5 posts tagged “sudan”
Track and Field has started at the Olympics! I am of course very excited about Lopez Lomong.
Lomong of course is already a winner in everyone's book, having survived horrific life threatening situations in Sudan and Kenya. Hi sstory is so enthralling and inspiring, he was hands down chosen to be the US flag bearer at the opening ceremony, which was a great honor. I'm pleased that he saw it that way and took it quite seriously, saying “This is the most exciting day ever in my life,” Lomong said. “It’s a great honor for me that my teammates chose to vote for me. I’m here as an ambassador of my country, and I will do everything I can to represent my country well.” and it has been noted by journalist Jennifer Engel that :
"Many Team USA members have been under pressure to use their considerable platform to speak out against a narrow view of human rights in China and China's involvement in Sudan. The choice of Lomong as the flag bearer is quite genius. He is the reminder. "
Lomong commented further "The American flag means everything in my life, everything that describes me, coming from another country and going through all of the stages that I have to become a U.S. citizen," Lomong said. "This is another amazing step for me in celebrating being an American."
I think it's wonderful that Lomong was put forth as the flag bearer. He is a powerful image of what America can be for people, and its needed right now as we are embroiled in so many conflicts and disasters at home and abroad. It's important not to forget that this can still be a land of opportunity and hope.
I think, however, he is interested in being a medal winner at the Olympics, and being known for his skill and talent, rather than just his history.
Lomong is also wonderfully concious and aware of his unique position at the Beijing games. Not only is he running for the USA and representing the country in an admirable way, he is also a strong reminder of the problems faced in Sudan. Many many atheletes are aware of Darfur, and have joined Team Darfur founded by Joey Cheek in an attempt to raise awareness and put pressure on the Sudanese Goverment. China of course is a strong supporter of Sudan, and has revoked several Team Darfur members visas. Thus, Lomongs prescence is even more important as he is on such an international stage. As he says,
" When we were in Africa, we didn't know what was there for us as kids--we just ran. God was planning all of this stuff for me, and I didn't know. Now I'm using running to get the word out about how horrible things were back in Sudan during the war. Sometimes these things are not on CNN, so if I put out the word, I hope people can get the information. Right now, similar terrible things are going on in Darfur; people are running out of Darfur, and I put myself in their shoes.
Lomong, along with fellow naturalized American Lagat (of kenya) did not have outstanding heats. Both of them became boxed in at the back or ear back of the pack and had to use quite a bit of energy to essentially go around the crowd. Both Lagat and Lomong said they felt the semis were sort of a warm up, but i am concerned because Lomong did exactly the same thing in the trials. He;s so strong and capable, he just has to not get boxed in.
You can send a message of support to Lomong and other Athletes of Team Darfur!!! Just click here.
No Matter what Happens Lomong to me remains the coolest person at the Olympics, and the one I;d most like to meet.
You can see Lomong running again on Sunday!
I Love the Olympics. So many stories come out of them, remarkable people, incredible performances, great stories. I know many people are not pleased with the venue this time around. I myself am not pleased at all. After a lot of thought though, I know the atheletes didn't have any choice about the venue and there is for many, just a short window of time for this experience. I can not imagine how the qualifiers for the 1980 Olympic team felt after working so hard for no opportunity to compete. I can not wait to see the spectacular track and field events!
Today I want to write a little about Lopez Lomong. Lomong is a fairly new citizen of the United States. He is one of the legendary Lost Boys of Sudan. These were boys who had essentially raised themselves in the refugee camps in Northern Kenya.
Lopez credits running for saving his life, as he was able to escape a camp for child soldiers through a hole in a fance and run to the relative safety of a Kenyan Refugee camp.
He then came to the US, where he is now known as the King of Flagstaff, running for Northern Arizona Univeristy, is competing in the 1500 agaist better know greats such as Bernard "Kipo" Lagat who actually competed for Kenya in the 2004 Olympics, but now is a US citizen, and Alan Webb .
Lomong comes from a world which I know, but only superficially. Many of you know I worked in South Sudan in 2004-5. I was there when the Peace Treaty was signed (Actually I was on R and R in kenya, but well, I was still in service, just resting). I've visited a variety of those refugee camps and know the conditions aren't really good, despite the best efforts of relief agencies. He, like most Lost Boys had to make big adjustments in coming to the US. Everything was new, electricity, elevators, McDonalds, supermarkets.... and running, I am sure was somewhat different. Because of my own work in Akuem, South Sudan, I feel a very strong connection to this remarkable young man who I will probably never meet. While I certainly had a taste of life in The Sudan, my life there was considerably easier and more secure than Lomong's. I served as a witness to the tragedies, while Lomong experienced them personally.
Lomong says now that he is running for both the United States and for the Sudanese who never had a chance to run.
I'm cheering him on in the trials, and hoping he gets a chance to represent the many who have experienced the violence, hunger and poverty due to the war in Sudan.
Go Lomong Go!
I've gotten into the habit of watching The Today Show. This morning, Ann Curry, had an exclusive interview with the President of Sudan. You can look here to see some video. Usually, I try to sort of avoid the hoopla regarding Darfur. One thing most Americans do not understand is that Darfur isn't a new phenomena. The same thing occurred for 21 years, yes 21 years in South Sudan, and not a finger was lifted then, most people weren't aware of it at all, so excitement over Darfur makes me wonder, what about the rest of Sudan...just because the South was not visited by Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Anniston doesn't mean that it was any less tragic or hideous.
