July 8th: Return to Juba, after six months away

Landed in Juba today, after six months away. And this city definitely beats to its own drum.

At the immigration desk they insist on calling me ‘Nyabo,’ because in South Sudan any unmarried or childless female, regardless of age, is considered a girl, and since Nyabo is the Ugandan word for ‘girl’ and I look appropriately non-South Sudanese…

I always have to deal with these assumptions. And when I complained about being neither Ugandan, nor a girl (35 years old is not a girl, its an adult), the only thing this earned me was the right to be shuffled a few counters over to be asked additional questions:  “where do you come from, what are you coming to do here in south sudan, is this your first time here, where do you work, you don’t work? then what do you do? Do you have family here? etc. I definitely feel like a foreigner every time I land here, and even though I consider this to be home.

And I do come here by choice -it’s certainly not even because of any family or work obligations.

However, on the drive from the airport, there were all these cars flying the flag of south sudan and this evening, I hear people out and about celebrating, cars honking and music playing. Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of our independence.This is the reason i am back.

I see numerous editorials talking about we have little to celebrate and this makes me realize how little they understand. Four years ago we waited for days, stood in line for hours, and decided we wanted to stake ownership of our own land. This, for us, will always be worth celebrating, even as we watch ourselves destroy this country. 

Only those who have been stateless know what it means to have nowhere to stake claim to and nowhere that claims us. Only those who have ever experienced being a refugee knows what it means to finally have a homeland. Even when i come back and are made to feel like a foreigner, because i dont 'look' or 'act' south sudanese, it does not take away from the fact that this is still where i belong. 

So yes it still matters. And we must still celebrate it, even if it is for a day. 

We can go back to mourning the direction in which we are headed, the day after July 9th.

President with nine lives

Our president managed to sneak out of S.A despite a court order and came home to cheers and waving his cane.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article55353
25 years of power, acquiring and discarding allies and enemies and ideologies.
With no end in sight.
The most depressing thing about this whole fiasco is that the vast majority of Sudanese honestly did not care one whit.
Self included.

Investing in Human Capital: Putting our Money Behind Our Words

http://www.suddinstitute.org/publications/show/investing-in-human-capital-putting-our-money-behind-our-words/

Beats of the Antonov: New documentary tackles Sudan’s identity crisis

http://www.theniles.org/articles/?id=2432
(trailer is in the link)

from article:

KHARTOUM - In the first ever Sudanese film to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, director Hajooj Kuka records life in the war zones of the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State. - See more at: http://www.theniles.org/articles/?id=2432#sthash.WBDrxyU2.dpuf

In his documentary, ‘Beats of the Antonov’, shown in Canada on Friday, September 5, Kuka challenges Sudan’s limited freedom of expression and shines a light on the nation’s diverse identity.

The film offers an unusual glimpse of citizens at the brunt of state-sponsored wars.

The opening minutes are split between people fleeing from an Antonov bomb and refugees celebrating and dancing in a camp. Their musical instruments are built by the refugees from recycled materials and the lyrics, often composed by the singers themselves, describing war and citizens fleeing.

Nuba Mountains, April 27, 2012.
© Marc HoferDisplacement has reinforced the determination of citizens from the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State to preserve their culture. Music, dance and Nuba wrestling are central features of life in refugee camps. Thanks to this cultural pride, Beats of Antonov, which could be a gruelling tale, is rendered entertaining and human.

The subject of national identity remains politically divisive in Sudan. Often the remit of intellectuals or politicians, this film makes the dialogue national.

So, for once, the identity debate, which is typically loaded with the language of power politics, is addressed through the universal language of art and culture. It becomes accessible to non-organised citizens in a language or medium they can relate to.

Sudan’s conflicts have complex roots, but one underlying theme is the leaders’ post-independence failure to peacefully resolve the identity issues and manage the country’s diversity. The documentary is largely narrated by refugee camp dwellers from the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State and gives a new take on a topic often analysed from the perspective of foreigners. Local religious leaders and traditions also feature in the film, reflecting the region’s religious diversity.

More of Hajooj’s work on The Niles:
Tabanya: Rebuilding lives and homes
by Hajooj Kuka | in SocietyIt also gives a voice to prominent members of Sudan’s civil society. They criticise the regime which 25 years ago arrived with its “civilisation project”, bent on erasing diversity and “Islamising” and “Arabising” Sudan.

Beats of Antonov makes a big contribution towards rebalancing the Sudanese conversation on identity, including cultural, political and religious elements.

Although this it is premiering to an international audience, its real value will come with a screening to audiences around Sudan and its diaspora. As well as fuelling a fresh debate on identity, it will hopefully build bridges of empathy between those urban Sudanese population and diaspora communities who are tightly sealed off from the suffering of the residents of marginalised rural areas and conflict zones.

Nuba Mountains, April 25, 2012.
© Marc HoferSudan’s vast geography, poor infrastructure and multiple wars have meant that many parts of the country are living on islands that never intersect. This isolation from the “other”, based on fear, state propaganda, dogma and ignorance has cemented stereotypes that foster racism, discrimination, and cultural and social ghettos.

And this is also the reason there is no popular anti-war movement to support the marginalised peripheries, regardless of persistent efforts by Sudanese youth movements since 2009.

