Wings of a Bird

[The new documentary] “God Grew Tired of Us,” follows the soulful Mr. Dau and two other refugees, the irrepressible Daniel Abol Pach and the down-to-earth Panther Bior, as they leave the camp to take up residence in different parts of the United States. The film bears witness as they confront a strange new world of escalators, indoor plumbing and doughnuts....

The one thing that all of the guys who came to the United States were really surprised by — they ended up in this isolation that I don’t think they were prepared for. John’s roommate called me up one day about a month after they arrived. He was sitting in the apartment by himself, and he said, “This is the very first time I’ve ever, ever been alone.” The most significant thing that I learned from Dinka culture is the importance, the real necessity, of family. Family not in the nuclear sense but family in this big sense, of you should always engage with your neighbors and make sure they’re O.K....

... if somebody got sick in his village, 12 or 18 guys would carry them to the hospital, 75 miles away. Half would lock arms and carry the person, then they would rotate, so they could always keep running. ...