Refugee, a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. Many people around the world are refugees, their state is very poor and in need of help. They’re homeless living in refugee camps. For many people to make it to a refugee camp, they will have to walk thousands of miles without water or shelter for days, weeks, maybe even months. As people find their way to a new world, they will have new challenges to overcome like racism, language, employment, culture, and technology.
In class, we read the book Home of the Brave and watched the movie God Grew Tired of Us, both pieces of work display the struggles many refugees will have to go throw to overcome the life they’re trying to leave behind. The book Home of the Brave is a unique novel written in free verse, told through the eyes of Kek. Kek is a young Sudanese refugee that has been relocated to America. Kek will learn the ways of his new home with the help of his friends and family; Hannah, Dave, Lou, Ganwar, his aunt, and an unlikely source; Gol the cow!
As Kek adapts to new challenges such as language, American culture, technology, the climate of Minnesota, and school, and racism; he longs for his homeland and his missing mom. Home of the Brave provides us with a unique perspective of a refugee trying to fight the odds in a new and strange land, after leaving all he has ever known in the past. The movie God Grew Tired of Us tells the story of three “lost boys” trying to make their way in the United States of America.
The lost boys, John, Panther, and Daniel leave their lives in Sudan to escape the war, they then lived in the Kenya refugee camp for 10 years. After the boys find out they will be leaving for the America, they thought the worst was behind them. Soon they will learn not everything is easy in America. The “lost boys” will struggle with the new American culture, technology such as refrigerators, light switches, showers, clocks, T. V. and much more. Their first time in the grocery store was unimaginable for them to see all that U. S. has compared to their homeland.
The movie shows us the highs and lows of three Sudan refugees. We as well learned that being a refugee and adjusting to a new culture isn’t always easy. In the book Home of the Brave and the movie God Grew Tired of Us we hear the stories of refugees moving to a new home and their struggles to start over again, these stories have many similarities between them. Some of the similarities would be like the Kek, and as well the “lost boys” had to move to America to escape the war, the boys are all from Sudan and had to live in refugee camps after leaving their homes to get away from the war.
The “lost boys” have all been spared from their families, some of their family members have been killed or died, like Kek whose mother is missing, and his brother and father were both killed. John and Kek are both very similar, both of them were spared from their mothers, hoping to be reunited when they get to the United States of America. The boy at the end of both stories are reunited with their mothers and have to teach their moms how this new world works. In the book and movie, we are told about many different challenges the boy well have to face, some similar challenges and struggles are culture and technology.
All though the boy has many similar challenges they do have many different ones as well. In both the book Home of the Brave and the movie God Grew Tired of Us, they’re similar, but still, have many differences between the two. Age is a big difference, the “lost boys” are adults going to college, where Kek is only in fifth grade and about 10 years old. Due to the age difference, the “lost boys” have to work to pay for an apartment and to pay back the government for their transportation to America, were Kek does not have to pay the government back.
Another difference was where the boys live in the United States, Kek is staying with his aunt and cousin Ganwar in Minnesota, the “lost boys” Daniel and Panther rent an apartment together in Pittsburgh, John rents an apartment in New York. Support and help are a difference that will effort the boy’s lives, Kek goes to school where he gets extra help with adjusting to the American culture and language, as well when he moves to America he not just by himself, he has family members to help him with adapting to new challenges. The “lost boys” do not receive much help in adjusting to America and don’t have family there all ready to support them.
A major difference was the “lost boys” all ready knew a lot of English, they had learned in the refugee camp this would make adjusting to America a little easier for them, Kek, however, did not know as much English so adapting to the new culture would be a struggle for him until he learned proper English. These difference are a way of showing that not every refugee’s story is the same. My personal opinion of these two incredible stories are that the “lost boys” and as well Kek are truly courageous in their fight to get to America, then overcoming the struggles they will have to face on a daily basis to adapt to the new life they have begun.
A connection I can make to these stories is that I have moved a few times as well, I know moving province isn’t the same as being forced to leave your home because of war, living in a refugee camp without your family by your side for support, or moving to a completely different country, but I do know the feeling of leaving your life behind, I myself have done it three times in my short life of 13 years. Moving and adjusting to a new ife isn’t always easy even when you have support from your friends and family, it takes time and effort, this is shown in the stories of the Home of the Brave and God Grew Tired of Us, when the “lost boys” and Kek both work hard to make a new life in the United States of America. These two great stories of refugees trying to make it in America has shown me that we shouldn’t take what we have for granted and to be kinder to others, one day we all could end up being refugees in need of help.
Another thing that I have taken away from these stories is that refugees are just like everyone else in the world, just trying to find their place, It’s just more difficult for them. The theme of these two stories is refugees trying to start a new began in America, the brave boys will travel across the world from Sudan to America to escape the war and death. When the boy arrived in America they will have many similar challenge and struggles along the way, this will not make adjusting to America easy. Many people are forced to leave their homes like Kek and the “lost boys” on a daily basis, refugees are all around the world.