Monday, May 18, 2009

The Lost Boys of Sudan

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has been having many conflicts and civil wars going on for 50 years since 1953. (Both of the civil wars). This caused many deaths (over 2million), especially to the Dinkas, tribes of cattle- herding people in Southern Sudan in the Bahral Ghazal region. However, only about 20,000 boys were able to escape from all the fire and gun shooting to the refugee camps in 1992. Women and girls left were taken away to be raped or to be sold in slavery. On their way to Kakuma of Kenya set out on foot, they faced a lot of obstacles such as thirst, hunger, lions, heat and gunshots. Many drowned while crossing the Gillo River, placed in Ethiopia, most of them had ripped off feet skin, and some couldn’t stand the lacking of food, eventually getting eaten by lions and other wild animals as suppers. These boys were nicknamed as the ‘Lost Boys’. Luckily (?), the US refugee program offered them to settle in the US and start a new life. They thought that the life in America would be like the ‘heaven’, they will be the future of Sudan and considered the opportunity as some kind of ‘free offerings’. There are a lot of free offerings, especially for buying electronics, but they all turn out to be later on that they aren’t actually free; you either need to fill out a lot of complicated sheets, have to pay later on anyways, or (especially for mobile phones) have to pay a lot more money than ordinary users when using the object. The Lost Boys’ lives in the US also turned out to be like that- they faced a lot of conflicts to adapt through the new culture, and couldn’t gain much benefit living there.

An example of the Sudanese boys having difficulties during their life in the US is shown in the docudrama, “The Lost Boys of Sudan” as it focuses on the lives of two Lost Boys, Peter and Santino, before, during and after they have been given the chances to live in the US. Although they had a lot of different tragedies, the major difficulties were probably loneliness, racism (low income) and cultural differences. However, the two boys eventually adapted to the new culture and (although they still had some problems) and were able to overcome the difficulties.

Before they arrived and re-started their life, they were really excited about their new world, new life and a new start. Although they were a little afraid and worried, they had no idea how much challenges there will be when moving to a totally different place would be like, and were thrilled about the new opportunities and better education that they were soon going to have. Their vision of going to the US was like going to the heaven where all problems can be solved. Yet, when they arrived, things turned out to be very different from what they’ve expected them to be- many afflictions started to show up.

The first difficulty/ disappointment that they faced, was loneliness, as America is a busy country compared to Sudan, they didn’t have any friends there (or time to make friends), and they weren’t able to blend in. During the docudrama, one of the boys says “Time is money in America”. Also, other people’s behaviors towards them was another factor that made them feel lonely; since the Americans haven’t seen that many pure Africans before, they looked at the boys in a strange way, making them feel uncomfortable, and perhaps, small. On the bus way to the work, Peter was stared and glanced by other people. He said, “People just look at me. I look odd. I feel shame and I don’t like that. I’m so black than the black people living here. I’m so…black.” This shows how some people are racist towards them and how he feels about that. They also had too many things to do, such as their job or school (studies, homework, and class time) - he had no time or energy to do anything.

Another struggle was the racism and the short of money that followed that. As shown in the docudrama, Santino isn’t used to work in factories, and can’t work fast, so he couldn’t get good jobs. The job he had only paid him 7 dollars per hour, an amount definitely not enough to pay for all the necessities, rent, food, money to send back home, and he was even requested to give money to help the rebels- they didn’t even work full time as they had to study (do homework, at school) and do their housework. They were not only paid for a low income but also biased during work; Santino were told from his boss while working at a supermarket, that since he’s used to the heat, he should work under the sun. “The boss said Africa is hot and we are used to the heat. It’s not funny. She thinks I’m already burnt because we’re black. It doesn’t mean that I need to work under the hot sun,” says he. –this incidence shows how the boys are trying to blend into the American culture, but the other people aren’t opening their mind in return. Peter moved to Kansas due to the lack of jobs, since he heard that there were more jobs there. Yet he still couldn’t get good employments because he was attending high school. He even had a hard time to get this chance of being educated, because the schools thought highly of birth certificates, and Peter wasn’t able to attend the school until he requested a new birth certificate from Sudan where there aren’t many proper hospitals. His naivety about the currency in the US also gave him some challenges to deal with his money.

