This documentary focuses on three young men – Daniel, John, and Panther – who escaped civil war in their native Sudan.
In the late 1980s, as many as 27,000 young men – known as “The Lost Boys” – trekked across the desert into Ethiopia. When that government failed they were forced to walk again, this time to Kenya’s Kakuna refugee camp.
Half of the lost boys died from starvation or from attacks by Sudanese government forces.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZSTDZMXpzhA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]While the film spends some time discussing the war, it mainly follows the three young men and their journey from Kenya to the United States.
The United States government invited some of the young men in the Kakuna refugee camp to relocate to America.
Their reaction to things like electricity and running water is humorous and touching. They are clearly strangers in a strange land.
The three get menial jobs as they adjust to life in places like Syracuse, New York and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As good as life is for them in the United States, they miss their families, girlfriends, and fellow refugees.
They also try to find family members with whom they lost touch over the years and send money to those they have found.
One of the three young men attempts to do two things: one, he organizes a lost boys reunion so they can meet with fellow former refugees; two, he travels and gives speeches about the genocide in Sudan with the hope of raising awareness in the country and putting pressure on the United States government to do more to help the Sudanese refugees.
This film does an excellent job of putting a face on a political situation.
“God Grew Tired of Us” is available for rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
