After watching what we have of God
Grew Tired of Us, I have come to understand the plight of refugees, namely
the Lost Boys, on a much deeper level. While it is easy to read and study about
the journey that these boys (many of them now men) have taken, I don’t believe
you actually get a real sense of what they are going through until you see it. And while watching it on a
projector screen while sitting comfortably in a university classroom is
completely different than being there, with the boys as they make their journey
from Africa to America, it still brings you the closest emotional connection to
their voyage. In reading Fadlalla’s article on refugees, I felt it, like many
other sources, while trying to create an identity and place of belonging for
refugees, still in their description loses the sense of humanity and personality
of the refugees. They are described as a group, not individuals with each their
own separate personality and character. This is where I believe God Grew Tired of Us excels. In watching
their lives on the refugee camp to their journey across the world to America,
we see the boys as people, not just a statistic. And not only do we see them as
people in general, but people very similar to ourselves. Yes, they are boys
living in a country thousands of miles from our own who have grown up in a situation
I can not even imagine being in, they are still people. As inquisitive as young
children on their first plane flight, the boys are so intent on learning about
things we take for granted. However, this lack of knowledge was not what
impacted me the most about the boys, it was their strong connection to each
other. Without any true place to call home, they depended on each other for
survival. They joke and laugh with each other in the camps, like they haven’t
endured pain that no one else can imagine. They look after each other too, even
when they are apart. In both Fadlalla’s article and God Grew Tired of Us the boys going to America had very concrete
plans of making money to send back to their “family” in the camp. Overall, I
think that what this movie has shown so far has broadened my knowledge and
views of refugees ten-fold, and done more than show the facts, it has shown the
people behind the statistics, and I can’t wait to see how their journey to
America progresses.
Jack,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how you honed in on the very notion of refugees being people. Yes, we may all be in America- focusing on our capitalist efforts and free market society; however, this reality should never distract from the truth concerning our children suffering the supreme reign of militia and subaltern conditions. We cannot simply ignore their situation while simultaneously relishing in our own. There needs to be some sort of confidence built by a parting of muddy confusion - we must become aware of other situations and cultural environments.
Why do you think we must remain aware and cognizant of these people and their plight? Why is it necessary to be culturally and socially informed (in your opinion)?