"The Lost Boys had been fed a lot of disinformation about the United States at Kakuma," says Galwak Deng, executive director of Africa Corps, a San Diego agency that helps refugees overcome cultural, social and economic barriers. Deng, also a Sudanese refugee, immigrated to America in 1999. "In Kakuma, people told them they would be given everything they needed in America. They did not explain that in America you have to work, that there is no forgiveness in the American system. I try to explain to them that America's a tough place."
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What the Lost Boys of Sudan Found in America
Cover story
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday January 18, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 12 inches; 431 words Type of Material: Correction
Sudanese refugees -- In the Jan. 5 Magazine article "What the 'Lost Boys' of Sudan Found in America," it was incorrectly stated that one of the Sudanese refugees, Buay Tang, will be shifting from premed studies to a career in acting. He is continuing with his premed studies while also pursuing an acting career.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday February 02, 2003 Home Edition Los Angeles Times Magazine Part I Page 6 Lat Magazine Desk 1 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
In "What the 'Lost Boys' of Sudan Found in America" (Jan. 5), it was incorrectly stated that one of the Sudanese refugees, Buay Tang, will be shifting from premed studies to a career in acting. He is continuing with his premed studies while also pursuing an acting career.
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Tougher than Sudan? "In Sudan, even in the urban areas, everything was conducted on a personal basis," he continues. "You knew your landlord and had a social relationship with him. If you couldn't pay your rent one month, you told him and he would say, 'All right, pay me next month.' If they are going to throw you out of your house in Sudan, a policeman shows up and it's personal, because you know him. If you don't obey, he might beat you up; he might shoot you. But the enemy is right there in front of you. He has a face.
"In America, the law has no face. It's a piece of paper. If you don't pay your rent, a piece of paper shows up on your door. The notice says that you must move out in so many days. When the cop comes to move you out, he's very polite. He calls you 'Sir.' He tells you to have a nice day, and that he's just doing his job. If you go before a judge, the judge has nothing personal against you. The law is the law. You didn't pay your rent. You must move out. Nothing is personal in America."
The day after Alepho was attacked at the bus stop, Benson found a note from police taped to the apartment door. It said if they wanted to report the incident, they could call the station. Instead, they called Bernstein. She rushed Alepho to a dentist for a root canal and a splint for the broken tooth. It turned out to be the least of the damage.
Before the beating, she says, Alepho had been focused on classes to help him pass the GED. Afterward, he began sleeping 12 to 14 hours a day. He stopped going to class. Bernstein got him back to school two weeks later, but his depression lingered for a few months, and his impressions of his new country changed permanently. Other Lost Boys had similar transformations. Their neighborhoods in east San Diego are home to many of the city's 86 street gangs, and a half-dozen Lost Boys were assaulted or threatened with violence during their first year.
