God Grew Tired of Us / Fadlalla Review

As Fadlalla argued within his discussion of refugees, I agree that NGOs (non governmental organizations) have been playing a larger and more vital role in the effort to alleviate suffering among refugees. However, as Fadlalla discussed, they “often condense the voices of the poor and displace them into a universal ‘suffering form’ in order to attract funding.” This is spot on. I so often see advertisements, documentaries, or presentations about the “poor helpless refugees” and how we must do something to help them. What I most appreciated about God Grew Tired of Us is that it was real. It simply strived to tell the stories about the reality of what the Lost Boys have been through, and it did a wonderful job of emphasizing the hope alive in their spirits. This was the thing that struck me hardest during my adventure in Africa—the hope and joy still very much alive within the people. The people we look to as desolate and violent are in reality caring, compassionate, loving, and zealous. I loved the scenes in God Grew Tried of Us of the refugee camps; as heartbreaking as the reality of this camp is, it was refreshing to see the boys depicted as loving and caring—not as war criminals.

Another aspect of Fadlalla’s discussion I connected with was “the life histories of these Lost Boys of Sudan were reduced to a narrative.” It troubles me how often we see refugee’s stories being shared in the media. I am by no means trying to say we should not share these stories, because they are powerful and deserve to be told. What I am saying is that these stories should not be clumped together to construct an identical identity for refugees as a whole. Our job should not be to bundle all refugees together and attempt to help them collectively. As God Grew Tired of Us showed, each refugee has an individual story, and I’m realizing that the key to helping is to discover each refugee’s unique story and only from there may we begin identifying needs. 

What a Refugee is to Me

According to our reading, refugees are not self-identified; they must apply and then wait for their fate as well as their status to be determined by the government. I cannot say I agree with this system completely, although I understand that it is necessary to prevent illegal immigrants from taking advantage in times of crisis. In my mind, a refugee is simply someone who is seeking refuge, whether mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or physically—it honestly doesn’t matter. A refugee is in need of support, love, and a certain amount of assistance.

I connect deeply with the idea of refugees and the process of determining how to best help them. In the summer of 2011 I spent three weeks in Uganda and Ethiopia with an organization called Visiting Orphans. I was able to live in an orphanage (called Cannan’s Children’s Home), work in child prisons, and simply love and play with children living on the streets. The experience completely changed everything for me.

 In the orphanage I lived in the majority of the little boys had come to them after having been abducted to be child soldiers, and many of the other children had been deeply affected by the civil war. These children lost everything—parents, siblings, homes, schools, and even the few belongings to their name. They were brought to Cannan’s as refugees; so in need of a place promising hope, peace, and love.

When I first arrived at Cannan’s the burden I felt for these children was completely overwhelming. Once you look into their eyes, you experience just a fraction their pain and are overcome with the longing to help them, to give them justice, and to simply love them. To me, those faces are the pictures of refugees, and, to me, my job is to do something about it. Which brings me to the question I spend a large amount of my time pondering: What is our role among refugees? How much do we assist them and how much independence do we leave them with? And how do we discover if we are doing what’s best for them?

Blog Post 1: What is a refugee?

I am extremely left-brained in most things that I do, so whenever I’m asked to define anything I always turn to the dictionary. Dictionary.com defines a refugee as “a person who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc.” I would add to this and say that a refugee is someone who is within a state of crisis and does not have another option but to flee. Whenever I think of a refugee, I tend to think, “oh that’s like an being an immigrant.” However, I recognize that being a refugee goes much deeper than simply being an immigrant. A refugee leaves their country not because they want a new start or a better life; they leave because they literally have no other options. If a refugee were to stay in their home country, they would not survive. The decision to leave is one of life or death. Thinking of the bravery and strength accompanying these people is astounding, because when a refugee leaves their country they are choosing to get out of the chaos and danger and start afresh in an environment that displays hope. A refugee is someone who has chosen life.