‘Beats of the Antonov’ shatters both the dominant narrative and the enforced isolation of Sudan’s regions. It tells an important story which could build bridges and kick start a much needed citizen-based dialogue.

Thanks to the courage of the director, ‘Beats of the Antonov’ documents an under-reported war zone. Against the odds, it leaves its audience with a sense of hope, offering a glimpse of the abundant cultural life in Sudan’s regions, cultures which will flourish once peace is finally achieved.

About Hajooj Kuka

Beats of Antonov is Kuka’s second feature documentary covering a war zone in his native country. In 2007 he released Darfur’s Skeleton, which focused on explaining the causes of the conflict and the citizen suffering resulting from the war in Darfur. Just like Beats of Antonov, it was completely narrated by its main subjects — Darfuri citizens.

Kuka has an interest in animation, photography and fiction films; and is also an activist and a member of the non-violent youth-based Sudanese resistance movement, GIRIFNA.

His filming style conjures a dreamy magical realism with long grasping moments of silence. He shies away from talking heads, but when used they are powerful and engaging.

- See more at: http://www.theniles.org/articles/?id=2432#sthash.WBDrxyU2.dpuf

Who is SPLM/A - Juba faction, Radio Tamazuj?

Of late there have been references to an SPLM/A- Juba faction in Radio Tamazuj news (possibly other sites as well, who knows). We have seen news of SPLA-Juba soldiers harassing people (e.g article 1) and of troops loyal to Salva Kiir,  references to a Juba government (article 2), Salva Kiir as leader of an SPLA-Juba faction -this in an article about when he was invited to Washington D.C as the president of the Republic of South Sudan (article 3), and we’ve also seen a cacophony of profiles on who’s who’ in the SPLM-Juba faction (e.g article 4). 

Initially I had assumed that SPLM-Juba was yet another newly minted group within -and yet trying to appear to be without -the main SPLM, i.e yet another faction. 

That is, until I read the introduction to the “Who’s Who’ series, which carries a definition of this SPLM-Juba faction: “SPLM, the ruling party of South Sudan, has fractured since the start of a civil war in December 2013. The faction of the party based in Juba remains under the leadership of President Salva Kiir. The SPLM-Juba faction controls the cabinet, the presidency, a remnant of the SPLA, and several governorships.

I think this was meant to clarify… but I remain very confused. If the ruling party and the national army is now relegated to a faction ( definition: fac·tion¹: a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.), then who now is the main group/party? Did a coup actually happen and we are unaware?

And if the national government now controls a remnant (rem·nant1.  a small remaining quantity of something.) of the national army SPLA, then which is this new, larger army? And more importantly, who is in charge of it?

Lastly, I keep wondering if Tamazuj has single-handedly, and retroactively disenfranchised the 93% of us who voted SPLM  - our current political affiliations notwithstanding in simple words, whether we now think the government is legitimate or not is beside the point, and a matter of conjecture. Also, by denoting this faction as SPLM-Juba, does that mean that it has no membership/ support outside of Juba? None in Aweil? Wau? Rumbek? Kwajok? Yambio? Torit? Bor? Bentiu? Malakal? The rest of the country does not matter? 

1. https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/soldiers-harass-un-patrols-bentiu

2. https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/politics-s-sudan-rebels-accuse-juba-hampering-ceasefire-matrix

3. https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/kiir-expected-washington-machar-khartoum

4. https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/who’s-who-splm-juba-james-wani-igga

P.S: 

While this article is to a small degree tongue in cheek, words do carry weight. And how we choose to express certain things might be taken as evidence of bias. I would like to assume that all this is an oversight on the part of Radio Tamazuj, and if it is, then kalas kweis, let us move on and stop the sectarianism. But if its not… then this raises questions on impartiality and credibility.

How can I drag my nation's name through the mud today?

I imagine that's what various government officials wake up thinking in the morning.
And to be fair , they do find various creative ways to do so.
Take this http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article51459 for eg.
I have not heard one Sudanese support the whole stupid fiasco.I imagine any one with half a brain would think it was a bad idea any way you looked at it,
But it still happened.
And what aggravates me even more was that EVERYONE knew they wouldn't go all the way.
So petty,so irrelevant,ill timed as to be almost comical if a young woman's life didn't hang in the balance.

Thankfully she's free.
Hopefully it never happens again.
Until another official thinks of something stupid to do.

Cholera in Juba

Like we don’t have enough problems.

While driving back into Juba (from Mundri), saw a cholera treatment center  - white tents, health-workers in white overalls and gumboots, tanker trucks – I assume with chlorinated water – (I’d spent the past few days talking to health-workers about cholera- transmission, protection against, and management but I don’t think it had really hit home until I got to Juba.)

Went out to dinner with some friends, and everyone around the table was like, uhm, ya don’t bring any salads, actually anything uncooked…

Knowing Juba, and how swampy it is during the rainy season – I live in Tony Piny, there’s standing water everywhere – and the overall lack of clean drinking water, the really poor sanitation standards - one understands how dire the situation can potentially get.  Like we don’t have enough problems.

There are also cholera cases in Jonglei State.

Add to that talk of half of the country’s population on the brink of starvation. Half. And it really makes one wonder where we are headed.

Perhaps this is what defines a failed state. Some of us are despairing of the state of affairs – months after all this has started, we seem to lack direction, ideas of how to move forward, or anything that one could grasp at.