Today, however, I decided to watch. I do think, frankly, Ann Curry was a poor choice. Women really are not respected in Sudan, and I could tell the President had actually taken a patronizing tone with her. But, all that said, I find myself quite angry. al-Bashir blatantly denied any difficulties in the Darfur region! He stated that the displaced people "have everything that they need provided for them." He then stated that rape of a woman was impossible in Sudan because it is a crime against God! After this, he abruptly told Ann Curry that she did not understand Sudan like he did, and the troops from the UN would not be useful because they also do not know Sudan. Soooo.
The displaced people do not have everything they need. Although I have not been in Darfur, I can say that there are chronic problems with water supply, chronic problems with food needs, problems with infectious disease, as too many people are living too close together in these situations. The daily pattern of life has been terribly disrupted, this most social systems are also disrupted, allowing things like rape to occur easily. People are quite distressed by this. Many children have been born in camps and really have no idea of a different way of life. Part of the problem with aid to Darfur is that al-Bashir's government has tied up so many supplies with red tape in Khartoum. In addition, visas for that area have been severely limited.
Now, I'll agree with al-Bashir, Ann Curry does not understand Sudan. She really doesn't, though I'm sure she did her research and all, as in any situation, just research usually won't get anyone to a full understanding of the situation. I lived in Sudan, and feel as if I never got a full understanding of the Sudanese life.
One thing I do know is that al-Bashir is severely compromising the health of his country. I used to teach a unit of cultivation of crops. Each time I taught it, I would ask the guys to name blocks to cultivation. The blocks the lesson plan wanted to talk about were things like pests, lack of rain, or poor soil. What inevitably came out was "war" suddenly I was plunged into story after story of the "arab militia" coming on horses, burning crops and killing fathers. Most of the men believed they were still at some risk of this happening again. Several shared that their mothers no longer even start to plant anymore because they feel it's fruitless.
Well. al-Bashir made a bold comment that he will have to answer to God for anything that has happened to any citizen of Sudan. I sincerely hope that is true.
just taking a moment to express my outrage on this fine morning.
I decided today that my hand is not the most exciting topic, though it does occupy my mind say 85% of the time! So... I thought I'd share a bit about my life prior to this one...
Between 2004-2006, I volunteered for MSF. Prior to that, I had worked with a variety of other, lesser known ngo's.
South Sudan and Liberia were my two assignments with MSF. Both were difficult for me, and while I will go back to Africa I probably will not go with them, or for as long as I did...
Prior to going to Sudan, I wasn't an Africa virgin. I'd done work in Eritrea and also the Delta in Nigera. I was arrested in Eritrea for an unknown reason...and then released again after some discussion with the surgeon I worked with...and Nigeria, especially the Delta region really isn't for Sissies either. But none of that prepared me for South Sudan. No electricity, people living in mud huts for real, no running water, living in a tent, essentially outside for 6 months was definitely different.....
South Sudan is more likethe Africa that most Americans imagine. While the only really wild animals I saw were interesting birds, lotsa snakes, and an errant hedgehog, it really was an entirely different world.
To get to my assignment I got to fly from Lokichoggio
To Akuem, South Sudan in this contraption:
Which for me was not so nice or fun. The plane, however would become something I totally looked forward to because it grought the mail, the food, our emails and the beer. The plane came every two weeks. So occasionally we would run out of stuff and get quite cranky. My favorites were pringles and soda... sooooo healthy yeah?
My job was to manage the Feeding Center of TFC s it was known. The TFC was about a kilometre away from the rest of the hospital. Of course there were bikes availablem but I can not ride one. And these were huge Chinese bikes. They all looked as if they were made for Yao Ming!
As an Emergency Room nurse, the TFC was sort of a not very exciting job. You feed the kids... they grow, it can be a bit more complicated, but in general thats it....
My bigger troubles were learning to do things like the work roster, discipline staff, figure out why we were always short of food stocks, and why certain kids never grew at all....why some staff couldn't measure milk, or chart growth correctly....
Even though I thought the job a little boring, there was a lot I didn't know. We get a handoff from the previous expat, but much of that then goes on what that ex-pat knew. There is also a manual, but as often is the case the manual was pretty general. It didn't deal with mothers who ate the theraputic milk themselves!!!!
Lucky for me, midway through my time, a real nutrition expert came on as Med-co...She came and made gads of suggestions. I felt about 2 inches high, but she gave me all the tools to really improve things. With her permission, I retrained the staff.
Some of these guys did not even know where their stomach was... They were very smart men, but all had had their education disrupted by the 21 year War... They could all read English and couldspeak Englishm the Dinka language, as well as other dialects. We had a lot of interesting discussions about life in general. I remember once trying to tell them about where I worked at home. I had to describe in detail the workings of an elevator.
We had a lot of good times there as well. I particularly began to enjoy the children...Here is my favorite boy from the outpatient feeding program... bol mau. He used to come as sit on my lap each visit, which is a big deal because most kids were terrified by me as I wasn't just a little white. I finally taught Bol how to graph his weight if I put the points in.
This is Bol
And Aneck was another of my favorites. She had both tuburculosis and malnutrition, which is actually pretty common. Since we don't have xray equipment there or the Mantoux Test we used the Crofton Score, which seems to have been fairly accurate, but then again TB is pretty widespread in that area. Aneck's Mom was amazing. She did it all right and both her children were cured in a relatively short time. I was sad to see her go:
So... there's a teeny slice of life for me in South Sudan. A peace treaty was signed in the middle of my time there, but it really didn't change too much...In general at the point in time when I was there it was pretty safe...occasional shooting of ducks in the night....but nothing overtly bad... In the past yes, but not for me...
Show us something thought-provoking.
Submitted by luminousshadow11. Uploaded this one sort of wrong, but I imagine it will provoke some thought and reactions.
