About Benson

Even though Benson is the oldest of the three boys he has the most interesting and troubling journey. Also because of his age I believe that his journey is the most unique of them all. As a boy he has to go through the excruciating circumcision and getting his teeth ripped out as a part of Dinka tradition. Benson describes the event in such disturbing detail that it was probably the most gruesome passage to read which says a lot. I think that Benson's journey has been really hard because he had to travel so much farther to finally reach the refugee camp in Kenya. It was troubling to read about Benson in the Ethiopian refugee camp, drenched with rain and how he missed his home and his warm bed. I kept thinking about the time and the year: summer, 1991. I was about 1 year old in the safety of my family’s apartment in Manhattan under the watchful eye of my parents, while Benson, an ocean away and continent away, was soaked to the bone in the cold rain. I was safe just by circumstance of my birth and he was now an orphan who at the time did not even know if he would ever see peace or his next meal. It was very eerie to think about that. Later in his journey, after he meets up with Benjamin and Alepho and they reach the refugee camp they were still not safe. Benson had to face constant hunger and had to risk his life against the locals who wanted to beat him up for money and food, just so he did not die of starvation.