God Grew Tired of Us
My husband and I celebrated our 17th anniversary today. We had a lovely dinner at the Oasis on Lake Travis and my husband managed to fanagle a table with a wonderful view even though the place was incredibly crowded. It was an absolutely gorgeous day so half of Austin must have decided to go to the Oasis to watch the sunset. The moment the sun sets, chimes are rung and decks and decks of crowds at the restaurant (I think there are something like 6 levels built into the hillside now) applaud and toast the setting sun. It’s a nightly Austin tradition. (The picture on the right is part of the view from the Oasis.)
It seems strange to have been married so long but so normal, too. I can’t remember life before marriage anymore. My daughter says we are a cute couple and I suppose we are. 
I watched a film with my daughter today that is definitely worth mentioning. It’s a National Geographic film called God Grew Tired of Us. It’s rated PG and is definitely OK to watch with kids. No gruesome violence although there are a few pictures of starving children (but not many). It’s the story of three of the Lost Boys of Sudan who were chosen to be relocated in the U.S. (I think there were 3800 relocated to the U.S. in 2001 and there have been many more since.) It’s very moving film - both heart-wrenching and encouraging. It’s amazing what the human spirit can overcome. Of course, one of the boys the film followed ended up in a mental institution which was mentioned but was not featured in the film. Apparently this is not uncommon. Examiners have said that the Lost Boys of Sudan are some of the most traumatized war victims they have ever come across.
Lost Boys of Sudan is the name given for the 27,000 boys who were displaced or orphaned during the second Sudanese civil war. Government troops systematically attacked villages in southern Sudan. The younger boys (some as young as 3 or 4) managed to escape the persecution because they had been out in the fields herding cattle and were able to escape to the jungle. They walked and walked and walked for years and thousands of miles crossing the border into into Ethiopia and Kenya. They often had to survive by eating mud and drinking urine. Many were eaten by crocodiles and lions. Most starved or died of disease. And many remember watching their family members being killed.
The reason there are so few Lost Girls of Sudan is because when the villages were attacked, the girls, besides being raped, were either killed or taken as slaves or servants for Sudanese in the north.
The title of the documentary is from a quote John Bul Dau, one of the relocated Lost Boys, had said. He was discussing the despair he and other Sudanese felt during the civil war and said it was as though God grew tired of us. He wrote a book after the documentary was made with Michael Sweeney, called God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir. He has also provided relentless humanitarian efforts for those who remain in the Sudanese refugee camps. (See more of his story here and check out his website.)
I was trying to find out more information on the Lost Boys and came across this video where several of the Lost Boys have been working to end the genocide in Darfur.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn8ewJt0-js&hl=en&fs=1]
Congratulations on your 17 years together arulba–and thanks for posting the story about the lost boys. In my work I have met some ‘lost boys’ and continue to– children who have come from the Sudan and other places to live in Canada and to attend school here. I am asked to help assess their strengths and weaknesses and I look blankly, saying I have no way of doing that. The fact that they have survived and are here must mean something. If they are having difficulty in school, what does that mean? They never attended school until they got here. They have no way of responding to questions that I could ask them. Even speaking English, I have sometimes shown a picture of some common object (to us ) only to be told ,”I don’t know what that is”. Of course not! For some it is easier than for others. I only know that I don’t know and at least that is something. I had not heard of this book - now I have something to share with my colleagues.
I can only imagine how difficult it would be to assess the strengths and weaknesses of someone who is coming from such a completely different culture. It was apparent from the film how overwhelming the change is. They have grown up with no running water, not electricity, no pre-packaged food. One of the boys opened a box of ritz crackers, stuck them into a coffee pot, and ground them up with a hammer, added some milk, cooked it and created some sort of gruel or something. It’s got to be totally overwhelming. I haven’t read the book so can’t recommend it. But the film was excellent - especially in terms of the enormity of change these kids are faced with and the backrounds they are coming from.
[...] film provided a little less positive perspective than did God Grew Tired of Us although I think it was very helpful to have seen both films. One of the questions Lost Boys of [...]