God Grew Tired of Us

John Bul Dau is a Sudanese Lost Boy, a Dinka. At the age of 13 he was forced to flee his home and walk a thousand miles, first to Uganda, then to Kenya. At the age of 13 he says he was tall and looked older – so he was put in charge of the care of 1,200 younger children. To worry about feeding them. To comfort the scared and the sick and bury the dead.

John Bul Dau is one of the lucky ones. At the age of 23 he was chosen for asylum in the United States. Catholic Charities assisted him and three other Lost Boys in relocating to Syracuse, New York. There, he worked two, sometimes three jobs to send money to the boys left behind in the camps.* He put off his dream of attending college to aid his family; the father, mother and six other siblings who somehow survived the civil war. He worked, and continues to work, tirelessly to encourage the other transplanted lost boys to maintain their identities as Africans and educate the public about the violence that robbed him of his home and family.

John Bul Dau is possibly one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever seen.

The film also follows the stories of Daniel Abol Pach and Panther Blor, who find asylum in Pittsburgh. It was painful to see the worst qualities of the residents of my city on screen. How the merchants called the police and complained when the boys came into their stores in large groups. The looks on the faces of some of the residents in Giant Eagle as the boys learned about bread and balloons. The sense of isolation that lead one of the boys to a mental breakdown.

It was rewarding to see the best qualities of the residents on screen. The store worker who gave away doughnuts so the boys would learn what sprinkles tasted like. The little girls at the pool who chatted happily about the Sudan. The volunteer at Catholic Charities who taught the boys how to turn on a light switch, adjust the shower and guided them through the piles of paperwork.

It was strange to see my city through the eyes of strangers.

*The boys also had to repay the United States government for the cost of the plane ticket to the U.S.