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Debating A Southerner (3): Prof. Jok Madut Jok
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Aug 9, 2010 - 10:09:09 AM
DEBATING A SOUTHERNER (3): Prof. Jok Madut Jok
Prof. Jok Madut Jok:
Born in Bahr Algazal in Southern Sudan. PhD, University of California.
Associate professor of history, Loyola Marymount University, California. Author of �War and Slavery in Sudan� and �Sudan: Race, Religion and Violence.�
Recently, both of us participated in an e-mail debate about the future of the South. He was the only Southerner among a group of Northern academics, journalists and writers.
Here are some of his comments and my responses.
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Jok:
�What explains this sudden outburst of a non-genuine cry for a paradise lost?�
Me:
Don�t you know terms like: �nationalism,� �patriotism� and �pride�?
1. You are a history professor; don�t you know the history of the French nationalism (starting in 1789) and the German nationalism (starting in 1815)?
2. You follow the news; don�t you know that the Germans and the French are now leading Europe towards a �European nationalism� that will supersede boundaries, languages, ethnic groups and religious sub-groups?
3. You studied in Egypt; didn�t you hear the Egyptians proudly singing �Biladi, biladi, biladi, laky hobi wa fo�adi� (My country, my country, my country. My heart and my mind belong to you)?
4. You have been in American for many years; didn�t you hear Bruce Springsteen
signing: �Born in the USA�?
5. You are a Sudanese; didn�t you hear the national anthem saying: �In da�a da�i alfida lan nakhn. Natahada almot ind almihan� (When sacrifice calls, we don�t retreat. We challenge death in times of disasters)? Do you know that a Northerner wrote the words and a Southerner wrote the music?
The Sudanese nationalism is centuries-old; long before Islam and Arabism. The Nubia�s kings were Black and pagan, and the Alwa�s kings were Black and ardent Christians.
For centuries, the Sudanese, Northerners and Southerners, sacrificed for their country. Ali Abdulateef, leader of 1924 revolt against the British rule, was a Southerner.
Brother Jok:
You call this �non-genuine cry for a paradise lost�?
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Jok:
�It is cheap for all of you to be crying at this hour.�
Me:
It is cheap of you to say this is �cheap.� Most of the time, while working on the computer in my office in the National Press Building in Washington, DC, I listen to Radio Omdurman. Last week, my tears ran down when Ahmed Almostafa sang my favorite nationalistic song: �Ana Omdurman.�
He sang: �Ana ibn al shamal sakanto galbi, ala ibn al janoob damait doloo�i� (I put the Northerner in my heart and the Southerner in my chest).
Strange that I cried!
I have been living in Washington for more than 30 years. More than 20 years ago, I became an American citizen. I swore allegiance to the US. I don�t use the Sudanese passport. I rarely visit Sudan. Recently, I started feeling I am part of this Great Western Civilization, this White Christian Civilization.
But, as much I feel I am an American, I feel I am a Sudanese. Actually, the more I feel American, the more I feel Sudanese. Therefore, I believe the unity of Sudan is as important as the unity of the US.
Brother Jok;
You call crying for the unity of Sudan �cheap�?
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Jok:
�It is cheap for a few medical students from Khartoum University to embark on a caravan to the South, to give Aspirin to Southern people.�
Me:
I heard about that on Radio Omdurman. Again, my tears ran down when the group, after arriving in the South, sang a nationalist song I still remember from Argo Elementary School.
In Sudan�s geography class, I studied Mungo (St. Mungo) Zimbiri, a Southern boy in Yambio. At the end of the lesson, the whole class stood up and cheerfully
sang: �Anta sudani wa sudani ana. Damana alwadi faman yafsilona. Mungo, qul la asha man yafsilona. Qul ma�ee la ash man yafsilona� (You are a Sudanese and I am a Sudanese. The Nile Valley unites us. Mungo, say death to whoever wants to separate us. Say with me, death to whoever wants to separate us).
Brother Jok:
You call this �cheap�?
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Jok:
�I was in Khartoum last month. For the first time since I was in high school,
22 years ago � My encounters with would-be fellow countrymen, revealed to me still, how we are really not going to be able to maintain a unified nation. With such racism that infiltrates every interaction.�
Me:
I have been living in America for more than 30 years. Twice I was called �Nigger� in my face. Few times, I felt rejected by some people, probably because I am a Muslim, Arab and African � or might be I made a mistake or misbehaved.
I have learned not to pay attention to other people and not to let them define my identity. My three half-White-half-Black children grew-up and are gone. But, when they were young, I repeatedly advised them to do the same.
Brother Jok:
Please don�t let others define your identity.
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Jok:
�Tonight I am writing from Damazin (Blue Nile State, Sudan) and the attitude has not changed between the few northern Jallaba in the market and the dark-skinned people.�
Me:
This exactly illustrates your problem.
I don�t wake-up every morning and look at the mirror to see whether I am black, or white, or green or orange. My color doesn�t have anything to do with my identity.
I repeat: My color doesn�t have anything to do with my identity.
The core of my identity is my faith (I could have been a Christian, a Jew, worship a cow, a tree, or a kojor). Then, comes my mixed Arabic and African culture.
Brother Jok:
Try not to have your blackness as a core of your identity.
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Jok:
�When I was checking into the hotel, the lady at the reception asked for my passport, which I presented, and while holding my Sudanese passport in her hand, she still went ahead and asked me what nationality I was. Without shame she said �I thought you were from South Africa,� my Sudanese passport and all.�
Me:
I would have said: �No, Ma�am. I am a Sudanese and a very proud one.� Also, I would have added a joke: �Wish I were from South Africa; could have watched the World Cup final between Netherland and Spain at Soccer City Stadium.�
I used to tell my children: �Take a joke, make a joke.�
Brother Jok:
Take a joke, make a joke.
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Jok:
�What does one say to such attitude? The only thing I can say is that enough is enough. If I have an opportunity to vote for separation, I would do it with a blink of an eye, problems in the future or not.�
Me:
Despite the huge differences between Sudan and the US, I believe they are
similar in one important aspect: diversity of races and religions.
On Sudan, I agree with you on more issues than you may expect; the Jallaba, the
slave trade, the discriminatory Khartoum governments and the horrible wars in
the South.
In the US, the Whites traded in Africans and discriminated against them for a
long time. The Blacks, rightfully, fought for freedom and equality. Now, there
is a Black President, Obama. I have never heard Obama talking about slavery.
So, why don�t the Sudanese Southerners learn from the experience of their
brothers, the Black Americans? Why don�t you stop talking about the past? Why
don�t you put an end to your anger? Why don�t you open a new page?
The word �Nigger� will never disappear in America; there will always be people
who insult others. Similarly, the word �Abid� will never disappear in Sudan.
Do you really want to break-up a great nation and make the Sudanese cry because
you thought a receptionist in a Damazin hotel insulted you?
Brother Jok:
My tears run down every time I think of the possibility that the Sudan would be
divided. The closer the referendum gets, the more that happens. Recently, like a
crazy person, I started singing Sudanese nationalistic songs (like �Ana
Omdurman� and �Mungo Zimbiri�) while walking in the streets of Washington, or
walking around Burke Lake (5 miles circle), near where I live, in Burke, a
suburb of Washington.
I think that, if in January the Sudan will officially break-up, I will die from
a heart attack. At my old age, I proudly welcome that.
And you call this �cheap�?
Brother Jok:
I forgive you. Just let us hold hands and sing another old Sudanese
nationalistic song: �Yei baladna, wa kolona ikwan.� English: �Yei, (capital of
Central Equatorial State, in Southern Sudan) is ours, and we are all brothers.�
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