Haboob (Sudanese for sand storm) is not pretty but it’s one of those things that I love about Sudan. Seeing haboob on the horizon just gives me a rush of pure adrenaline especially if it’s massive and fierce. However for many foreigners, it’s a nightmare. It’s so funny seeing the horror on the face of Westerners when haboob comes. They get so freaked out over it. Even the Security Council delegation got scared of it during their recent trip to Khartoum. When haboob comes, most Sudanese people just go into their houses and close all doors and windows. Others just wait it out by standing and facing the direction it’s heading towards to prevent the sand particles from going into their eyes.
Last holiday in Khartoum I got stuck in one after leaving my house. There was no shelter around so I had to curl on the ground, give it my back, take a deep breath, close my eyes and wait it out. That’s what I’ve always done since I was child if I ever did encounter haboob. Five minutes later the massive haboob was over but I had to go back and take another shower. Most Sudanese will call me a sissy boy for doing that. I miss haboob.
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
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Drima,
this is Michael Herzog writing, in response to your August 4 post concerning a comment of mine.
Since you honored me (well, sort of) with a blog entry, I felt I should reply to your criticisms and queries. Sorry it took me a while.
I decided to post my response here, in an unrelated but fresh thread, because I’m not sure you would still notice it in the comment section to your original posting.
Now, let me begin with a little personal preface. You know what, Drima: I like you. Yes, it’s true, no sarcasm involved. Having formed my opinion based on what and how you write, I find you a sympathetic, lively, open-minded, thinking and exploring person with astonishing writing and analytical skills, particularly given your relatively young age.
I don’t even mind very much your invectives against me in the last paragraph of your pertinent post (”ignorant, stupid and sarcastic comment regarding Ingrid Jones”; “you clearly lack proper knowledge of what’s going on in my country”; “stuck up character”). I take it that you were fired up by patriotism on the one hand, and chivalry (in defense of Ms. Jones) on the other. Both are honorable motives – and remain so even if applied to not-quite-deserving causes. Besides, it’s silly to cringe and cry at every blow received, even if a little unfairly.
In substance, however, I, as already suggested, consider your enthusiam as somewhat misguided on both counts, the patriotic and the chivalrous one.
First, the chivalrous one. To my mind, passionate patriotism can serve to excuse your desire to salvage at least part of Sudan’s reputation re: the Darfur mess. This excuse, however, is not applicable to Ms. Jones, a non-Sudanese.
I stand by my assessment of her as an apologist, albeit an indirect one, for the Bashir government, which is shameful. All in all she seems to be a rather typical “humanitarian” leftist: statist in her thinking, matronizing, siding with the powers-that-be because, well, the others are bad, too; the “the devil you know” school of thinking, which will forever gloss over the atrocities of third-world incumbents. All this informed by some anti-American sentiment, a dose of feminism, and the fatal European preference for “culture” over individual rights (”naive Americans meddling in a country and culture that goes back as far as the year dot”; “the only side I am on is that of the millions of women, children and elderly in Sudan suffering at the hands of fit young men pillaging, raping, maiming and killing”: what sanctimonious, grandiose, self-advertising BS; and how unbearably shallow and cheap a statement at the same time).
Strangely, by the way, Ms. Jones singled out alleged “slick opportunistic operators based in Europe and America”, but forgot all about the Chinese, despite the “its all about oil” remark in her next phrase. Tell me, Drima, isn’t it the Chinese, and NOT Americans or Europeans, who are most interested in Sudanese oil and on account of it prop up the Bashir regime? (Is there even oil in Darfur? I thought it was mostly in the east and south?) Anyhow, the fact that Ms. Jones strangely “forgot” about the Chinese where their mention would have been most pertinent is another indication that to her Sudan is largely a canvas on which she can project her European statist / leftist / anti-American / pseudo-humanitarian “concerns”.
Now to some of your specific queries.
You ask: “Who said anything about holding Sudan together dude?” Well, Ms. Jones – and she was approvingly quoted by you –, credited the current regime with “doing a pretty good job of holding it all together.” The “it all” in the given context clearly is Sudan.
This I took to imply that both you and Ms. Jones considered it an overriding goal, and hence an achievement of the current Bashir regime, to hold Sudan together. As I said, I can empathize with an (Arab) Sudanese wanting to hold Sudan together in its present boundaries. Nonetheless it could be argued that this thinking unduly identifies with the perspective of the ruling elites: the welfare, continuation and territorial integrity of the state are considered more important, in case of conflict, than the welfare of its people(s). This view I wanted to challenge with my initial question of why Sudan in its present shape and form should be preserved.
I have no real problem with what your wrote under “secondly” and “thirdly”.
