Peter's Journey....

Confusion and rage were the only emotions I could feel as I Peter watched my village Dinka be torn apart in this ruthless civil war, within my own country. Why, why must a country fight with its self. Religion and politics are the two main reasons my life was destroyed. I can remember the day clearly as the Northern Islamic men from Khartoum, Sudan came and attacked us Christian/Animistic believers in the South. It wasn’t the first time they attacked us, this civil war in my country has been going on for almost 10 years! My house was burned, my sisters and my mother taken away from me. Still till today I don’t know where they are. I ran as fast as I could hoping to escape from this hell. From that day on it was clear I was an orphan. Lonely scared and homesick is what I was feeling when I was forced to migrate from Dinka to the Kenyan refugee camps. The walk was hard and tiring. I had company on journey from other young men who were forced to migrate from Dinka. On our walk we faced many challenges. Lions attacking us various armies, shooting at us. It was hot and we didn’t have much water or food, I could feel the skin of my soul coming off. As we got to the camp I was thrilled. We survived on the very little we had. Most of us boys didn’t have much and we lived off of rashend food and donations. Yet the only thing I wanted to accomplish in life was get an education and support the people of Dinka with money.
Years went by and we were in the refugee camp. I was going to school and found out there might be a chance for me to escape into heaven. Many boys who were going to school were getting a chance to flee to America where they will work and all their problems would be solved. This new opportunity was just what I needed. I applied to go to America and I was given legal permission to go. The boys who went to America were now looked as Lost Boys of Sudan.
I being a lost boy went to America and soon realized it wasn’t heaven and that not any of my problems would be solved. I moved to Texas with my friend from Dinka Santino. For a few months we lived together. We shared money for rent and food, yet we both had problems assimilating with the American culture’s ethnography. However I soon came to realize that living in the ghettos of Texas with Santino and living from pay check to pay check wasn’t going to get him or me anywhere. We were barley serving with our money that we earn from working at factories. I knew I had to make a change, in my life to earn more money and become a wiser man to help the people from Sudan, or I might as well return to Africa because living the way I am I can’t help my people or help me.
After living with Santino I moved to Kansas alone. Santino was very upset, he thought we would be together forever but it was time for me to depart and think alone. In Kansas I was accepted in school. It was hard for me to fit in. Even in Texas the people looked upon me as a refugee but not a migrant. I would get stares for being darker then the black citizens of America. I thought this would go away, however I still face these problems here in school. Unlike the other kids I lived alone and worked. Many of the kids had parents and I didn’t. My schedule was very rough. I worked everyday and went to school. The situation with money wasn’t getting any better. I was finding it hard to send money back to Sudan because while living in America I was using it all up.
As time rolled by i began to find a grater interest in of America. I saw an urge in me to try new things so I did. I tried out for the Basket-ball team hoping to make it into Varsity. Even though I didn’t make it I made new friends, and not making the team aloud more times for my studies. With the few years that I have been going to school in America I have made friends that aren’t just from my Sudanese family. I have seen a new culture that I have found a profound interest in and a new religion Christianity I have learned to respect.
My journey in America has been hard and challenging, in almost all the strides I take I seem to find a new challenge I must face and overcome. However with the persistence in my heart to move forward, I will.