G. Student 2
G. Student
Dr. Bump Halbritter
PWR 1
18 May 2006
Researching the Relocation of the Lost Boys of Sudan
As part of a UN-based relocation program, thousands of orphaned Sudanese refugee teenagers have been brought to America; they are part of a group known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. This research paper will ask whether or not the relocation of these Lost Boys is a disservice to them as well as an impractical solution to the relatively simple problem of a lack of educational possibilities in the refugee camps. It will also ask whether a better program could be set up from within the refugee camps to help these refugees rather than forcing them to learn the American way of life in exchange for their education. My current working thesis is that these boys endure excess hardships by being forced to resettle in a foreign culture when they could be helped more effectively from within Kenya. In answering my research interests, the following questions must be addressed:
· Why are they brought to the United States?
· What are the positive and negative aspects of the current relocation program?
· What are the arguments in favor of relocation, and what are the counter arguments?
· What is the current situation of the refugee camps in Kenya?
· Can the needs be met better from within Kenya?
· How would a program based in Kenya look, and what would it require?
Many professionals agree that one of the most detrimental side effects that refugees experience is the stress of surviving in a completely new environment. For this reason, the relocation of refugees to a third country must be scrutinized as the optimal solution. In the case of the Lost Boys of Sudan, I will argue that there is a better solution than transporting a few of them to the United States. By discovering the goals and needs of everyone involved, a mutually beneficial solution can be attained. Considering such a solution involves the Boys remaining in Kenya, then determining what that solution requires in terms of staffing and resources is essential so that the plan can actually begin to take shape.
Lost Boys of Sudan. Dir. Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk. Perf. Santino Majok Chuor and Peter Nyarol Dut. 2003. DVD. New Video Group, 2004.
The Lost Boys of Sudan, which received the Golden Gate Award for ‘Best Documentary’ in 2003, tells the story of Peter Dut and Santino Chuor as they participate in a relocation program headed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I will use this film in providing a partial answer to the positive and negative aspects of the program, as well as in figuring out why they were brought to America in the first place. This film is particularly useful to my research paper not only because the directors chose Peter from the very beginning (instead of finding someone half-way through the process who was having a particularly rough time), but also because it is a current source that shows my paper topic is still an issue today. There is a certain bias in this film to show the hardships faced, while brushing over their accomplishments. Another one of the limitations of the source is that it only provides concrete proof of the hardships of a few individuals, not the group as a whole. Although the problems experienced by each person will vary, this film does provide evidence that there are serious problems being pressed upon participants in this program. The Lost Boys of Sudan provides the stepping-stone from which my argument can be made that change must take place.
Vernez, Georges. “Current Global Refugee Situation and International Public Policy.” American Psychologist 46 (1991): 627-31.
According to Georges Vernez, PhD, current director of the RAND Center for Research on Immigration Policy, there is further reason to question the relocation of these Boys into America. Not only is it quite stressful on the participants, but it also puts excess stress on the organizations assisting refugees. This article is useful to me because it provides an argument against relocation through outlining the economic reasons for organizations to relocate refugees sparingly, if at all. Besides being hard on the refugee, relocation is also the more expensive short-term option. In light of this development, the UNHCR has been told to economize as much as possible so that the resources that are available will go as far as they can.
This article has a limitation in that it is 15 years old, but I believe its argument is still valid today, especially after the events of September 11, 2001. Now, more than ever before, America is restricting refugees from entering the US and is flowing most of the budget into war efforts instead of helping out poor Sudanese refugees. The bias of Vernez is that his view is strictly from an economic viewpoint, and does not consider the best interests of the refugees themselves.
Mazur, Robert E. “Refugees in Africa: The Role of Sociological Analysis and Praxis.” Current Sociology 36.2 (1988): 43-60.
In this article, Associate Professor of Sociology Robert Mazur at Iowa State University, Robert Mazur notices how “most research on refugees’ problems and … solutions reflects their experiences in North America … rather than in the countries that both initially and ‘permanently’ host refugees” (46). Besides offering evidence that too little is being done to solve the problem from within Africa, this article (having been written at the same time that the Lost Boys were fleeing from their homes) will give me evidence of what the situation was like when the problem of these boys was just beginning. Additionally helpful to me in this article is that it notes the refugees’ “need to re-establish familiar institutions and symbols by relocating with kin, neighbors and co-ethnics to create some sense of ‘community’” (50). This insight will help me to answer whether relocation was the best choice in this case. The article goes on to argue against the often widely held notion that the refugees are helpless and says that the most productive programs are those that are initiated by the refugees themselves. This knowledge can give a partial answer as to whether or not a program could actually be set up from within Kenya. The evidence provided in the article that refugees are capable of structuring better societal programs from within Africa is especially legitimate because it comes from a Sociology professor whose findings have been published in a reviewed Sociological Journal.
