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High Life Thursday, November 29, 2001
Features
Lost Boys of Sudan find new life in America
After more than a decade
of flight from persecution
in their homeland, sixteen
of these Sudanese refu
gees arrive in the Triad to
begin anew.
By Rachel Weeks
Editor-in-Chief
In the mid 1980s, while most
Grimsley students were just en
tering the world, some 17,000
boys from southern Sudan were
leaving one behind.
There were no plans or prepa
rations. Some returned home in
the evening to the sound of gun
fire, others watched loved ones
killed before their eyes by gov
ernment forces from the north.
Without a safe place to call home
and in a chance act of despera
tion, they did the only thing hu
mans know to do when overcome
by fear—they ran. Only about
10,000 would make it to the refu
gee camps.
Over a decade later, after
years spent in various camps
throughout Ethiopa and Kenya,
16 of the 2,000 Lost Boys of
Sudan already settled in the
“These people are he
roes on a whole new
level...Their courage and
effort in life really amaze
me.”
-Alan Kinlaw,
junior
United States are living in
Greensboro. Thanks to the ef
forts of senior Nazaneen
Homaifar and Ms. Enright, her
advisor for Teens Active in
Greensboro Service (TAGS), four
of these men made it to
Grimsley’s Media Center to
speak alongside their case man
ager from Lutheran. Family Ser
vices, Angelos Agok, on No
vember 7‘\
The turn-out far exceeded
Homaifar’s expectations; over
160 people attended the event,
and the men who spoke seemed
equally amazed. “We thank you
for being here,” they said
throughout the evening, pen
etrating the crowd with the sin
cerity of their eyes.
The program was introduced
by Agok, the case manager for
the men who spoke with a firm
vitality about the harsh realities
of what is Africa’s longest war,
still being fought in Sudan.
While most listened intently to
the men profiled during the view
ing of a “60 Minutes” segment,
what held the audience rapt in
silence were the individual sto
ries and faces of the men there
to share their experiences.
Their stories seemed incon
ceivable as each unfolded his
personal history. As they spoke,
the eyes of the listeners seemed
lost in the images of African wil
derness, reaching to understand
what barely seemed possible.
Barely escaping lions, drinking
urine for survival, almost giving
up out of staggering exhaustion;
at the ages of 8 and 9, the boys
had given new meaning to brav
ery and determination.
“When I left home in 1987,1
did not know what was
happening...It was not in my
dreams to cross all of those
mountains, to come to
America... there must be a plan,”
Justice, one of the Lost Boys,
said as he searched the faces of
the group. As Daniel told his
story, he said, “In Kenya I was
totally hopeless. That was where
I got the name Lost Boy...I was
lost in life.”
A question and answer ses
sion wrapped up the evening,
and for some, it was the most in
teresting part, as the men offered
a more intimate look at their lives
in Greensboro and their hopes
for the future: namely, to attend
college.
“These people are heroes on
a whole new level...Their cour
age and effort in life really amaze
me,” junior Alan Kinlaw said.
Senior Lauren Moore expressed
her sympathy for their effort to
save enough money to go to col
lege: “They have worked so hard
to get a life free of violence and
to get an education, and I take
for granted the opportunity to go
to school,” she said.
Perhaps the most important
lesson of the evening came from
Daniel, who said, “It is not a story
about the past, it is a story of
what is happening today in
southern Sudan.” While these
men are resettled and must face
new challenges in America, thou
sands more wait in Sudan, hop
ing for an end to a conflict that
has torn their nation apart for
more than half a century.
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Weeks photo
Angelos Agok, the Lost Boys’ case worker at Lutheran Family
Services, tells of the trials and tribulations the boys faced on their
way to America.
Cook Out clearly superior in frozen dessert field
Critic crowns Cook Out
milkshake champion of
Greensboro.
By Elizabeth Hardwick
Staff Writer
As the days become short and
that autumn chill mixes with the
radiant shine of the sun, I can
think of nothing better than curl
ing up with a thick, fulfilling
milkshake. For a city of its size,
Greensboro is surprisingly lack
ing in ice cream shops. What it
lacks in quantity, however, it
makes up for in quality and vari
ety.
I visited four places in
Greensboro that are well known
for either having good shakes, or
good ice cream- thus most likely
having good milk shakes as well.
For fairness’ and comparison’s
sake, at each restaurant or ice
cream shop I ordered a choco
late shake, or an equivalent spe
cialty shake with a chocolate el
ement in it.
First on my hit list was
Swenson’s at Fridndly Center,
where I ordered a Chocolate
Fudge Brownie shake for $4.21
with tax (about $.19/oz.). This
shake was huge, measuring an
impressive 22 oz., and it came
topped with a mountain of
whipped cream. As I endeavored
to take my first sip of the shake,
I realized that it was too thick for
a straw- I would need the aid of
a spoon. The ice cream part of
the shake revealed itself to have
simply that average, chocolate
ice cream flavor. However, the
numerous, chewy chunks of
moist brownies kept the shake
afloat.
Coldstone Creamery at
Brassfield shopping center, the
only shop I reviewed offering ice
cream exclusively, boasts a wide
array of ice cream flavors as well
as over 20 high quality toppings
that can be mixed in for an addi
tional $.49. I selected a Double
Dutch Chocolate shake with a
brownie mixed in for $4.11 (at 20
oz, about $.21/oz.). While this
shake was not thick at all, and
the brownie was ground up so
fine that it no longer had its own
identity, the brownie blended
well to create an excellent over
all taste. The rich flavor did not
at all resemble that synthetic, me
diocre flavor of the average
chocolate ice cream; this shake’s
flavor could best be described as
“a liquid brownie.”
Next I traveled to Summit Av
enue to visit Mayberry’s, which
offers sandwiches and sides, but
whose true business is ice cream.
Here I got a simple, “no frills”
chocolate shake for $2.28 (18 oz;
$. 13/oz.). This shake was a straw-
collapser. I needed a spoon to
consume it. Its refreshing cold
ness also made me realize that my
previous two shakes weren’t
cold at all, coldness being a de
sirable characteristic of a milk
shake. This shake had a simple,
yet satisfying flavor, but the
name “chocolate shake” de
ceives the consumer here. If this
shake wasn’t brown, I would
have thought I received the
wrong thing.
Finally, Cook Out on Battle
ground, a favorite among many
Whirlies, offered the old standby.
For $2.01 with tax I ordered the
Choco Chip milk shake (18oz;
$.11/oz.). Even though the menu
name of the shake and its lack of
description didn’t easily reveal
the type of shake I would be get
ting, I was content with what I
received. I discovered that the
shake I ordered was vanilla with
chocolate chip cookie chunks.
The flavor of the actual ice cream
of the shake wasn’t anything
special, as the cookies were what
really defined it. In every bite of
this perfectly thick shake, a taste
of freshly baked, crispy, choco
late chip cookies was discernible.
To top it off, the shake was cold:
it was the only shake I sampled
that gave me that brain freeze that
is satisfying in any good ice
cream dish.
If that sweet tooth strikes you
and you are prepared to indulge
yourself in a delectable d’ose of
milk shake, don’t let your con
science be your good guide, look
no further than one of these four
establishments. Whether look
ing for thickness, texture, flavor,
temperature, or price, everyone’s
ideal shake is out there.
Weeks photo
Food critic Elizabeth Hardwick contemplates the merits of Cook
Out’s Choco Chip milk shake as she takes one last slurp.