Sudan

The conflicts and civil wars that took part in Sudan can be narrowed down to religious persecution and political disagreements. Islamic men had taken the main positions of power in the capital city , Khartoum , which is located in the north. This sparked a civil war between the Islamic north and the Christian/Animistic south. When the British explorers had discovered Sudan , they drew up the boundaries to enclose all three religious groups in the same country. Murahliliin gunmen would constantly attack villages in the south , killing men and women and carrying off young girls to be slaves. When these attacks took place young boys would run away from the villages to save their lives. 20000 young boys joined together in crossing from Sudan to Kenyan refugee camps. These boys would later become known as the lost boys since they were found without their parents. The boys encountered many problems on the way such as lack of supplies , many deaths , and the skin wearing off their feet from the long walk. The Sudanesse army and Ethiopian army would also shoot at them as they made their journey.
In the case of Peter of Santino they were both from the Dinka village. When the attacks started getting closer to their village they had been told to run away if they were ever attacked. They started across the desert to seek help. Many fell down and died because of thirst and hunger , and being shot at by bandits. A group of boys tried to seek shelter in Ethiopia, but the Ethiopian government did not want to get involved with the Sudanese conflicts and turned them away. To get to the Kenyan refugee camps the boys had to cross the Gilo River. They were shot at by both sides, the Ethiopians and Sudanese, and some fell into the river and were eaten by crocodiles. After reaching the Kenya refugee camps they lived there for 11 years before going to America to start a new life along with 4000 other boys. This was the American government's way of helping with the Sudanese conflicts. When Peter and Santino reached America, they encountered many conflicts. Finding good jobs were hard, and the boys had little chance of going to school. This provoked Peter to drive to Kansas City. To try to make a better life for himself then he had in Houston. In America it was the first time the boys had ever encountered Racism. Santino was made to work in the sun since the boss’s argument was “since you're from Africa you should the sun since you're use to the heat”. The boys had also been targeted by robbers and did not expect that life was going to be busy. Santino’s roommate started complaining that the American government had sent them here and then left them. The boys had a hard time adjusting to American culture. Though now Peter is at a college in Vermont with a full scholarship. And Santino has passed his drivers test and is still living in Houston.