|
|
 Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day
|
Hello everyone;
Merry Christmas, Merry Kowanza, and Happy New Year
Every nation has sacred moments in its history and therefore it does its best to observe, celebrate, respect and recognize them in every aspect so as to draw meanings, remembrance, and guidance for the future. One of those sacred moments is the Independence Day, the political independence from foreign colonial powers and their humiliating controls. Independence that leads to freedom, liberty and bright inspirations. In most nations, which had lived under foreign control, celebrating the Independence Day represents the hub of those nations’ festivities and most governments try hard to do whatever it takes to decent celebrations especially if bloods were spilled and souls were paid in the course of attaining it.
In Sudan, the country will celebrate its 47th political Independence Day this week and seemed before will be a hollow one, with shallow meanings and bitter taste. Neither the government nor its controlled population will take a moment to reflect on the meanings of their "independence" and they do that because of some good reasons. The most important was the fact that celebrating Sudan's Independence Day has never been in the top interests of "ALL" governments, democratically elected or militarily takeover. Think about the following examples:
(1) The first democracy, 1 January 1956 - 17 November 1958, violated the meaning of independence when, willingly, handed power to military forces as a result of ugly quarrel between the then two major parties, the Umma and the National Union.
(2) The first military government of General Abood, 17 November 1958 - 21 October 1964, was keen to celebrate its coup day, November 17th, in an extravagant way with open public festivals, exhibitions and till-the-dawn musical/theatrical nights. It was the only regime in the history of Sudan that used fireworks for celebrations in many towns around the country. However, it never did that with the Independence Day.
(3) The second democracy, including the one-year transitional government, 21 October 1964 - 24 May 1969, did little to educate people about the meaning to be independent. It paid more attention to celebrating the October Revolution on the cost of the Independence Day. The reason was purely political- to appeal for people's support. The October Revolution, with all its importance, came and gone without real use, but that was another story. We will debate it in a separate topic.
(4) The May regime, 25 May 1969 - 6 April 1985, in its subconscious, believes that Sudan's real independence day started on May 25, 1969. It was just an illusion. Most of the current generations have witnessed how the May government was celebrating its coup day, which manifested the continued negligence of the Independence Day.
(5) The third democracy, along with the one-year transitional government, 6 April 1985 - 29 June 1989, paid little attention about national festivals mainly because fights on power and ministerial positions took them away. However, celebrating April 6 was mostly apparent than the Independence Day.
(6) The catastrophe that dismantled whatever remained of the meaning of independence was brought up by the current regime of the NIF, 30 June 1989 -?? April 2003!!! None of all Sudanese regimes have worked hard to undermine the meaning of our independence than the NIF. As we all following the current political saga, Sudan's internal and external affairs have been put, willingly, in the care of foreign powers, with full acceptance and subjugation from the NIF government. It went far to the extent of breaking the country apart without any respect for the most sacred thing any country has: its unity and territorial integrity. From now on, all solutions for our domestic problems will be made abroad, in Kenya or Washington, like it or not. We actually and effectively lost our independence.
The questions now, did we get our political independence cheaply enough to the extent that we don’t care to preserve it? How can we bring about the true meaning of independence despite the present dark clouds upon our country? Does democracy alone be enough to promote a strong feeling about independence and make us become proud as independent nation? What are the crucial inputs for deepening our respect to our flag, as a symbol for our independence, and translate that respect for the benefit of our country? And finally, who was to blame for our failure to understand the true meaning on our independence: ourselves, policies of successive governments, our tribal cultures, educational systems, incompetent media, week social movements, or what?
In order to fulfill the meaning of our independence we first need to get ourselves independent from greediness, trivial self-interests, and to think big for the sake of our country.
Looking for your inputs, and please feel free to express yourself in English or Arabic fonts.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day (Re: WadalBalad)
|
..
.
salam ya Prof.
Nice to see you arounda.
Happy New Year & Happy Independence Day ..
U see i put new year before our Independanse day ..!!?
Ok .. Back to the subject ..sory but let me
feel free to comment in Arabic.
تظل الاسئلة راسخة فى الاذهان ..
كيف نفهم المعنى الصحيح لاستقلالنا
فكما تفضلت بالشرح فان الديمقراطية الاولى والثانية والثالثة
والحكومات العسكرية الاولى بقيادة الفريق عبود
وجعفر نميرى والحكومة الكامنة الى الان
لم تمنح كل هذة الجهات الاستقلال معناه الحقيقى
بل نراها كانت تحتفل بتواريخها بصورة اقوى من عيد الاستقلال
حتى ثورتى الشعب اكتوبر ةوابريل منحتا مهرجانا افضل وتكريما اجمل
ولكن هل المعنى الحقيقى لاستقلال فى كيفية ان نحتفل به ؟؟
لا .. فالحكومات المتعاقبة
وسياساتها لم تزرع حب الوطن والوطنية فى القلوب
ولا شك تلاحظ كلما تعاقبت الاجيال مات حب الوطن فى القلوب
وقلة الوطنية ولم تعد تدرس فى نظم التعليم
ولا فى المناهج الدراسية
لقد افتقدت الاجيال معنى كلمة الوطن والتراب والارض
وصارت مقولة ( العن ابوك يا بلد) تردد فى جميع المحافل
والمنتديات والاماكن العامة من الشارع
وصار كل الحكومات والمصالح تصب فى كلمة
نفسي ..نفسي .. وليحترق الوطن
ولا ادرى كيف سيعيشون بدون وطن
ويعيد السؤال نفسه
كيف نفهم المعنى الحقيقى لاستقلال بلدنا
قد اكون اطلت وعرجت لنقطة اخرى
ولكنه الم الوطن وحزنه
واخيرا اسمح لى ان اعدلها لتصبح
Happy Independence Day & Happy New Year to all......