Under “fourthly” you brought up several points. First, my sources of information. Well, in addition the international press and the English language “Sudantribune” site on the internet, its mostly al-Jazeera, as I read and understand Arabic (as long as it’s 80% fusha) reasonably well. Over the months I have watched on al-J. quite a few reports from, as well as discussion programs on Sudan. Mostly those programs were even specifically devoted to the Darfur situation, and a number of prominent Darfuris of all political stripes participated in them.
I remember being particularly impressed with a former wâlî of Darfur, now an elderly gentleman living in exile in London; unfortunately I can’t recall his name. Also there once was an impressive youngish Darfurian guy working for an American Think Tank. I believe his name was Ibrahim Baldo, or something similar. Once I even listened to part of a pretty fawning hour-length interview which a reverential al-Jazeera newslady did with al-Bashir.
Now, I will right away concede that watching Arabic news programs does NOT immediately make the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth available to one. Al-Jazeera itself as well as its guests can easily have agendas of their own which they will inevitably try to further.
However, I believe I can claim that I have read and listened to a variety of viewpoints on Darfur from Sudanese themselves and thus don’t rely in my assessments exclusively on more or less informed or/and agenda-driven Western media outlets.
Moreover, in those articles and programs it became clear that the people of Darfur themselves increasingly conceptualise the conflict they live through in terms of Arabs vs. Us. How they conceptualise themselves, the Us, is a second question. Likely they in the past hardly thought of themselves as Africans very much, but more as Muslims, Zaghawa, Fur, Masalit, whatever. However, as they become alienated from their Arab neighbors they apparently become ever more ready to adopt a view of themselves as Africans. Such a concept may be foreign in origin, and it may at first be adopted for purposes of political self-marketing. However, that does not prevent it from becoming ever more real on the ground, in the minds of the people. That was the very distinct impression that I came away with, time and again, from watching al-J. roundtable discussions on Darfur.
By the way, does the name of R.S. O’Fahey mean anything to you? He is an Irish scholar who over the past decades has done foundational research on Darfur history. I can’t quote chapter and verse right now, but I distinctly remember reading an essay by him, about a year or so ago, in which he also spoke of a re-forging of regional identities in Darfur in specific contradistinction to Arabs, who are seen as, and in my opinion correctly so, the aggressors.
You see, my “ethnic” categorization of the conflict lines has nothing to do with shades of skin color. What ever gave you this idea? (Projection?) No, ethnicity is all a matter of self-identification. An “Arab” could potentially be much darker than a given “African”. It doesn’t matter. What counts is what they feel, how they see themselves.
Thus the great similarity in looks between Arab and Darfuri non-Arab Sudanese cannot serve to plaster over the fact that very real antagonisms have emerged between those self-identified ethnic and cultural groups – antagonisms that continue to produce murderous results. This plastering over, I feel, is something that you are sometimes inclined to do: Because the Arab vs. non-Arab (”African”) fault line in Darfur is not readily apparent in the players’ physique, because they all look so alike, you seem to suggest that no real ethnic antagonism can exist between the two groups. No. Ethno-political identities and antagonisms operate across physical appearances. Folks very different in appearance can identify as members of the same people, but folks of virtually identical appearance can also identify as members of different, even antagonistic groups. The latter is what is happening in Darfur.
Not in your post here under discussion, but elsewhere you have repeatedly complained that outside powers may be interested in “exploiting” the Darfur situation to weaken the central (Arab-dominated) government of Sudan. That may or may not be true (I believe and even hope it to be true, to be frank; my complaint would be how ineffectually it has been done so far). However, in focusing almost exclusively on the “exploitation” aspect you get your hierarchy of analysis wrong.
You focus on a secondary phenomenon while disregarding or at least downplaying the primary phenomenon without which there would never even have been an opportunity for “exploiting” anything in the first place. And that primary phenomenon is the assault on Darfur that was promoted, or at least condoned and heavily supported, by the Bashir government, with the tacit (or not-so-tacit) by-goal of furthering the Arab dominance in and over Darfur. This domestic Arab imperialism and the accompanying, or rather underlying, hegemonial mindset are of long standing in Sudan. I do not rejoice in saying this because I imagine it causes you distress, but that is the truth as I see it. Can you honestly deny it? And this mindset, which is, unfortunately, part of a larger Arabic cultural matrix, must be defeated, in Darfur and elsewhere.
Lastly, I would like to point out that I never spoke of genocide. While I believe that your definition of the term is somewhat too strict and literalistic, I myself resent the inflationary use of the word. However, even if what has happened and is happening in Darfur is no genocide, can you – can anybody – deny that it is VERY BAD, and very bad on a grand scale?
I have been frank with you, Drima, even though I realize that at times it likely made for painful reading. I hope you take my frankness for what it is intended to be, namely as a sign of appreciation and respect.