The limitation of Mazur’s article is that the situation has changed significantly since it was written. His insights and suggestions may be impractical or impossible in today’s circumstances. Further research must be done on my part to assure that what he has to say is still valid. There is a bias in this source towards an idealization that is often hard to implement in reality. When it comes to figuring out a realistic answer, he may fall short I will be required to go to other sources to implement practicality.
Bates, Laura, et al. “Sudanese Refugee Youth in Foster Care: The “Lost Boys” in America.” Child Welfare 84 (2005): 631-48.
This multi-authored study provides a unique look into the actual program that resettles the Lost Boys into America (with a specific case study of Michigan). Its current publishing date allows evidence that is up-to-date and pertinent to the current situation. The article is especially useful to me in that it discusses both the positive and negative aspects of this particular relocation. It is able to provide a unique view of the situation because many different sources and methods were implemented in constructing the overall argument, and its placement in a reviewed journal gives credibility to its findings and conclusions.
One of the limitations of this source is that it focuses on the younger youth that were resettled into foster care. Because of this, I cannot use the article to generalize the experiences of the group studied here as a sample of the whole. To that end, more research must be done to determine both sides of the issue as it relates to the older participants. The article also presented a bias in that it leaned towards finding the path of least resistance instead of discovering an optimal solution.
Agier, Michel. “Between War and City: Towards an Urban Anthropology of Refugee Camps.” Ethnography 3 (2002): 317-41.
This Peer-Reviewed article is especially important to my research paper because it provides information on the current status of refugee camps, specifically those under the authority of the UNHCR. It provides evidence that these “camps” stay in use far beyond the initial emergency for which they were created and turn into “city-camps” (322). This article will help me in discovering what these city-camps are capable of doing in terms of initiating an educational program to help their youth. It will help to answer how an educational program in Kenyan refugee camps would look and function. Although the information in this article was gathered on-site at refugee camps in Kenya, there is a limitation in that the observations were gathered over a very brief period of time. There is a bias towards rebellion instead of reform for the existing system, and the author tends towards a binary view of the situation, allowing little room for a ‘middle ground’ to form in the continuum between an emergency refugee camp and a fully functioning city.
Process Reflection
It’s been really exciting to begin to see my Research begin to take shape. This paper forced my to begin finding my resources and so far I’ve been able to find pertinent articles fairly easily. As I started to write this annotated bibliography, I found it hard to keep from merely summarizing what the article had said. Figuring out what the purpose was for doing an annotated bibliography took a while, but I think I’ve been able to critically analyze some of the sources I’ve chosen. Sometimes the results have surprised me and have revealed where I need more material as well as which areas I’m only finding one side for.
I’m also happy that I’m finally being forced to write to strict MLA standards. No one has required that of me before, and so I just bluffed my way through it. Going through the MLA handbook has answered many of my questions and has increased my confidence in my writing style. It may sound strange, but I really enjoyed putting the sources I found into proper citations. It was fairly easy to do, and I had the satisfaction of putting all the little pieces in correct order in a way that not only made my findings credible, but also easier to find. The workshop on Wednesday especially helped me to refine the paper, particularly in the limitations and bias my sources presented. That workshop also helped me weed out some more of the summarizing that I had included in initial drafts.
I still have a lot of work to do, but I was encouraged by the relative ease with which this paper came together. I’m getting more and more excited about my research topic as the research process continues and that is making this class a lot easier to bear (not that it was terrible to begin with anyways, but I enjoy enjoying my classes). It’s hard and time-consuming work, but I’m learning a lot about writing as well as a topic that interests me. What I’m learning in this class will help me for the rest of my life (or at least until I stop writing altogether).
Annotated Bibliography Rubric: G. Student
Content of Intro:· Thesis (2 pts) / 2
· Overview of Project (2 pts) / 2
· Questions / What you want to learn/know (1 pt) / 1
·
Content of Annos:
· Bias / Limits (1 pt ea à 5 pts) / 5
· Authority of each source (1 pt ea à 5 pts) / 5
· How useful to you à Ref to Qs (1 pt ea à 5 pts) / 5
· Annos are approx. 250 words each (1 pt ea à 5 pts) / 5
· Clarity of concepts
Surface Errors:
· MLA Accuracy
· Free of Typos
· Formatting is easy to read—annos & citations are easy to distinguish
Strengths:
Great!
Goals:
Write the paper!
Score: 25/25