Posts Tagged dinka
The tamil and sudanese slaves’s cattle camps
Michael was one of the first slaves to tell his tale. His eyes were
red, fatigue showed on his weathered face. Scars marked the places
where wounds from beatings have never healed. He said his wife was
stabbed to death by their master’s wives, four Arab women who were
angry she was at the water well with them. Michael was beaten
unconscious because he charged his master when he heard the news of
his wife’s death.
The younger slaves, children like Ahkmed, were born into slavery. His
mother was killed by her master. Ahkmed has no idea where his father
is, no clue of his age. The reddish tint in his hair shows how
malnourished he is. His clothes were ripped and dirty, barely hanging
on him.
This organized rescue of slaves was begun about 20 years ago by the
Sudanese themselves. The Arab/Dinka Peace Committee is a grassroots
organization that liberates Sudanese slaves. The covert operation
generally begins in cattle camps in the north, where the underground
network trades slaves for cattle vaccine. Each vaccine is worth about
$40, and it costs one or two vaccines per slave. Livestock is much
more valuable to the Arab slave masters than are human beings.
Pastor Heidi McGinness, Denver-based director of outreach for CSI-USA,
has made the journey to Sudan many times. “I live to see family
reunions,” McGuiness said. “Mothers, fathers reunited with sons and
daughters taken into slavery, thought dead but returned alive, is the
greatest joy one could observe.
And, let’s face it. These victims are black. Politically, Darfur is in
bed with China, which is in bed with the United States. Slavery in
Sudan is a three-pronged issue: race, religion and politics.
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I never have more than a few minutes to capture decades — centuries?
– of labyrinthine history. In recent years, especially following the
2004 tsunami and the collapse several months ago of a tattered cease-
fire between the government and the , a separatist militant group, Sri
Lanka has appeared in the news slightly more than usual. But even this
isn’t very much, so I can understand why the question is asked. Who’s
willing to give it more than those few minutes? I’m never sure, and so
I find myself wrestling to construct responsible boilerplate that at
least suggests Sri Lanka’s historical and political complexity. Of
course, when I wrote the book, this was not a job I aimed to do.
“Love Marriage” tells the story of the way Sri Lankan politics affect
a family living in the United States. The story takes Yalini and her
family from suburban America to Toronto, where they are reunited with
an uncle who has left Sri Lanka after a life of militancy with the
Tamil Tigers. The book is about specific characters, not
representatives of a culture. Still, I had to do my homework to write
it, so I did become versed in some history. Add to that the fact that
my parents emigrated to the United States from Sri Lanka, and it makes
some sense for reading audiences, reporters and others to ask me
questions about the country.
An island about 25 miles off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is a
complex place, with multiple ethnicities, religions, languages,
loyalties and histories. In July 1983, long-simmering tensions there
exploded into ethnic riots. An ambush of 13 soldiers from the
country’s ethnic Sinhalese majority by militants from its Tamil
minority ushered in days of anti-Tamil violence in which the
Sinhalese-dominated government was obviously complicit. Voter lists
made it easy to find Tamil citizens, Tamil stores and homes were
destroyed, and thousands of Tamils were killed. In the aftermath, many
Tamils emigrated, finding refuge in Western countries, including
Australia, Britain and Canada. Today, in those Western countries, the
players in Sri Lankan politics are generally characterized as the
Tamil Tigers, a militant separatist group fighting for a Tamil
homeland in the northern and eastern parts of the island, and the
government, which has discriminated against Tamils for decades.
I am hardly a substitute for all these voices. But I cannot dictate
how people hear me, and given these moments of opportunity to speak
publicly about a place that I love, I feel compelled to take them.
I was completely thrown. I don’t even remember how I began. Perhaps I
picked up the chalk and drew the lumpy map of the country. (The
professor: Does it really look like . . . that?) Or perhaps I began by
trying to explain the ethnic conflict. (The professor: Who are these
different groups? How did they originate? Can you explain the
different groups of Tamils? What do you mean, Ceylon Tamil? And the
up-country Tamils, who work on tea estates? And are the Muslims Tamil?
No? But don’t they speak Tamil?) Whatever I did, it was wrong — or
not right enough, or not complete enough. When the class ended, I was
still trying to explain Sri Lanka. We hadn’t even gotten to the book I
had been assigned to discuss. I left the room stunned at my inability
to put the country’s history into brief, teachable terms. You’ll thank
me later, the professor said. Next year, when your book comes out,
people will ask you that question — and then they will dissect your
answer.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 :In a blatant effort to scuttle tomorrows one-
day strike by hundreds of unions, the Sri Lankan government has
mounted a terrorist scare, claiming to have information that the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could set off bombs in the
South this week.
