Photo Credit: Sebastião Salgado
Most of us I am sure are very, painfully, aware of the recent disaster that struck Haiti, but how many of us are aware of the people today that still suffer from disasters that occurred more than twenty years ago? That is the purpose of my blog: to inform the world of past and present human tragedies to increase both awareness and action in our world.
The focus of my blog entry today is on the “kidnappings” in Sudan brought on by the Second Sudanese War.
At the onset of the Second Sudanese War in 1983, both the government and rebel forces were continually stealing young and able men from their villages and forcing them to fight on their side. Tearing families apart during an already troubling time in Sudan, the government and rebel forces used these young men as pawns on a chessboard in their fight for stability and power. In an attempt to salvage the lives of their children and ensure them the chance at a future: many Sudanese families would send their young sons away by the cart-full to refugee camps in northern Kenya. The picture above-taken by Salgado- is a cart full of Sudanese boys migrating to Kenya to escape the horrors of war they will surely face if they stay.
In an interview with a close family friend Abdullah Laota, who grew up in Sudan, he referred to this disgusting act as “People Catching” (Laota). He claimed “Those who have connections or money, bad things don’t happen to them. They can bribe or pay their way to safety, it is the poor who suffer” (Laota). He explained “They take them, send them, and call it ‘National Service’” (Laota). According to Laota, this “people catching” is still happening in Sudan, not to the same extent as it was ten years ago, but it is a very real on-going threat that Sudanese families still face. When asked if he was ever forced to serve in the military he responded with “al hamdella I never joined any political party or served in the military, although they tried. They tried to convince and recruit everyone” (Laota).
Although the worst of this problem was in years passed, the problem continues today and many suffer from it. It is our duty as members of humanity to give aid where and when we can. Although I myself have no solutions to this problem, together we can find ways that we can help diminish this problem, or at least the effects of it.
Laota, Abdullah. Personal INTERVIEW. 20 January 2010.
Photo credit- Salgado, Sebastião. Rwandans Take Refuge In Tanzania. Migrations: Humanity In Transition. New York. Aperture. 2000.155.
This photograph is amazing! The light coming through the spaces gives a feeling of hope especially since you know what is going on in the photo. I absolutely love all the background information you give about the Sudanese too. My heart goes out to those families that had to give up their sons to protect them. Super cool that you interviewed someone! Props! :)
ReplyDeleteIn connecting present and past events, I find this photograph striking in it's ability to communicate the hardships of necessity that are brought upon refugees throughout the world. I believe we take for granted the ease of our world and the ability to even walk down the street. For someone such as the Sudanese to take a person and make them fight for them, it seems impossible, but at such young and moldable ages as the boys they were taking, they can fill their brains with what they have designed to created their forced-servitude-like army. In studying refugees I find it refreshing, because it forces us to take a look and be grateful for our lives. Great photo choice, and great post.
ReplyDelete"People catching", pretty disturbing eh? I really think that you hit it right on the head with this post. I feel disturbed when I think of my own ignorance to the world and the problems facing innocent children of God. Here I am in lovely Provo, Utah where the biggest issue I deal with is getting my paper finished so I can go on a date. There are people suffering whose concerns are where their next meal is going to come from or where they are going to sleep at night. It's pretty insane, if you ask me.
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