“So, how do you find Sudan?”

Posted on January 15, 2008
Filed Under Sudan |

Yeah, that’s the inevitable question that expats always get asked. Why the sugar-coating Andrew? Tell us the complete and brutally honest truth!

Yesterday afternoon, I was invited round to a Sudanese family’s house to celebrate the arrival of a new granddaughter. About ten minutes into the party, one of the family’s sons sat down, looked me in the eye, and asked: “So, how do you find Sudan?”

I launched right in: “It’s a fascinating place, wonderful to live so close to the Nile, the people have been so friendly, an endless supply of great stories for a journalist…,” meaning almost all of it.

When I finished, I looked round at the group of 20-somethings I had been speaking to. “You are joking,” said one. “We hate this place. There is nothing to do. Life is very difficult here. All we do is study and watch DVDs.”

“How long are you staying?” asked another. “Two years? Impossible. You won’t last two months. My plan is to finish my medical studies and move to Scotland.”

Comments

One Response to ““So, how do you find Sudan?””

  1. Aaron Stewart on January 21st, 2008 4:59 pm

    I have to say that I am going to have to agree with the Sudanese gentleman. While there was beauty to be found in South Sudan most of it was suffering, desperation, boredom and wanting to have hope for a better future. This is not to say that there aren’t good things about the South however given the areas that I lived and traveled I had to be a bit more creative in enjoying where I was at.

    And that’s me as a white westerner, I can’t imagine what people endure living there their entire lives. I hope to go back some day with more humility and empathy to learn from these remarkable people.

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