People experience cultural differences even when moving from one school to another- moving from a country to another that has barely any, or no similarities at all would have given them a lot of cultural shocks. Peter and Santino had this case, and when they first arrived in America, they were ignorant about everything going around them. They didn’t know how to use the facilities in their house, so they had to be instructed carefully about all the details and safety. They even needed help when making their own beds; it’s quite obvious that they would’ve had troubles in many other things, too. Driving license, cars, and receipts were all new for them, so not knowing what to do, they drove without a driving license, didn’t keep the receipts after paying the rent, causing to pay for a lot of fines when they were unaware of the laws there.


However it is then, when recognizing the fact that living in America isn’t a free offering that the boys decided to make some changes- no more sufferings. They eventually adapted to the American culture- they used slangs such as “Man” or What’s up”, changed their clothing style, ate Western food, didn’t hold hands and used advanced technology such as TV. Making friends, working hard at school was also some ways they were able to get used to living in America. Peter, after requesting for a new birth certificate and becoming a junior I high school in Kansas made many more friends, and was adjusting to America with the helps from his friends. He learned to speak English fluently, graduated and was accepted by many white friends when he went to a church along with his white friends. However, they kept most of their cultural identity, and still spoke in their own language while talking to each other. They also started to contribute to their country, Sudan.

Although the life in America and adjusting to it wasn’t spoon- fed to them, they gradually adapted to it, having quite a successful experience there. =]

Thursday, May 14, 2009

901

It’s the most joyful day of the year. Well- it is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be day with balloons, gifts, parties, and possibly, my favorite of all that exist in the world, money!
I woke up in the morning, excited to see what my family had prepared for me. I staggered past the corridor expecting my parents saying “Happy birthday!” but the living room was empty except for the furniture. Hmmm…this definitely didn’t seem right. I glanced at my watch to check if it actually was my birthday today- maybe I’m mistaken. Sadly, the watch clearly stated ’08-06-28 and yet, nothing had happened. I was beginning to get really serious. Have they totally forgotten about me? My birthday? Don’t they have it marked on their calendar? Then I began to imagine stories like- ‘Are they planning to reveal the secret of my birthday or something? Like…”Jaewon, you actually were adopted. We’re sorry about that. I think you’re old enough to understand” OR it’s like one of those movies where you’re normal, but everyone else suddenly turned into Ancient Roman or something’ Oh my God. I knew that those things wouldn’t happen, but I really was serious at the time. I’d rather have a real family that doesn’t even know my birthday than to become like on of those tragic characters that appear only in novels or movies.
I trudged back to my room. Maybe they did something surprising in my room while I was in the living room waiting for surprises. I inhaled deeply before entering the room- there they were, greeting me with happy smiles- well, in the family photo hanging on the wall of my room. I suddenly felt something at the back of my throat and my eyes. I tucked myself into bed and started sniffing. Crying for a while, I fell asleep. Knock, knock! The door slightly opened, and there was my stupid evil mom saying, “Your saxophone tutor is coming in a minute.” Tuition. On my birthday. Wow. Great. I was annoyed at my mom organizing tuition on my birthday, but I love to play the saxophone, so I just wiped off the tears, and went outside to greet my tutor. My mom doesn’t even know my birthday, and that’s probably why she organized a lesson today. The doorbell rang and I slowly opened the door. My tutor and I went inside my room. Then…my dream…came true…My say tutor handed me the baritone saxophone she brought and said, “Happy birthday! This is the surprise from your parent. No more crying now, JaeWon! Phew! I had a hard time organizing this with your mom secretly so that you wouldn’t notice. Well, why don’t you go thank your mom now?” I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t move an inch from where I was. A Yanagisawa 901 baritone saxophone that I dreamed about every single day in my hand… Nothing could possibly be better than this.
Baritone saxophone is much bigger than the saxophone that people normally play and the pitch is in an octave lower- that’s why I love it so much. The saxophone that my parents bought for me is made by a brand named, ‘Yanagisawa’ and it’s one of the top three saxophone making companies. When I first saw and received the saxophone, I was contented with the saxophone. Although 901 is the cheapest model in Yanagisawa, it’s far better than the professional models of Yamaha. It was so shiny and lustrous in the beginning. Its keys were made out of real pearl, and everything was so comfortable to use; the keys press down smoothly, and has a perfect thumb hook for a stable grip. I was so impressed. However, as time passed by, I was starting to have greed towards owning a 991 black- lacquered saxophone, 992 a bronze saxophone and 9931 silver- plated saxophone that has so many more functions than mine. Is there a limit to my greed? - In my opinion, the answer is NO. Yet, I still love my saxophone, and the saxophone well taken care of by me. Thank you mom and dad!