Teach me How to Henna ( teach me how to Henna…)
9/10/2011
Its day 3 in Sudan. My friend still has not found an apartment for me yet. I would help to speed up the process but Im a female and a woman looking for an apartment alone is looked upon as strange in the Middle East. Its better to have a male friend or relative do it so Im leaving it to him. In the meantime Im spending youm Jumma (Friday) with the “family” (that im automatically apart of lol) and watching this middle-aged woman named Manel as she carefully decorates the soles of her feet and toes with the age-old method of henna. This ancient dye comes from the mignonette tree
a plant found in South Asia and subtropical Africa. Today henna is distributed commercially in countries throughout the Middle East. Women like Manal use it on a regular basis on their hands and feet to signify they are married. Brides usually request an especially intricate design on their big day.
09/08/2011
After a one-hour layover in Amsterdam, Netherlands I headed over to my next gate. I knew I was on my way to East Africa when the gate destination mysteriously changed to “Addis Ababa” with only a stop over in Khartoum and hundreds of Ethiopians rushing past me towards the plane. I arrived in Sudan on time enough to miss my friend who was suppose to pick me up from the airport. He arrived late of course..Sudanese time. In the meantime while buying a new sim for my phone and exchanging some money I observed hospitality was still in full affect as everyone (meaning all the men employees throughout the airport) asked me “Ahlan Kayf Sudan?”, which means “Welcome How is Sudan?”. Sometimes i know they mean “Why Sudan???” (because they say it) as Im coming from America and they assume the life is better there.
In the Meantime..
While I am waiting to fly back to Sudan and obtain my visa (which shouldnt take too long) I have been watching a few documentaries on the Darfur situation to refresh the details. Even though they were from 2004 and did not really show me what to expect me for the present, I do plan to explore Darfur with a few friends who promised to show me around, I did find the interviews very touching. I could see the determination in the young SLA (Sudan Liberation Army) soldiers voice when he said “I am young but no one will humiliate me”. Very powerful and he looked about 12 or 13 years old. I have come to the revelation that refugees and their stories are apart of my passion. As a Christian I believe that this earth and its current condition is not my final home and that I am simply a nomad passing through. I sympathize with these Sudanese refugees in Chad and refugees all over the world who fled there homes some to return others who never will. They simply want to go home. A certain refugee camp for Syrians is now allowing journalists and regular people in so I am contemplating stopping there and doing some interviews before heading to Khartoum. This is an email excerpt that I sent to my good friend who is currently a journalist in Cairo and arabic language student, heres a snippet:
“Hi Aurora,
Over the last few days ive been pouring over documentaries as well as books on the refugees in Darfur and Chad. It is shameful but I did not visit one refugee camp in Jordan. What was i doing?? Watching those Darfur documentaries from 2004 brought me to the present. What about those Syrians and Palestinians who are now without a home in Turkey…and the new Libyan refugees? Its a vicious domino scenario. Anyways God willing I can visit the camp in Turkey..i trust the security there and can probably get directions from Zainab, whose currently there, on how to get to the camp listed below. I want to start documenting these people. Im also going to visit some places listed in my notebook in Darfur since some people have offered to take me. I know the situation in Darfur isnt half as bad as it was years ago but Im sure the people still have a lot to say.”
I also ordered a few books. Its hard for me to find good ones but reading is so important to me and Im excited about the ones i chose. I will do short reviews on them along my journey! Titles include:
The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur
- Daoud Hari, Dennis Michael Burke, Megan M. McKenna
thats it for now .. tootles!
سلام
I absolutely love this one. Women everywhere want protection and long life for their families but at the same time they are not afraid to stand up and speak for themselves.
موطني
الشباب لن يكل … همه أن يستقل … أو يبيد
نستقي من الردى … ولن نكون للعدى … كالعبيد
لا نريد
ذلنا المؤبدا … وعيشنا المنكدا
لا نريد … بل نعيد … مجدنا التليد
The youth shall not tire; their concern is to gain independence or perish
We would [rather] drink from death [than] ever to become the enemy’s slaves
We want neither permanent humiliation, nor a lifetime of sorrow
What we want is to regain our honorable glory.
”I Refuse to Think of Africa or any continent not located on the Western Hemisphere like this”
Sex and Politics in Sudan…and it was only my first week!
After days of futile waiting for a reply from the University of Africa, a local uni where I plan to enroll in intensive Arabic Courses, I accepted an invitation and visa from an international school owned by a Sudanese man in Khartoum. Every foreigner needs a “purpose” for being in Sudan that mostly requires an invitation from the inside. And this school was my ticket! Little did I know the Owner had his eye on me from the beginning. He was not the typical sweet old Sudanese man offering cookies and tea and despite having a wife he wanted a side piece. After a few inappropriate phone calls I decided enough was enough and to ask for the return of my passport and it was required I exit the country. In Muslim countries its always better for a woman to be with her family or her husband so as not to “played” with. I guess I was “open game”. Most Muslim nations are very respectful women so no woman, foreign or native, wants to be treated with anything less than respect especially in public. The owner had a reputation for being a jealous man and basically tried to black list me so I could not receive a future visa. My return to my country was not a happy time for me. I waited a total of two months and was unable to go to Juba for the celebration of the long awaited official ceremony for the independence of Southern Sudan. Fortunately friends of mine there were able to clear my name and provide me not only a personal invitation visa but an official acceptance letter for the Uni to present to my home embassy. Sudanese kindness as well as hospitality proved to prevail over evil. Despite that negative experience I met amazing people during my initial four weeks in the country so I continued to focus on that and my purpose for being there. Its been a long pause and frustrating at times but I have only a short wait now until I fly back to Sudan.
Sum of Parts (Me) and how this journey came to be
Im a 20 year old individual who studied political science at a pretty famous historically black university in the heart of DC. I have not finished yet but sincerely believe that the majority of our learning takes place outside the classroom. So as a student of Middle Eastern and East African affairs I consider this a critical time in history to go “live” it. I had humble beginnings in the South and developed a love for the arabic language while in college. I love to read, talk and write and just recently this past year began to use my talents for journalism. I dont let the news reports scare me away from whole cultures and would even visit Iran when I have the opportunity. Not to mention Ive got a few nomadic friends from the Uni and we encourage one another in our journeys and share our experiences. Before traveling to Sudan I lived in Jordan while studying there for five months last year (Spring 2010) and have visited Syria as well as Egypt a month before her Revolution in January 2010. Some would say I’ve traveled “a lot” but I just believe if your in “the area” you might as well visit neighbors. My university has a huge focus on African history and its current political, economic and social affairs so how not better to combine my language study, interest in the Middle East and Africa then to travel to Sudan سودان
![I absolutely love this one. Women everywhere want protection and long life for their families but at the same time they are not afraid to stand up and speak for themselves.
موطنيالشباب لن يكل … همه أن يستقل … أو يبيدنستقي من الردى … ولن نكون للعدى … كالعبيدلا نريدذلنا المؤبدا … وعيشنا المنكدالا نريد … بل نعيد … مجدنا التليد
The youth shall not tire; their concern is to gain independence or perishWe would [rather] drink from death [than] ever to become the enemy’s slavesWe want neither permanent humiliation, nor a lifetime of sorrowWhat we want is to regain our honorable glory.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnl10uZAdx1qe460vo1_1280.jpg)
