"The Lost Boys" were a group of boys and a few girls, who were forced to leave their tribe that was known as the "Dinka Tribe" and their family, due to the wars that were happening in Sudan. The Lost Boys stayed in a refugee camp in Kenya for several years; where they had migrated to from Sudan. 4,000 Dinka boys were then chosen, several years later, to migrate to the United Sates, where they believed they would live a better life.
One, out of the 4,000 people who were chosen to migrate to Houston, was Peter. As a new "American", Peter faced many difficulties whilst living in the United States. He thought that life would be much easier, until he found life to be, in fact, much more difficult, and nothing like the 'heaven' he thought he would encounter.
One of the many difficulties he faced, was getting used to the language, and could not speak it fluently. He found it difficult to understand people; with what they were saying, how they acted towards themselves, or even towards Peter. He also found it hard that people could not understand Peter, though he tried his best to clearly elaborate on everything he did or said towards other people. Another difficulty that adds onto this, was him not at all being used to the food. He did not know what to do with it exactly, so he decided to experiment with it, which was to keep eating. Later on, Peter started to overcome his in-fluency of English by speaking to his friends from Sudan that were also forced to migrate, not only in the language he speaks in Sudan, but in English too.
Another difficulty that Peter faced was the stereotypical thoughts of the people in America. As a black man, he was subject to all the prejudicial misconceptions of a mostly white American. He was a much darker version of the African Americans, and not only was he nothing like the African Americans, but he was a much different color then the white-Americans. People assumed that since Peter was the closest resProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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blance to the African- Americans, that he would hurt people, or even steal from people, which was nothing close to anything Peter would do. Similarly, people figured that Peter was someone who didn't care about anything that was related to his future or school, and that he would not succeed. Whereas, Peter wanted to succeed in everything he did, and he wanted to learn. A good example of this was when the school counselor talked to Peter about him not having to worry about getting into a 4-year college, but to know that he would only have to go to a community college, which shows that the counselor did not see Peter as someone who was good enough to get into a 4-year college. Adding onto that, Peter showed the counselor his biography that completely surprised the counselor. He didn't think that Peter, out of all people in his school, would have written a biography before even talking to the counselor about a 4-year college. As the counselor started to read his biography, he decided that his biography was too sad to read. This concludes that the counselor was oblivious to the fact that someone of such a stereotyped background could live through everything that he had written about in his biography.
Beyond the issues with racial stereotyping in academic and career terms, his boss at his work assumed that he would be fine working in the hot sun, since he is African and that he is supposedly used to the heat. Just by hearing this from his boss, Peter wasn't pleased with what his boss said, because he didn't agree that ability-or not-to work in the sun should be in any way associated with the color of one's skin or place of birth. Peter started simply to ignore the racism that surrounded him and began to distance himself from the things people said. In doing so, he moved forward from everything, which slowly started to bring up his self-esteem.
Another big difficulty that Peter had to face was what he believed to be his continued responsibilities to his family in both Sudan and Kenya. He felt as if he should help his people by sending them some money, when he was in no position to do so. He worked hard for his money, just so he could survive on his own in America. Adding the obligation of support for those he left behind was too much for him. He had to manage all of his time and money efficiently for this. Peter soon realizes, after living in Houston for a few months and hearing his sister complain that he does not call, or send money as much as they would like him to, he moves to Kansas. He made this move because he was frustrated by the fact that he was unable to enter a school in Houston and unable to fulfill his familial obligations. Peter's cousin also had told him that there was a high school in Olathe, Kansas that had accepted a few Sudanese boys to join their school. Clearly, Peter was a young man who cared about his education, his future, his duties to his family and that he was, in no way, merely one more stereotypical black man as he had been perceived.
As months passed by living in Kansas, Peter started to make friends, and wanted to be able to play basketball with his friends; because Peter always had an interest in basketball. He tried out for the basketball team, though he wasn't accepted on the team. He finally establishes his identity as a new American with roots in a far-off land. Though all of the difficulties he faced impacted his life in America, he still managed to survive, even excel, just by moving forward through each obstacle presented to him. As we can see, Peter is an example of how, through consistency, faith, self-confidence and a strong belief in the power of the individual - the power and the strength he had in his own soul - each of us can succeed. Each of us can succeed in a world that, like a minefield, can bring failure at every step. However, success can come and will come with the courage and never-give-up attitude of a single person, whether that individual is an African refugee in a new land, or a student at home struggling with his or her own problems.
