BoppWeBlog

We made it, it was long, long flight. From the plane we saw the sun go down, up, and back down again. And tomorrow I’m getting on two more planes for a total of 3-4 hours. But these planes will be small and we will hopefully be able to see stuff on the ground. We will be flying to Sudan bright and early. We are calculating things down to the pound (or Kg), because we are at the weight limit of the plane.

The was a great mix if people on the flights over. Many Indian, Muslim, and European people. I thought that was fun. The food was decent on the plane, but it after the 5th meal it got a little old.

We were in Amsterdam for a couple of hours. And it was pretty boring. I was surprised. I was hoping to at least get a glimpse of what the Netherlands is like. But it was as though I had just stepped off the plane into O’Hare or something. Everything was just as it would be in America. All signs were in English (often they didn’t even have translations, in dutch or anything). It was like a mall with tons of stores, but I felt ‘mall stoned’ not long after arriving there, so mostly I just sat and waited.

When we finally arrived in Nairobi, customs went very smooth. We paid more than double what we thought we would need to, and were not able to get them down. In any case, we got our Visas for Kenya, and our Sudan visas came today as well. Some dudes took our luggage, so we would tip them. We chased them yelling for them to let us do it. The men guarding the airport ( and all policemen for that matter) where carrying assault rifles. Interesting to see. I guess this is Africa.

The city is in a very pretty setting. The weather is just right. Maybe around 80, and usually a quick shower every day, but mostly sunny. We are sleeping under mosquito nets. The accommodations are actually quite nice. Certainly better than I thought. There is a lot of security everywhere in this city. I was told that 1/3 of the people protect or provide security for another 1/3 of the population. And the other third are in poverty. There actually seems to be a decent population of ‘middle-class’ people here. It is quite westernized. You can walk into certain buildings and feel like your back in the US. There are people wearing trendy cloths and talking on cell phones all over. We stopped at a flea market today, and I must say, these people were the most aggressive I’ve ever seen, one by one they would follow me/us (the only white people) as we walked by there stands. And after about 15 minutes there were like 30 ‘vendors’ getting in my face, shaking my hand, and working to get me to buy something. I bought nothing. And joked around with them quite a bit. I asked one man if he would be my friend if I didn’t buy anything. He said yes, I said really, then he said no. I then told him to go. To turn around and leave and that I was offended :).

So tomorrow, any glimpse of civilization will be gone. I’m actually looking forward to it. Sleeping under the stars with tribal drums in the background. I won’t post anything most likely till next wed.

Here are a few boring pictures. It’s really really hard to take pictures around here. People all over make a stink about it for some reason. They want to be paid for just being in the vicinity, and think that I’m stealing from them. Weird.

The Mayfield were we are staying, and Aaron and I composing this blog entry.

Over the past few months I’ve been studying the history of Sudan, trying to get a handle on what is going on and why. It is amazing what this loosly bound African nation has been through. Since the European occupation left there has been a battle for who owns what, and how much. Sudan is a huge country, the largest in Africa. And like most nations in Africa it consists of many, many tribes. These tribes for the most part isolated from each other. The simple fact that these many tribes must function as one nation is reason enough for constant turmoil.

How Sudan is Divided

Although there are many divisions through the country there are three major divisions. The northern portion of Sudan is primarily Muslim. This is where the ‘government’ of Sudan is. And is where Khartoum is, the nations capital and biggest city. Because a majority of Sudan is occupied by the Muslim state the country is considered Muslim, and operates using the Islamic Shira Law (polygamy, prohibition of alcohol, etc).

The western portion of Sudan also called the Darfur is also primarily Muslim, but unlike the government power they are not Arab, but African. I won’t claim to be an expert on things going on in this region. But the way I understand things is that the Islamic north including the government see African Muslims as pagans or infidels, and apparently this is fuel for genocide, and the elimination of African Muslims. There is most likely way more to it. I’m sure oil plays a huge role as western and southern Sudan has plenty of it, and northern sudan wants it. This area of late has received most of the press when it comes to this area of Africa because of what is happening there.

Southern Sudan consist mostly of Christian and Animist (which pretty much embodies the tribal religions of the area). South Sudan has been through a long and terrible civil war. Defending themselves against the northern government, and inter-tribal fighting with themselves. South Sudan is now run by the ’sudo-government’ the SPLA, the army of the south. Three years ago a 6 year cease-fire was enacted, so things for the moment are mostly peaceful. Most turbulence is happening in the west (Darfur) which by the way also has a cease-fire with the government but isn’t being enforced. The Dinka are the main tribe of the south.

South Sudan

The Dinka have endured extreme hardships. Many have heard of the ‘Lost Boys’ which is a label used for the young boys, around 10 yeas of age that narrowly escaped the attacks of the north. The men fought (and mostly died) the women and girls were abused and killed. Over the course of up to 5 years these boys traveled in groups around the savannas of Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. They covered thousands of miles. The ones that survived made it through countless attacks by army, and local tribes, as well as attacks by Lions and Hyenas. They had pretty much no food, or water. It is amazing as to what these boys survived. They were young and lacked survival skills, but somehow banded together and a few of them made it. I would recommend the book “They threw fire down on us.” As it is written by three of these lost boys that finally made it to the U.S.

Much of Sudan has be ravaged by war, and unfortunately there isn’t an end. When the cease-fire ends in Sudan with the SPLA and the GOS (government of Sudan). I believe South Sudan will look to secede and become it’s own country.