Four years is waaaaay tooo long!

About four years ago, hell broke loose in the western region of the Sudan known as Darfur.
The government unleashed their most destructive weapon, the .....r.....racist! yes I said it, the racist heartless good-for-nothing men known as the "Janjaweed". According to my sources, the Janjaweed were unleashed in Nuba Mountains a number of years ago and surely, they committed similar atrocities. When the Dafurians started their so-called "rebel movement",they had a few very affordable demands (better health care systems, education etc..). For crying out loud, Sudan is not a very poor country, we have OIL! Why couldnt the government fund some development projects there or atleast provide them with basic human needs? Darfur is roughly the size of France! Since independance (1956) not a single proper development project was in Darfur. Darfurians shouldnt live like refugees in their own country! They have plenty of natural resources and oil, the land and their resources should be exploaited the right way and the money should be use for their own development. Oh, I get it now...I understand what this is all about. The Dafurians are getting punished because they are not from the north or they are not Arabs. So, you have to be from the North or you have to be an Arab to be treated like a human being?
Uh-huh, this is interesting because we "Nubians" who happen to be black africans are only treated properly because we are educated/we are Muslims/ we are totally Arabized and we have property and money. No, I must be wrong because education matters! There is no bias and discrimination in sudan because if you got the right education or if you are qualified then you are likely to get a good job (even if your background is not "perfect" , in other words, northern) but how come northern sudanese who happen to be "high school drop-outs" are hired? Excuse my stupidity. They are from the North, they have all the good genes, if you like that sort of thing. They are better than the rest of the country and they are reliable ( according to our beloved leader, west sudanese are unreliable africans.)
According to my own personal sources, nearly 80% of the national wealth belongs to our Northern brothers and sisters. Yes, I know what you are all thinking , I mean when one hears about this, one cant help but think... Fair, Justice, Equality and all their likes.
So, next time you watch tv and you hear about another rebel movement, dont be shocked! They asked for it! Human beings are quite tolerant but they reach a certain stage where they get fed-up and they explode. Noone likes being oppressed..do you? Personally, I hate oppression and I would rather be killed rather than oppressed.
Obviously, I digress alot! I was suppose to write about Darfur but I ended up writing about equality and oppression :)

200,000 dead, 2.5 million displaced and thousands of others are suffering.
4 years is waay too long...

To be Continued

Bashir denies genocide

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir denies government involvement in the ongoing attrocities in Darfur in an interview with NBC's Ann Curry.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036014/

Poetry from Zimbabwe

You Will Forget
By : Chenjerai Hove

If you stay in comfort too long
you will not know
the weight of a water pot
on the bald head of the village woman

You will forget
the weight of three bundles of thatch grass
on the sinewy neck of the woman
whose baby cries on her back
for a blade of grass in its eyes

Sure, if you stay in comfort too long
you will not know the pain
of child birth without a nurse in white

You will forget
the thirst, the cracked dusty lips
of the woman in the valley
on her way to the headman who isn't there

You will forget
the pouring pain of a thorn prick
with a load on the head
if you stay in comfort too long

You will forget
the wailing in the valley
of women losing a husband in the mines

you will forget
the rough handshake of coarse palms
full of teary sorrow at the funeral

If you stay in comfort too long
you will not hear
the shrieky voice of old warriors sing
the songs of fresh stored battlefields

you will forget
the unfeeling bare feet
gripping the warm soil turned by the plough

You will forget
the voice of the season talking to the oxen

The random post

Apparently, I have a mid-term and a research paper due after tomorrow but hey I'm online and I keep writing new posts!

I am writing about women in pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary Iran, how their life changed and their freedom n etc...
I learned very imp things researching for my paper
1- Some time ago, the Shah of Iran banned the veil ( yes! Iranian women could not cover their hair.)Currently, its the oppositite, they have to cover their hair and in some places, the chadur is mandatory or encouraged. ( our "beloved"" president wanted us to become another Iran a few years ago, Sudanese women should dress like Iranian women. We were asked to wear he chadur but we said NO. A big fat NO!. Its qjuite enough that in the 1990's, the veil was mandatory in some places ( Hello there, I'm sudanese, We have various religions in the Sudan but our govt. is intending to islamize the whole country.)
what happened to the teachings of the Quran where you have to respect, tolerate and accept other religions? I dont know. Are they using a different version of the holy Quran? very very very likely! infact, its an enormous possiblity....mmm I should look that up!

for now, I have to go write my research paper but before I do, lots n lots of respect for Iranian women.
God Bless Iranians and Iran
God Bless Darfur and the rest of the Sudan
God Bless the wholeeeee world.

