"Lost Boys of Sudan"

The documentary "Lost Boys of Sudan" portrays the journey of two African men to the United States.  These young men are leaving their homeland of Sudan to venture out into what they had thought to be the land of opportunity.  Peter Dut and Santino Chuor are the two Sudanese men followed in this life altering adventure.  The two men have had so much happen to them in their young lives.  During the long Civil War of Sudan, the village of the Dinkas was attacked and all of the villagers had to flee for their lives.  During this violent attack thousands of children were left without parents.  It was a vicious and brutal attack and was a topic that was a hard to discuss for these two men.  They were forced to flee into the desert and had to support themselves from a very early age.  I could not imagine how difficult this would have been.  I feel like it would have prepared them for anything, and it definitely made a difference in how they lived in America. 

Peter and Santino are picked by a YMCA group to fly to America and live for a while.  To them they are given the chance to go to the land of opportunity and freedom, so of course they are ecstatic about their journey.  They arrive in Houston, Texas, and are taken to their new home.  It is a quaint one bedroom apartment, but for the lost boys it is a fresh start.  They begin to find jobs and take a few basic education/language courses.  They also have to learn how to adjust to all the new things that a person comes in contact with during a typical day. Little things that one may never think about, such as how to use an oven and how to use a garbage disposal.  It is a lot of new information for the two men, but the seem to do alright.  One thing they wish for is more education.  They want to be taught so they can share their knowledge with the village back in Sudan.  To seek this knowledge, Peter heads to Kansas.  He hears that the opportunities are greater there, and he does not regret his decision.  He gets the chance to become a high school student and makes the most of his opportunity.  Peter tries very hard in school and does very well.  He even attends tryouts for his high school basketball team.  Even though he is cut from the team it was a chance to do something that gave him joy back in Sudan.  Santino on the other hand is busy at work.  He works as much as he can, but wishes he could become a little more educated as well.  Near the end of the documentary, Santino is looking into taking classes on how to become a journey-man.  He wants to be the one who brings electricity back to his village.  

Both of these men are so giving.  They are given this opportunity and they just do things that they know will help out the village back in Sudan.  They put themselves through hardships just so that they can help out back home, and they complain that they aren't given the opportunity to do more.  This just shows their generosity and hard working attitude.  Santino and Peter are some what shocked in how different America is compared to what they were told.  They realize that it is tough to live here too.  It is a journey that these lost boys will never forget.