God Grew Tired of Us (2006) PG
You've no doubt heard of "The Lost Boys" from multiple readings of Peter Pan. Just as you've no doubt heard of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" – the named dubbed for some 25,000 boys who fled the atrocities in their homeland on foot. Ranging in age from three to thirteen, these boys walked over 1,000 miles across a barren desert, threatened by wild animal attacks and bombing raids, and eating mud to survive. While the mischievous Peter Pan magically refused to grow up, the Lost Boys of Sudan tragically grew up in a hurry – a band of orphan boys who learned to protect and provide for each other.
God Grew Tired of Us is a documentary that
follows three of these Lost Boys, John Bul Dau, Daniel Abol Pach, and Panther Blor, who were among the nearly 4,000 eventually resettled in the U.S. (in Pittsburgh and Syracuse) after more than ten years in a refugee camp. And while this sober documentary could be a story of sheer horror, suffering and starvation, it's not. God Grew Tired of Us is also an uplifting story of hope and hard-working immigrants struggling to "survive" in American society.
As I watched their plight, I imagined someone snatching me from my comfortable home with electricity, water, and bountiful food, and dropping me right into a third-world tribe whose culture and way of living I couldn’t comprehend. When they knew they were leaving the only home they'd known for the land of the free, one "boy" says about electricity, "I don’t know if I can work it". Their landlord had to demonstrate a flushing toilet, and a trip to the local grocery store for them was like me watching an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman and trying to figure out what moose nose jelly is good for. What part do you eat? Do you cook it?
The poignant title of this film is a paraphrase of an observation made by John, a main character, referring to the atrocities in Sudan. Did God grow tired of them? Devoutly Christian, John was also startled by the iconic status reserved for Santa Claus during Christmas. He modestly notes that in Africa, he and his family experience the season as a time for spiritual reflection and to celebrate the birth of Christ. Not materialism and malls?
While grateful to be in America with a job (they work two and three jobs every day to keep up with living expenses and send money home), they become more and more lonely for their families. When they leave the camp early in the film, it'’s anguishing to watch them leave friends who have been their only family for 15 years. And being cut off from their culture becomes a palpable ache. At one point, the boys-now-men are still eating with their hands, the reason, they say, is to maintain their culture. And why not? Peas roll off the fork anyway.
Throughout their adjustment to life in America, the boys worked with agencies to find their families in Sudan. Mothers and fathers they hadn't seen in over 15 years. With the help of the International Red Cross and other agencies, John is able to locate his family in a Uganda refugee camp. In a wrenching scene, his mother arrives in the U.S., sighting John and collapsing onto the floor with keening yelps of joy.
Their will to survive led them the thousand miles to the United Nations refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, and their will to live well and do good for their families brought them to America. This story will leave a lump in your throat and make you want to go out and do good in the world. Despite a few graphic images of starving children, God Grew Tired of Us is truly a film everyone should see.
By Sara-Lynn White
