team, goes to parties and feels lonely all the time as he is so very different from those around him.

We see all the boys meet at a YWCA summer camp, where they go swimming, sing songs from their homeland and share stories about America. They were all surprised how hard it is to work and go to school and pay the rent. It is especially hard because they do not have families and are completely on their own.

This film really succeeded in showing me America through the eyes of these Sudanese boys. They all work hard and are pursuing the American dream. And they miss their homeland too.

I found this film fascinating. Don't miss it!

For me, the thing that makes a documentary enjoyable is a.) Is the information new and engaging? and b.) Is it presented in a coherent and even-flowing fashion? On the first point, THE LOST BOYS OF SUDAN delivers. We get to hear about the little known religious war in Sudan that killed (and continues to kill) millions of people. Most of those that were murdered (let's call it what it is) were adults. And left behind are their children who flee to refugee camps. Tens of thousands of children made it to these tent cities where they've grown up or died. But a few of them are lucky enough to get access to America, and fly into Houston to become U.S. citizens. This documentary follows the lives of two of THE LOST BOYS and we get to see how leaving their native lands affects them, and how American culture clashes but ultimately enfolds them. Great information.

On point "b", though, the film gets a serious thumbs down. The editing was terrible, a patchwork quilt of events rather than a concise look at these boys' lives. The information was just too broad. They show us their struggle with grades, language, driving, sports, living together, paying rent, jobs, trying to find girlfriends, etc., etc., etc. I would've liked to have seen them focus on a select few items and get us into the microcosm of these issues. For instance, I would've enjoyed learning more about their struggles to get into schools while working at the same time. But all we get is one basic phone call that one of the boy's makes where he talks to family about this issue ...and that's it. We don't hear anymore about it. There were other instances in the film where similar things occurred, too (subjects brought up and then suddenly dropped.)

But even with these problems, the documentary is interesting and informative.

For truly excellent documentaries, though, try DARK DAYS or BORN INTO BROTHELS.

For anyone unfamiliar with the plight of the numerous lost boys of Sudan, I really reccomend you check out this powerful, compelling, cautionary and very educational film, that looks at two young men who made it out of the turbulence of their country and were able to make a life for themselves in the United States. The Lost Boys consist of some 200,000 (or more) young Sudanese refugees, orphaned, left orphaned and alone in the African nation of Sudan. One connection out of the poverty and desolation of their country, is if they are able to obtain sponsorship through church-based programs in the United States. The two boys profiled in this film were recipients of this sponsorship.

While one journeys to Texas, to seek out work, buy a car and also attend classes at the local high school, the other's journey takes him to a small (predominantly Caucasian) town in Kansas, who attempts to integrate himself into a foreign, and a culture for which he finds himself, both, daunted and isolated.

I believe everyone should see this film, and, in fact, I think it should be implemented in the high school curriculum as a pre-requisite for all students. It is important that we all receive an education in the personal struggles of refugees, like these two young men. This film only scratches the surface, into this subject matter. There are so many important stories, like this, that need to be told!