Monday, January 10, 2011

From Sledding to Sudan

So, while I was posting videos of sliding down sheets of ice while inadvertently yelping like PeeWee Herman, I realized that today the people of Sudan were voting on whether or not to split their nation in two. Today was day one of a week long period in which Sudanese will vote on whether or not the Christian south will separate itself from the Arab north. It's perhaps one of the most important weeks in Sudanese history; concerning geographical and political upheavals that have the vague inklings of hope attached. In my naive and childish (though I prefer to call it idealistic) way of viewing the world, it's a lovely thought to entertain that the separating of Africa's largest nation would result in an immediate ceasing of four decades full of civil wars and genocide. However, I fear that a fury of further war will be the result no matter which decision is elected. Should the South and the North chose to separate, wars over oil, grazing land, and the precious commodity of water will continue to plague the land even after official boundaries are drawn. If Sudan remains intact, the continued atrocities continue to unnecessarily end, maim, and/or displace thousands of lives. However, hopefully, today could be the day when steps to peace in Sudan finally begin, however slow the process to reaching that peace may be.
There's so much more that could be said about issues affecting Sudan, but there are far better resources than this little blog which is relatively uninformed anyway. Please, read this book, What is the What.
Also, purchase it. 100% of the profits go to the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. Deng is the real life main character of the book which chronicles his life as one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan." It's too cold out to do much outside anyway, so snuggle up with a cozy blanket, hot cup of coffee, and a good book.

2 comments:

  1. We're reading that for book club right now. We didn't even plan the timing! Our discussion is next week. Look for a post or two about this from me :).

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  2. Excellent! Also, have a light hearted book to follow it up. :) I'm excited to read your posts!

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