Add comment July 13, 2008
The slave and comments that include profanity’s slave raids
International groups of Good Samaritans travel to the Sudan-Darfur
region to offer help to slaves who now have nowhere else to go.
Some of the group of slaves being helped by abolitionists raise their
hands after Dr. John Eibner of CSI International asked how many of
them had been beaten by their masters. (Tamara Banks, Special to The
Denver Post)
Led by the Arab/Dinka Peace Committee, they had walked south for
miles, and for days, on their journey to freedom. Many gave up. Those
who persevered waited under the tree for four days, and were now
nearing the end of their excruciating journey.
The grassroots group in Sudan invited CSI to join them in their
efforts to bring slaves back home.
“In 1995, we first encountered the reality of the slave raids in a
powerful way,” said Dr. John Eibner, who heads the teams of two or
three CSI members who go into Sudan every month to deliver
humanitarian aid, medicine, sorghum, survival kits and assistance in
returning slaves to their families. “The NGO’s [non-governmental
organizations] that were there had moved out, the Red Cross failed to
go in to help because the government of Sudan said no. So, the
international community allowed itself to be dictated to by the
government of Sudan that was responsible for the slave raiding.”
Among those on this trip were Eibner, an American, and Gunnar
Wiebalck, a German, who have made a career of shining a bright light
on social injustice, including working on the abolishment of apartheid
in South Africa. “Because the rest of the world was not — and
still is not — dealing with this issue of slavery, which is a
crime against humanity according to international law, we thought we
should come back and help this local, grassroots mechanism for getting
enslaved women and children back,” Eibner said.
“This abolitionist work fuels my passion to see each slave freed,” she
added. “There are still tens of thousands in slavery. I will not
abandon them.”
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inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site.
Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain “signatures” by
someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will
take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards,
terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this
site. Please review the governing commentaries and discussions. You
are fully responsible for the content that you post.
“Love Marriage” tells the story of the way Sri Lankan politics affect
a family living in the United States. The story takes Yalini and her
family from suburban America to Toronto, where they are reunited with
an uncle who has left Sri Lanka after a life of militancy with the
Tamil Tigers. The book is about specific characters, not
representatives of a culture. Still, I had to do my homework to write
it, so I did become versed in some history. Add to that the fact that
my parents emigrated to the United States from Sri Lanka, and it makes
some sense for reading audiences, reporters and others to ask me
questions about the country.
Some people do, I’m sure. At readings around the country, I’ve met Sri
Lankans, immigrants and their children, who thank me for writing about
the conflict. But while I’m proud of my book, it certainly doesn’t
represent the voices of all Sri Lankans. It’s the story of one family.
Still, I know that some people at my readings may never hear much more
about Sri Lanka than what I say. All I can do is try to understand why
these questions are asked, be as reasonable and careful in my answers
as I can, clarify that I am a novelist and emphasize that I am only
one person answering — while still being as complete and thorough as
possible.
As a novelist, I should be free to write about whatever I want,
without worrying about the political significance people will attach
to it. Indeed, writing fiction means that I have license to diverge
from historical facts. It shouldn’t be my responsibility if some
readers have little knowledge of Sri Lanka beyond what they read in my
book or hear me say as a guest on a radio show. I also know, however,
that regardless of the caveats I put before what I say, my words may
carry the weight of an imagined community.
Orientalist, Historian, Political Scientist, Dr. Megalommatis, 51, is
the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of
encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and
writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages. He refuted Greek
nationalism, supported Martin Bernalīs Black Athena, and rejected the
Greco-Romano-centric version of History. He pleaded for the European
History by J. B. Duroselle, and defended the rights of the Turkish,
Pomak, Macedonian, Vlachian, Arvanitic, Latin Catholic, and Jewish
minorities of Greece. Born Christian Orthodox, he adhered to Islam
when 36, devoted to ideas of Muhyieldin Ibn al Arabi. Greek citizen
of Turkish origin, Prof. Megalommatis studied and/or worked in Turkey,
Greece, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Syria, Israel, Iraq, Iran,
Egypt and Russia, and carried out research trips throughout the Middle
East, Northeastern Africa and Central Asia. His career extended from
Research & Education, Journalism, Publications, Photography, and
Translation to Website Development, Human Rights Advocacy, Marketing,
Sales & Brokerage. He traveled in more than 80 countries in 5
continents. He defends the Right of Aramaeans, Oromos, Ogadenis,
Sidamas, Berbers, Afars, Anuak, Darfuris, Bejas, Balochs and Tibetans
to National Independence, demands international recognition for
Kosovo, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Transnistria,
calls for National Unity in Somalia, and denounces Islamic Terrorism.
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Add comment July 13, 2008