One, out of the 4,000 people who were chosen to migrate to Houston, was Peter. As a new "American", Peter faced many difficulties whilst living in the United States. He thought that life would be much easier, until he found life to be, in fact, much more difficult, and nothing like the 'heaven' he thought he would encounter.
One of the many difficulties he faced, was getting used to the language, and could not speak it fluently. He found it difficult to understand people; with what they were saying, how they acted towards themselves, or even towards Peter. He also found it hard that people could not understand Peter, though he tried his best to clearly elaborate on everything he did or said towards other people. Another difficulty that adds onto this, was him not at all being used to the food. He did not know what to do with it exactly, so he decided to experiment with it, which was to keep eating. Later on, Peter started to overcome his in-fluency of English by speaking to his friends from Sudan that were also forced to migrate, not only in the language he speaks in Sudan, but in English too.
Another difficulty that Peter faced was the stereotypical thoughts of the people in America. As a black man, he was subject to all the prejudicial misconceptions of a mostly white American. He was a much darker version of the African Americans, and not only was he nothing like the African Americans, but he was a much different color then the white-Americans. People assumed that since Peter was the closest resProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0
blance to the African- Americans, that he would hurt people, or even steal from people, which was nothing close to anything Peter would do. Similarly, people figured that Peter was someone who didn't care about anything that was related to his future or school, and that he would not succeed. Whereas, Peter wanted to succeed in everything he did, and he wanted to learn. A good example of this was when the school counselor talked to Peter about him not having to worry about getting into a 4-year college, but to know that he would only have to go to a community college, which shows that the counselor did not see Peter as someone who was good enough to get into a 4-year college. Adding onto that, Peter showed the counselor his biography that completely surprised the counselor. He didn't think that Peter, out of all people in his school, would have written a biography before even talking to the counselor about a 4-year college. As the counselor started to read his biography, he decided that his biography was too sad to read. This concludes that the counselor was oblivious to the fact that someone of such a stereotyped background could live through everything that he had written about in his biography.
Beyond the issues with racial stereotyping in academic and career terms, his boss at his work assumed that he would be fine working in the hot sun, since he is African and that he is supposedly used to the heat. Just by hearing this from his boss, Peter wasn't pleased with what his boss said, because he didn't agree that ability-or not-to work in the sun should be in any way associated with the color of one's skin or place of birth. Peter started simply to ignore the racism that surrounded him and began to distance himself from the things people said. In doing so, he moved forward from everything, which slowly started to bring up his self-esteem.
Another big difficulty that Peter had to face was what he believed to be his continued responsibilities to his family in both Sudan and Kenya. He felt as if he should help his people by sending them some money, when he was in no position to do so. He worked hard for his money, just so he could survive on his own in America. Adding the obligation of support for those he left behind was too much for him. He had to manage all of his time and money efficiently for this. Peter soon realizes, after living in Houston for a few months and hearing his sister complain that he does not call, or send money as much as they would like him to, he moves to Kansas. He made this move because he was frustrated by the fact that he was unable to enter a school in Houston and unable to fulfill his familial obligations. Peter's cousin also had told him that there was a high school in Olathe, Kansas that had accepted a few Sudanese boys to join their school. Clearly, Peter was a young man who cared about his education, his future, his duties to his family and that he was, in no way, merely one more stereotypical black man as he had been perceived.
As months passed by living in Kansas, Peter started to make friends, and wanted to be able to play basketball with his friends; because Peter always had an interest in basketball. He tried out for the basketball team, though he wasn't accepted on the team. He finally establishes his identity as a new American with roots in a far-off land. Though all of the difficulties he faced impacted his life in America, he still managed to survive, even excel, just by moving forward through each obstacle presented to him. As we can see, Peter is an example of how, through consistency, faith, self-confidence and a strong belief in the power of the individual - the power and the strength he had in his own soul - each of us can succeed. Each of us can succeed in a world that, like a minefield, can bring failure at every step. However, success can come and will come with the courage and never-give-up attitude of a single person, whether that individual is an African refugee in a new land, or a student at home struggling with his or her own problems.
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