(please note, I have decided not to use names as I am speaking about a real person here and haven't asked for prior permission - after typing this, I realized it felt a bit stilted without using the real name)
The movie is very realistic in the depiction of the resettlement process for the refugees from South Sudan.
Our church sponsored several refugees from South Sudan and we were the host family for the first one of them to come to the united states. He arrived in June 2001.
Pretty much everything about the process - the board in Kakuma with lists of names being posted, the brief and insufficient education about the United States that they received before traveling to the US, the mix ups, mistakes and miscommunications about routing of the refugees in the United States once they arrived on US soil - all were very much in line with our experience.
We were actually expecting two young men to arrive when we first applied and agreed to host. As it turned out, something came up and it was only one who got approved. His cousin was delayed in getting approval and was expected to follow on in a couple of months.
The arrival day was very much the way that many of the refugees experienced it. Small plane taking off directly from Kakuma, change planes somewhere in either north Africa or Europe for a flight to JFK in Philadelphia and then another plane change to go to the nearest airport for their final destination. (In our case, Philadelphia).
We met the young man at the airport in Philly and he came off the plane in exactly the same way as depicted - with the clothes on his back and a small bag with a few possessions - all that he had in the world.
A few weeks after he settled with us, 9/11 happened and as shown in the film, nearly all flow of the Sudanese refugees stopped. Instead of a couple of months, I believe it took nearly two years before his cousin was able to come to the USA.
He did have to pay the government for the plane ticket to come to the US (our church raised the money to do that for him), and he did have to get a job within 90 days. The first week was a whirlwind of activity getting him to doctors, dentists, clothing stores and international calling cards.
The refugees who had been living together in Kakuma for years were scattered across the United States and they didn't have any real way to share with each other where they were going before they left. Instead, very many of them would contact someone back in Kakuma (by mail or phone) and leave their contact info once they were settled. This amazing network allowed many of the refugees to quickly re-establish contact once they were in the US and they have largely kept those relationships up over the 14 years since they arrived. We were, and still are, amazed at the camaraderie among the refugees.
The separation, isolation and longing for a return to the Sudan of their youth as depicted in the film all seem very true from my personal experience... but also the message of hope and the info at the end about the success of the resettlement program.
All of the "Lost Boys" that I have met personally have become US citizens. Most have graduated from college and many have started their own families here in the US.
I know of several that are planning to return to South Sudan - at least temporarily - to see family and assess the situation. Though it doesn't look favorable yet, I know that many would like to one day return to South Sudan to help rebuild their newly independent nation.
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Psilio
9 years ago
Thank you for taking the time to post this interesting post, tedhowe. I admire you for your work, although I'm not religious. I hope that's not offensive to you. I have a deep respect for anyone working to make other person's lives better. I wish you and all of your 'clients' all the best! I was very moved by your post.
What we do in life echoes in eternity Russell Crowe as General Maximus in Gladiator (2000)
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