Survival: The Lost Boys Of Sudan

The story of the Lost Boys of Sudan is one that provides the world with many examples of social interaction, some being violent and others being inspirational. Their journey from Sudan to Ethiopia and Kenya, then on to the United States for a better life for themselves and their families gives an insight into how certain cultures deal with and overcome adversity. Culture is the complex system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of life for a given group or society, in the case of the Lost Boys, the culture of the people of Sudan and the American society are analyzed. How the boys were able to continue on without their families to show them the way is almost a miracle. Over outstanding odds, the boys were able to prevail and

If you were put into the middle of nowhere with nothing to live off of, no tools, no food, no water, how would you do it? In class, we read a book called Hatchet. The boy named Brian had to survive with only a hatchet in the wilderness for over two months. He obviously had many different traits that had to change to adapt from his spoiled life in the city, to his new life in the forest with nothing. I think that there are many different traits that are really good to have during survival, but I think that the three most crucial are determination, creativity, and observation.

Refuge means shelter, “so a refugee is a person that seeks shelter, usually from war, natural disaster, or some other harmful situation.”("Refugee - Dictionary Definition.") Merriam Webster classifies ‘other’ as “different or separate from the person or thing that has already been mentioned.” (Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster) Therefore the word ‘othering’ is going to be similar, “the process of perceiving or portraying someone or something as fundamentally different or alien.” ("Wordnik.") The big question is how big of a deal can scarcity come to?

Survival is living on the hope that better things are yet to come in your life. Right now in our country people survive because of hope and the belief that people are good and they will help them out. People survive when they are homeless on the streets only because of the people who are good at heart and give them food or money to buy clothing for the winter. Gerta survived because of her family and friends. Anne Frank survived because she believed that “Despite all the evil going on in the world I still believe that all people are good at heart.”

Sudan has known conflict for most of its existence. The discovery of oil in 1979 served to heighten this conflict as north and south fought over valuable resources. In more recent years human rights violations and genocide have occurred in unsurpassed numbers with the Sudanese governments support. Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state with an issued arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. In July 2011 southern Sudanese citizens voted to secede from Sudan and form the Republic of South Sudan in response to years of oppression by the Arab led Islamist government. South Sudan is now the worlds newest country and free to determine its own path

Daniel’s perspective is that Americans are not friendly. Daniel goes on to say that “you can not go to the house of somebody you don't know” (49.31). He later elaborates while in Sudan if you enter someone's home they will ask you questions such as “are you lost”, but in America, they will call the cops. Also later in the documentary there is a scene when Daniel talks about how when he was working at Whole Foods he saw a lady crying. Daniel said “lady walked by nobody talked to her, nobody confronted her”, he was dumbfounded that no one stopped to see what’s wrong (1.16.35). This event helped to shape his perspective that Americans are not friendly, they are closed off. For the lost boys of Sudan part of their behavioral culture is that they

A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park is about survival because the two main characters Salva and Nya are trying to survive in one country, Sudan, in two different timelines 1980s and 2000s. My definition of survival is like crossing the border by foot or getting lost somewhere. According to wiki the definition is the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances. A quote from the book is “No one shared anything with salva, neither food nor company”.

If it’s chilly at night you need to know how to build a fire so you won’t get freeze to death. You should also have an idea of how to build shelter to protect you from the harsh surroundings. These are two out of many necessary skills that are important to know because these will help you survive in the wild. In today’s society, people are fighting for survival. Citizens in cities are fighting for food because they don’t have a place to live.

Imagine being dropped off in a foreign place where you have never been before or even heard of. You have been dropped off with nothing but the clothes on your back and barely speak a word of the language that is spoken there. This is how the Nuer feel when then go to the United States from Sudan for more freedom. Sure the United States may have more opportunities for a better life than Sudan, but it comes with a lot of life-changing events and challenges that the Nuer must face daily. In Nuer Journeys Nuer Lives, Jon Holtzman discusses the challenges the Nuer face and how they overcome them once they have been kicked out of their homes and immigrate to Minnesota in the United States.

In recent years the US has experienced a large influx of migration. Immigrants come from many different countries, races, religions and for many different reasons. One group of immigrants that received national attention is a group from Sudan that has been called “The Lost Boys”. The reason behind the national attention is due to the dramatic circumstances that brought them to America. To understand these circumstances it is important to understand their history. Sudan is the largest country in Africa. It is between two powerful cultural regions, the Islamic north and the Christian south. Africa has more than 400 languages and dialects. There are 597 different ethnic groups with

Throughout the journey in Sudan, Gus Caseley apparently refutes the claim that Nubia was not a "Barbarian Wasteland." After Gus and Mahmoud leave Meroe, Jebel Barkal and make their way back on the road, they encounter hundreds of men with camels. Gus describes that the camels have no fear, and there are many of them surround the car. Moreover, the smell of the camels is quite irritated, and their breathing are intolerable. Gus and Mahmoud follow those men with camels in order to understand more about their cultures. For a while, Mahmoud and Gus are invited to join the men and take a sip of camels' milk, as well as eating a crunchy sand-encrusted bread. Later on, Gus is really exhausted when he arrives at Kadugli. This destination is considered

“The Lost Boys of Sudan; the Long, Long, Long Road to Fargo” by Sara Corbett, The New York Times April 1, 2001.

“Dictionary.com” defines survival as an aspect of “remaining alive, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances” . This quote specifies that when one’s under significant circumstances, survival will become a priority. This is a theme that is very important in both novels studied this year, “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, and “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. This means that staying alive will become a task. People can depend on survival and become desperate to do anything for life.

Survival is being able to endure and live through challenges that may wear you down (mentally or physically), and there are several ways of showing survival. “The Story of Keesh,” by Jack London, depicts survival through a harsh setting. “The Five People You Meet In Heaven,” by Mitch Albom, depicts survival through character development. In sum, the idea of survival is shown in literature through these two different ways.

I am shocked because no matter their age, if something bad happens, they have to flee. People as young as three years old, felt so afraid that they could not even stay with their families. Running away from their problems seemed like the ultimate solution because no matter where they looked, the government was all around them. I feel angry towards the government since they have no right to provoke such fear in these young people’s minds. It was an extremely dangerous time for those people of Sudan. People could not remain with their families, friends, or even live in their villages. Many were forced to defend for themselves. Their futures will soon become treacherous and will cause them to often live on the brink of death.