Wholeheartedly- Sudaniya.

My very own identity crisis (part 1)

I posted another identity crisis post concerning sudanese people in general but this is my very own idenity crisis experience!
I'm sudanese by birth and nationality but I'm a citizen of the world by culture.
I grew up in different countries in North Africa and the Middle East and I travelled to many more:), I went to an international school there where I got the chance to meet individuals from different backgrounds. Plus, most if not all my friends were non-sudanese. I have Lebanese, Palestnian, Egyptian, American, Tanzanians, British, Indian, Pakistani, Jordanian, Emirati, Bahreni friends and the list goes on and on and on....
I've always been proud of my Sudanese and African heritage but occasionally, I realize how I am so different from other Sudanese people specially the ones who were raised in the Sudan.
When I go back home, I feel like a tourist, halfcast, I dont know how to put it in words but I just feel that I'm different from the closest people ( my family).
I love Sudanese people and Sudanese culture but I still have ""little"" arguments with family members about a few things I dislike.
mmm...Why are Sudanese people always late? lol ok, I hate being late infact I'm chronically punctual! When my uncle was getting married we went to the place where the wedding was going to take place to get things sorted out before guests start arriving and the guy responsible for the hall is like "" are you guys sudanese? why are you soo early?!""
I always force my family to leave the house early so we can arrive on time but they say "" why should we go wait for people"" lol ok now, I should check if I have any German heritage?lol this punctuality is definitly not part of my African heritage! lol

Imagine you are getting married, you invite your family, close friends and the people who you actually want to be there. Great! but wait a sec, 30 mins goes by and you realize that you've never seen most of the faces sitting infront of you ( Are they Ahmed's family ya rabi? No, I know all of his family, who are they and what are they doing here?) all of a sudden, a woman approaches you and kisses you on the cheek and says "congrats" and you are like HOLD UP! whats going on here? The thing is my dear, its tradition. Yes, its simply tradition. you invited close friends and family members but the people you invited invited their close friends and family members too. In fact, Nafeesa invited her neighbours and her workmates!

How come Sudanese people invite all their friends, family and neighbours if they are inivited to a wedding/party/engagment or any other gathering? Its like hey people I was invited to this thing, come along! okkkk I hate this! When my cousin got married, they had about 500 uninvited guests! seriously, you should only provide seats and food for INVITED people!
When my cousin invited me to her friends wedding, I said no, I'm not going to go because I wasnt invited! ofcourse, she gave me the "what on earth is wrong with you ?look"" followed by the " you are aware that half of the people who will show up are not invited"" lol

Another thing.....mmmm....Think of it this way, you are getting married in a couple of days and you are sorting things out and just relaxing and stuff but...... hey, did you hear that? your neighbours''s grandmother just called you because she wants a glass of water! Hold on, what is she doing here again?
The thing is, your whole family, your friends, your neighbours and their families, their friends and their pets are staying at your place. Why? its a tradition! people have to stay over for atleast two weeks before you get married and two weeks after you get married (yes, even if you are spending your honeymoon in Paris, they are there!)
Apparently, they have to help out, support your family and help sort out your wedding and all...
I really dont know why they are there because it doesnt make any sense!( atleast to me it doesnt!)

I've come to the conclusion that I have to live there for a couple of years to accept such things and see them as "normal"" but for now, I hate being late! I hate people staying over before your wedding because they invade your privacy (wait, privacy in the Sudanese society? isnt your business everybody's business?) and I hate uninvited guests!

Finally, I'm Sudanese all the way and I love the Sudan and the Sudanese no matter what:D


with respect,

Wholeheartedly- Sudaniya