DOI: 10.5176/2251-2853_2.2.124
Authors: Danvas Ogeto Mabeya
Abstract:
This paper investigates crimes committed by the Sudanese Lost Boys after their resettlement in 2000 in the United States. About 3300 Lost Boys were initially resettled in different
U.S. cities. Some of the crimes mentioned in this study are a result of anomie (the lack of accepted moral codification or mismatched codification) emanating from the emotional and
psychological factors that were associated with spreading and separating the Lost Boys throughout the U.S. The agencies responsible for the resettlement of the Lost Boys believed that by spreading the Lost Boys around the United States, they would integrate faster into the American society. Ironically, it turned out that separating these Boys did not help them integrate faster; rather separating them increased their stress level in America. Some Lost Boys found it difficult adjusting to the urban environments they were resettled in, since they had never lived in big cities in Africa. Because of the challenges that are associated
with living in big cities, some Lost Boys eventually decided to migrate to places where they would reunite with other groups of Lost Boys. Peter Nyarol Dut, one of the Lost Boys, left Houston, Texas for Kansas because he was frustrated with trying to make ends meet financially and trying to get to school. More so he felt discriminated against. Unfortunately, some Lost Boys ended up in neighborhoods that were concentrated with criminals most of whom were African Americans. In such neighborhoods, Lost Boys are either attacked or harassed by those African Americans who either don’t welcome them or see them as a threat to their criminal activities since they were resettled by the federal government. In this case Lost Boys claim they are forced to form gang groups to fend for themselves. Some Lost Boys joined African American gang groups as a way of survival, stealing other people’s property since they cannot get jobs.
Keywords: Anomie, Integration, Lost Boys, Refugees
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