The Lost Boys, Peter and Santino

Peter and Santino are two Sudanese refugees from a clan called the Dinkas. During Sudan's civil war many innocent people were killed, but the Dinkas were the hardest hit by the war. A group of young boys fled Sudan and went to Kenya through Ethiopia. These refugees are known as 'The Lost Boys'.


From a refugee camp in Kenya, Peter and Santino fly to Houston, Texas. It is their first plane ride. Although the Dinka elder at the refugee camp told them not to forget their culture, Peter and Santino have already begun their assimilation into American culture. After a short stay in Houston Peter gets a car and drives (without a licence) to Kansas City.



Peter soon meets up with some other refugees from Sudan and talks to them. This is one of the ways he is able to make his adjustment into American culture easier as well as keeping his ties to the Dinka culture. Peter goes to high school as well as working a job and doing homework. He doesn't have enough time to do anything and he is having trouble having free time to do what he wants. He is also short on money, so when his sister calls and pressures him to send money back Sudan, he isn't able to. Peter also is having trouble adjusting to the way American people go to church, and he isn't used to the songs they sing or the holidays that they have. So far Peter is having a hard time adjusting to American culture.