Best wishes,
Michael Herzog
Michael,
first before I begin allow me to forward you a sincere apology. It’s clear that I have misjudged you. I’ve misunderstood your comment as an attack due to its tone. Moreover it came at a bad time as I was in a bad mood that very day.
I must admit Michael that you indeed are very knowledgeable about what’s happening in the Darfur conflict. I realize this now after reading your well elaborated points.
I tend to have a bad habbit of posting blog entries rather quickly without elaborating certain points that I sometimes feel aren’t important. It’s due to lack of time and a busy timetable. As such I don’t blame you for misunderstanding where I stand regarding holding Sudan together. What I meant was that Bashir’s government is undeniably doing a good job in holding the country together. However I am now clarifying that just because they’re doing a good job at it, doesn’t mean I support it. I’m not going to let the idea of Sudan breaking up hurt my national pride. If breaking it apart is for the better of all the Sudanese people and it shall bring peace, then by all means I shall welcome it.
Your view of how the parties involved view themselves as what they perceive is highly valuable. It certainly provides a new educational and out of the box perspective that I wasn’t capable of seeing previously. I think the root cause of disagreement between us over almost everything was due to our different understandings of the terms “Arab” and “African”.
Based on how you’ve explained the terms “African” and “Arab”, I’m in complete agreement with all your points regarding the overall sense of Arab imperialism in Sudan.
I also acknowledge the fact that I’m not fully examining China’s role in Sudan and the Darfur conflict. Maybe I feel inclined to suspect the United States as it’s probably motivated by sub-conscience factors, namely my dislike of US foreign policy and the mismanagement of its war in Iraq. That however does not mean that my analysis regarding the agenda behind Darfur is completely false.
Finally, I agree with you in saying “I believe and even hope it to be true, to be frank; my complaint would be how ineffectually it has been done so far”. I too hope for this criminal government to be gone but the price shouldn’t be over a million innocent women and children who did not choose to fight this current fight.
Your previous comment might have been a blessing in disguise. If it wasn’t for it, I don’t think we would have ended at this position. I thank you for your comment and elaborated points. This discussion has been wonderfull and highly productive. I look forward to having more with you. My email inbox welcomes you with wide open arms.
Cheers & best wishes to you too,
Drima
Drima,
I’m glad I could clarify some points, and I’m glad you reacted the way you did.
Don’t worry at all about your initial harsh words. I can take that much, and besides my original comment wasn’t exactly written to err on the side of courtesy either.
Do you happen to know the show “Celebrity Deathmach” in which famous personalities, reproduced in animated clay figurines, fight each other? No, I’m NOT suggesting we emulate them, not at all. Rather, I want to pick up the proverbial line with which the referee always ends show, which is: “Good fight, and good night!” I guess that might sum it up for us today.
I have been , and will continue to be, a regular reader of yours. I’m looking forward to stimulating future exchanges.
Best wishes,
Michael
Wheee! A happy ending!
Drima - do you ever get “Orange Days” in Sudan, when dust from the desert covers the sky at a high altitude? Tends to feel kind of like being in a pressure cooker.
Hi Drima-
Great photos! Thanks for sharing them. Did you know we have haboobs over here in the States, too? They’re called…North American haboobs!
Here’s a picture of one from Kansas.
I really like your blog. You’re a thoughtfull, good hearted person, I can tell. I’ll be reading from now on, but I might not comment for awhile for fear I’ll sound like an idiot. Like most people from the U.S., I’m not well-informed on your neck of the woods (the Middle East is such a distraction, you know!) But I think it’s high time more of us got to know you.
I read your earlier discussion on hatred toward Muslims. I wanted to assure you that I have never heard that sentiment expressed in person in all my 50 plus years. I have heard fear, distrust, bafflement, exasperation and disbelief, though.
Also, I don’t know if you’re aware of how our school system teaches here, but it stresses multiculturalism. “Hate speech” is not tolerated in the public arena or in polite society. Certainly not in front of children. People can get into big trouble for it. Muslims especially are treated with kid gloves here and in Europe. There is a segment of the population that expresses hatred privately or in blogs, however - as there is for Anti-Semitism. There is intolerance and hatred in the human heart everywhere, sad to say.
However, if anything, the West worries that it has been too soft. Here’s an essay that discusses the problem between the two cultures. I’d be interested to know what you think. It’s a little dated, but still puts forth what this author calls a “challenge” - and maybe that’s the best way to put it.
Essay
I’ve been learning a lot from you and look forward to your posts. Nice to meet you, Drima!
Drima,
Sorry, my name got left off last time!
I find it interesting last month on the forecast report, they referred to dust storms in Arizona as HABOOB. People say because it has large quantity of Sudanese settelers.
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