Last Updated on March 22, 2022 by themigrationnews
Documentary Length: 1hr 28 min.
Language: English
Setting; Africa and the United States.
Producer: Christopher Dillon Quinn.
The Origin
The documentary begins in an African Savannah setting, backed by a hot tune by Sudanese activist singer ‘Gigi’, known as Guramayle. The refugees are shown lamenting the Sudanese civil war, which tore them from the motherland into the Kakuma refugee camp. Their resilience is reinforced as they pledge loyalty to Sudan despite a civil war, which has been sparked by a brutal military regime in Khartoum led by Colonel Nimeri of the Sudan Armed Forces.
Sudan initially had undergone a civil war in the 1970s as the regime of Sadiq Mahdi, battled the Anyanya movement, which sought session and representation. The subject matter of the conflict was the differences between the people of South Sudan and the greater negro people of Sudan. A peace settlement was reached in the conclusion years of the seventies. Precisely all hostilities ceased by 1926. Sudan saw an economic boom as a result of the discovery of oil (Patey, 2014).
The conflict this time was different under the Junta of Colonel Nimeri. With the Cold War in its heightened state, foreign powers became increasingly involved. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement received arms from the communist countries led by the Soviet Union. Nimeri’s regime was backed by the west until he declared Jihad on Christians as well as Muslim African Sudanese. The ideology served as a morale boost for a weakening army (Arop, 2006).
All of the refugees in the Kakuma refugee camp in North-West Kenya have trekked up to a thousand kilometers to get there, making it one of the great human migration phenomena in the history of Sub-Saharan Africa and specifically Eastern Africa. It saw almost one million people migrating from the Sudd Basin to refugee camps all over Eastern Africa. The largest Kakuma refugee camp is in the border region of Kenya and the Gambella refugee camp in Ethiopia.
The movie goes on, and we witness the challenges of refugee communities globally, such as lack of food, infrastructure, various diseases and overcrowding camps. A shifting geopolitical environment forces relocation from Gambella to Kakuma camp due to the overthrowing of Mengitsu’s regime. Despite challenges, a camp in arid Kenya becomes their home for ten years.
The Journey
The inhabitants have been provided with basic education and have limited opportunities to acquire further education or critical skills. A waiting game takes place and leads many to desperation and suicide. Despite the title of the documentary, God seems to remember them. Migration and resettlement organizations come calling, and through the aid of first-world countries, they are offered resettlement. Many are offered opportunities for a shot at the American Dream.
The migrants are excited and yet bound by a fear of the unknown. They undertake intensive reading to understand their countries of destination. Emotions are high as they finalize and bid the families farewell in the Kakuma refugee camp. Hopes are high as economic aspects are prioritized, as well as other opportunities, such as scholarships and family resettlements. The ‘scouts’ leave in an Antonov plane to Nairobi, Kenya, and then take different flights to countries of destination.
Despite their orientation studies, the refugees are baffled by the new environment. Among escalators, lifts, automatic taps, noise, and loads of people, they manage to cope, assisted by the reception of the United Nations migration affiliated organization. The documentary focuses on a team of migrants who are transiting through Nairobi, Dubai, and Brussels all the way to New York. United States International Organization for Migration is the facilitating organization.
Accepting the Second Home
Upon their arrival to New York, the theme switches to change management and human environmental transition in the social sciences. A migration expert is assigned to prepare immigrants for the American Dream. The documentary takes a funny twist as twenty-year-old refugees are taught the basics of a ‘civilized society’ despite Africa, according to chronological accounts, hosting the first civilizations of Timbuktu and Benin.
The transition is gradual but differs depending on aspects such as temperament and learning capacity of the individual. Life is far better than in Kakuma; as one immigrant describes, ‘America is a machine’. The hot shower is a luxury they all enjoy; it takes a few seconds to get to the quick-mart, which is different from ‘Bicycle Kakuma’. Panther Bior would have to cycle three kilometers for a gallon of water and a kilo of the floor from the World Food Program store.
Depression is still common as thoughts of the country of origin plague the immigrants. A thirst to fulfill the needs of kin back in the camp has to be quenched for a full transition. Many send a portion of their federal assistance to their families while the state processes their work permits. A period of three months is aimed to facilitate full integration into the American culture. They spend days meeting the Pennsylvanian local community.
As the migrants integrate with the local community, many separated from their families continue to search for their relatives. American hospitality has its challenges, though, as it is a capitalist society where work and opportunity outweigh all other social aspects. Daniel Dau leads in the American Dream as he saves up enough to study law while he is working in a factory and as a security guard in a mall. The search for his family also becomes a focus of the documentary when his mother sends him a letter.
Searching for family
A migration organization in Uganda’s refugee camp promises to reunite Daniel Dau with his family. He diversifies his financial resources to help his mum and kin back in Uganda while studying. The theme of Police Conflict is introduced as one ‘lost boy’, a term for Sudanese immigrants getting into trouble with the local police. The local community of Pennsylvania is supportive of the cause of the Lost boys and even hosts a ‘Save Sudan’ walk to support Sudanese refugees in camps all over the world.
All over the United States, the Lost Boys have made their mark, as witnessed in a national Lost Boys reunion. Many have served in the United States military and a few in different local legislatures in a time frame of five years. Deng Dau, a senior Lost Boy and educated, takes their chairmanship of a Lost Boys diaspora organization. They aim to help end the ‘Sudanese’ civil war and aid Sudanese refugees globally.
Deng Dau reinforces his protagonist role in the documentary as he addresses United States senators on a national podium on the Sudanese conflict. Antagonists in the documentary are immigrants linked to crime in some states. Protagonists dominate as they excel in society in all sectors and receive recognition. One lost boy received the honorary United States Military Green Cross in Iraq. The documentary ends in an emotional reunification of Deng Dau with his mum and family.
The documentary, in my opinion, is a thrilling piece that clearly highlights the journey of an immigrant from the country of origin to the destination. One unique element is the ‘journey’ of the migrant depicted in the documentary, which is covered in exemplary details. Exposure to regular global pathways and their shortcomings reveals commercialization and ignorance of human and social elements. In the United States, we are exposed to social trauma faced by migrants, including the current global theme of racial profiling.
Despite the uniqueness of the documentary. there is a feeling of it being relatively short rather than clearly bringing out the challenges and struggles of migrants. There is a focus on the life of one ‘protagonist’, Deng Dau, over a period of five years adapting to American life. The work environment of an adapting immigrant which should have been the point of focus is summarized in less than a minute. It could have been compelling to see how at least three immigrants cope with American society. Despite this minor flaw, I find the documentary to be a brilliant piece that reflects my own life experiences.
Benedict Kuol is a GRFDT Intern and a Finance graduate from Strathmore University and a GRFDT Global for Migration Student India. He is a passionate upcoming writer.