Misconceptions of Resettlement- and the Struggles Caused

The Dinka people of Sudan have truly experienced suffering (genocide). First, they faced the challanges of a harsh climate, with very little technology to cope. Next, circumstances drove them hundreds of miles on foot (forced migration).- a constant standoff against lions, gunmen, climate and physical ailments. Then they stagnated in a refugee camp for nearly 10 years, without family or tokens of the life they left behind. They thought that their struggle was finally over when they boarded a plane to the USA... but Peter Nyarol Dut’s struggles told a different story. Dropping the the young boy into Westernized culture could be likened to a drop into ice water- sudden, overpowering, and irrefutably painful. But somehow Peter dealt with his culture shock and built a better life for himself.

Peter struggled with practical things, like overcoming the language barrier, finding a job, getting a license, paying bills, and maintaining his grades and basketball training. He also had to deal with social problems like getting girlfriends, making new friends, and learning not to call attention himself. But the issues reached deeper than that too- onto a pschological level- dealing with the guilt about the Dinka friends he turned his back on, and coping with the loneliness of his new materialistic life. Peter faces these problems with a bright smile, relentless attitude and determination to succeed. He recieves little comfort in calls to home- he is pestered for money- and less solace from his lonely home. But he focuses his energy in enrolling in school, keeping up his grades, and improving in basketball. He turns to his hopes and dreams, and drives on his desire to aid his beloved Sudan. But the light he brings eventually attracts friends and later a girlfriend. Sure, those in his social network must deal with his “quirks”( like bringing a hand-captured bird as a present.) But he simply falls back on his few fellow refugees, new friends, and his talents for the energy to fit in. Eventually he successfully graduates from school, with a new challenge to tackle: university.