Sunday, July 31, 2011

1/5 of a decade later....

The air of depression was so pungent in Khartoum it almost masked the residue of the passing "kataha" (sandstorm) that filled the skies as much as it found its way into your nasal passage.

It's been two years. Not only two years since my last blog entry but also since I last visited Sudan.


Much has changed over the past couple of years - globally and within my birth country. And as I prepared for my visit "home" just 2-weeks after the official inauguration of South Sudan, I could not help but wonder how SO much of nothing has probably changed. A country's split, redrawing of the borders, a tear across the land - is not something I feel a regular citizen walking across the street notices or outwardly feels. I did not anticipate any difference, regardless of all the despair splashed across my peers' social networking platforms. I just didn't buy it.


I wasn't incredibly wrong, either. Generally speaking, what I came across was not the feelings of loss at a redrawn border, rather an increased level of depression and discontentment among, primarily, the youth. It was a heightened level of what I had seen a couple of years earlier. The regular citizen was just - fed up. Even friends who were working decent jobs, were well traveled, educated etc, were shadowed by a certain gloom that surpassed all walks of life.


It baffled me. Nothing drastic has happened within the past 2 years (aside from the obvious split into 2 countries, and I could tell that this somber mood had been brewing since before the South’s secession). Was it the soaring food prices? The fact that our neighbors and nations across the way were fighting (and semi-achieving) their rights and we were benched during the big game? Rising unemployment? Was it internal politics? Or was it just the damn heat?


It could be none of the above or it could be a blend of all. What I can probably say with confidence is: protests are ignited by overarching feelings of misery at the state of your country. Calm down, overly-zealous news stations, I doubt there’s going to be a need for headlining "Sudan uprising " anytime soon, there are entirely too many pieces missing in the puzzle (which I will get into in a later blog – hey, I’m back why not?!).

However, you can’t start a fire without a spark.

3 comments:

Hashim said...

Welcome back. Keep it going. Hashim

yahya ahmed said...

The sense of lethargy and depression is a result of two decades of impoverishment and brainwashing George Orwell style. On one hand this young country is kept poor and we are stifled intellectually because we are constantly drilled that our sins and the Zionist American Lobby is the reason why we suck in every facet of life including sports. We have a delusional racist dancing president that systematically butchers his own people (purpose extermination of Darfurians by "special forces". To complement the political hegemony of NCP we have clerical and religious institutions that condemn all who challenge the political leadership to hell as heretics. I go to Friday prayers to hear sermons about how droughts and high food prices are the result of people's sins and immorality (courteousy of Abdu al Hay Youssif and the likeminded) . People are disgusted and exhausted and have lost faith in their country.We complain only by saying Alhamdulilah which is a way of saying that this is our fate. There is an entire generation ( 50% of pop is under 25) and have known nothing but this regime.

I have been in Sudan for 10 months, after many years in the United States. I am disappointed and embarrassed for my country compared to how we fare on the HDI.

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