i have a friend who had to flee Juba, South Sudan
after being arrested, beaten and tortured by my government.
In December - he was 'disappeared' into national security 'prison' - for almost a month, nobody knew where he was
he was released in January- and less than a week later, 'kidnapped', beaten and tortured, before being dumped in a cemetery.
who are these people?
who does this?
"we did not kill you (yet) but we will dump your body in a cemetery, just in case."
who thinks like this?
have we become *this inhumane?*
he is one of many.
too many of us now have stories of 'those who have to flee Juba.'
And yet, *this* is what we fought against.
The right to have freedom of speech, religion, movement... to have a country. to never live in exile again
to never be refugees.
the irony of this, is not lost on me.
i spoke with him yesterday and he was talking about possibly having to go back- to Juba
if there are no remaining options
and also.... i think he still believes that it is necessary for (some of us) to remain,
and try to change things
to help alleviate the suffering of the majority
or that perhaps he can go back and just be quiet and that by staying under the radar, they will let him be.
these are the options our young people now have. be docile, and quiet. or else...
i find it really hard to reconcile this reality to that of 2009 when i moved to live and work in (then) Sudan
(as many of us did. very idealistic, very optimistic. very hopeful. we are going to rebuild. we will show the rest of the world...)
in less than a decade, here we are... our friends have to flee the country -
there are those of us who have to seek political asylum.
it is now *we* who are facing accusations of human rights abuses. and they are justified.
*this is what we were fighting against, those many years in the bush*
*this* was the basis for my referendum vote- separation... because never again should we have to be marginalized.
the irony is not lost.
so now I feel like i am stuck in the U.S. - because i don't see how i could go and live and work there
even though i still think my work is necessary....
my reasons for getting even *more* education was solely for this...
I could go back and be more effective....Perhaps find a better way to build/manage a health system... improve lives
but....how do we function in a quickly collapsing government?
one that does not seem to care about its populace?
how can we talk about making things better, while we are also destroying the very things that makes us humane
This will be the first time I am missing the July 9th independence celebrations
this has always been one of my favourite times in Juba.
to celebrate who we are and where we have come from and be amazed that 'we are a country!'
Its been a long while since i felt that there is much to celebrate.
its been a long while since i had pride in us being a country.
the irony of this, is not lost on me.
after being arrested, beaten and tortured by my government.
In December - he was 'disappeared' into national security 'prison' - for almost a month, nobody knew where he was
he was released in January- and less than a week later, 'kidnapped', beaten and tortured, before being dumped in a cemetery.
who are these people?
who does this?
"we did not kill you (yet) but we will dump your body in a cemetery, just in case."
who thinks like this?
have we become *this inhumane?*
he is one of many.
too many of us now have stories of 'those who have to flee Juba.'
And yet, *this* is what we fought against.
The right to have freedom of speech, religion, movement... to have a country. to never live in exile again
to never be refugees.
the irony of this, is not lost on me.
i spoke with him yesterday and he was talking about possibly having to go back- to Juba
if there are no remaining options
and also.... i think he still believes that it is necessary for (some of us) to remain,
and try to change things
to help alleviate the suffering of the majority
or that perhaps he can go back and just be quiet and that by staying under the radar, they will let him be.
these are the options our young people now have. be docile, and quiet. or else...
i find it really hard to reconcile this reality to that of 2009 when i moved to live and work in (then) Sudan
(as many of us did. very idealistic, very optimistic. very hopeful. we are going to rebuild. we will show the rest of the world...)
in less than a decade, here we are... our friends have to flee the country -
there are those of us who have to seek political asylum.
it is now *we* who are facing accusations of human rights abuses. and they are justified.
*this is what we were fighting against, those many years in the bush*
*this* was the basis for my referendum vote- separation... because never again should we have to be marginalized.
the irony is not lost.
so now I feel like i am stuck in the U.S. - because i don't see how i could go and live and work there
even though i still think my work is necessary....
my reasons for getting even *more* education was solely for this...
I could go back and be more effective....Perhaps find a better way to build/manage a health system... improve lives
but....how do we function in a quickly collapsing government?
one that does not seem to care about its populace?
how can we talk about making things better, while we are also destroying the very things that makes us humane
This will be the first time I am missing the July 9th independence celebrations
this has always been one of my favourite times in Juba.
to celebrate who we are and where we have come from and be amazed that 'we are a country!'
Its been a long while since i felt that there is much to celebrate.
its been a long while since i had pride in us being a country.
the irony of this, is not lost on me.
