Quotes
Quotes from God Grew Tired of Us:
"I think about such things and wonder: Which America, bright or dark, is the truer one? Will America be governed by its principles of loving and helping one another, or by its moments of suspicion and cynicism? I cannot say. All I know is, I have seen a great deal of the best, and some of the worst, of America. As a new American, I must do my part to make things better" (230)
"Some of my friends among the Lost Boys have nightmares. They see their loved ones killed by bullets and shrapnel or seized by the roiling waters or the crocodiles of the Gilo River. How long they must relive the horrors of their childhoods I do not know. They have come halfway around the world, thousands of miles from their African homes, yet they cannot leave Africa behind. Nor should they, I think. They, and I, must learn to be Dinka in America" (237).
"Two years later, in February 2004...my mother and sister landed at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Syracuse's newspaper and television stations had learned about the reunion and joined me at the end of a secure corridor to await the arrival...[My mother and I] collapsed on the floor, rocking back and forth, as my mother chanted in Dinka...That embrace lasted a full five minutes. I could have held her for hours...Reporters asked me how I felt. What a silly question. I felt everything. Great love for my family. Great relief at their safe arrival. Great concern for those they left behind. I knew many challenges lay ahead" (246).
Quotes from They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky:
"Soon after the helicopter, raiders came to our village. There was no warning Sometimes the elders heard that the northerners were coming and we would leave the village and take our cows to another place.But this attack came suddenly and horribly. Explosions, horses and camels chasing people, shooting, screaming, crying: it was like the end of the world"(108)
"We crawled for long hours. Our hands lost their skin and those who were wearing short trousers scraped their knees. The sun went down to the echo of gunfire behind us. My few grains and precious blanket were left under the tree by the riverbank." (141)
"I think about such things and wonder: Which America, bright or dark, is the truer one? Will America be governed by its principles of loving and helping one another, or by its moments of suspicion and cynicism? I cannot say. All I know is, I have seen a great deal of the best, and some of the worst, of America. As a new American, I must do my part to make things better" (230)
"Some of my friends among the Lost Boys have nightmares. They see their loved ones killed by bullets and shrapnel or seized by the roiling waters or the crocodiles of the Gilo River. How long they must relive the horrors of their childhoods I do not know. They have come halfway around the world, thousands of miles from their African homes, yet they cannot leave Africa behind. Nor should they, I think. They, and I, must learn to be Dinka in America" (237).
"Two years later, in February 2004...my mother and sister landed at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Syracuse's newspaper and television stations had learned about the reunion and joined me at the end of a secure corridor to await the arrival...[My mother and I] collapsed on the floor, rocking back and forth, as my mother chanted in Dinka...That embrace lasted a full five minutes. I could have held her for hours...Reporters asked me how I felt. What a silly question. I felt everything. Great love for my family. Great relief at their safe arrival. Great concern for those they left behind. I knew many challenges lay ahead" (246).
Quotes from They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky:
"Soon after the helicopter, raiders came to our village. There was no warning Sometimes the elders heard that the northerners were coming and we would leave the village and take our cows to another place.But this attack came suddenly and horribly. Explosions, horses and camels chasing people, shooting, screaming, crying: it was like the end of the world"(108)
"We crawled for long hours. Our hands lost their skin and those who were wearing short trousers scraped their knees. The sun went down to the echo of gunfire behind us. My few grains and precious blanket were left under the tree by the riverbank." (141)