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day (Re: WadalBalad)
|
Foetus;
Thanks for showing up and waiting for your inputs.
Tabaldina;
Thanks and it's my pleasure to be back to continue this important series on this board. For me i believe there's something missing in our "nationalistic" education. It's not important to fill the school curricula with notions of patriotism for example, but the general movements of the society will be enough leading toward that direction. If you live in America you will notice that they don't start any sport event, for example, before standing up and chanting their national anthem. Kids in schools must start their day by putting their tiny hands on their chests and give allegiance to the flag.
What we need to do in Sudan is to develop new understandings for the meaning to be a Sudanese and to create programs through which we can give respect to our nation. It's not an easy task however but we got to start first. Democracy, as a system for governance, is not a solution by itself as we notice that from the behaviors of the past three democracies. Nevertheless, democracy can facilitate those programs to be implemented throughout the social segments. We actually need a policy, a national one, to create and lead these endless programs for the sake of our country.
Will continue.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day (Re: WadalBalad)
|
Sabah Alkheir ya Prof and welcome back. A big welcome to a series and a pen dedicated to re-building Sudan, looking forward to the future, towards a new, better Sudan.
My opinion has always been that we need to be democratic ourselves, before trying to democratize the institutions: the government, the parties etc.. In our culture there is a certain dictatorial element, that of intolerance, of self-superimacy and of illusions based on "the Just Dictator" or that democracy does not fit us, or that we need to learn it all at once. No, I would say, we need to seed democratic behaviour in ourselves, in our children, our education, our civil society organizations, and our daily life, for example when discussing things in this very Board. And at the national level democracy can be perfected ONLY through practice.
I would say, give democracy also 16 years, the same you gave to Nimeiri and Inghaaz, and then judge which is better, if that ever needs to be judged, any way.
Independence meant taking responsibility, something we are still not ready for, unfortunately. Let us face the facts, and face our own shortages.
I will be back with more later.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day (Re: WadalBalad)
|
Well, I started with democracy while it is about independence. This was deliberate. To feel the bond with your homeland, with your people and to be caring and responsible enough to carry the "load" of independence, we need to be democratic from within.
The destructive military regimes, at least Abbud and Nimeiri in his early "revolutionary" years, loved their country and thought they were doing good to "save" it from the "democratic chaos" and "sectarian backwardness". The problem is that they were not democratic within, they had no respect for the people. Otherwise they should have never thought that they are better rulers and betters thinkers, to decide for the people and to know which is good for them. They never thought of even honestly asking those people about what they think or what they need.
We, the people, needed to take our own responsibility. Learn by trial and errors. Benefit from the freedom of choice and from the ability to undergo personal initiatives, to build civil society and to develop self-confidence, self-awareness and, consequently, the sense of responsibilty.
Most people today feel that they do'nt really belong to this land. At least not the current Sudan. We belong to an illusion in our minds that does not exist. The illusion of a paradise built by someone else. Ready made. May be by the British, the Americans, the Communism, Islam, Southern separate state or whatever. Kullon yoghanni 3ala laylaaho. We dont want to belong to the facts on the ground. A completely destroyed country, passive people and bankrupt economy.
So to start having a sense of real indepedence, let us begin by accepting these facts. We are partially responsible for the status quo. We need to change it ourselves. We need to be prepared to pay the price. No body is going to do it for us. Then we have to realize that this could never be done with one person, one party, one sector (the military or else) or one part of the country. We need to accept the fact that all the people have the right and the obligation to share in the decission-making process. We can do that only through democratic means. By accepting each other. By tolerance. and by sacrifices.
It all begins with democracy. And democracy begins within us, before being implemented in a country with a million-square-mile land.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day (Re: WadalBalad)
|
Here we go again.
Salamat dear Dr. Sawi…
And thanks for showing up. As far as you’re around I don’t feel in strang land. And sorry for being late in my reply. It’s a holidays and still waitng for my home computer to be fixed.
Anyway, up here you stated that: “Independence meant taking responsibility, something we are still not ready for, unfortunately.” By stating that I believe you put your finger directly on the spot of the disease (same you do in your hospitals). And the continuing disrepect for our Independence Day falls in the core of our irresponsible behaviors towards our country. The iorny is that while all religions, cultures, national constitutions, educational systems around the world call and assert the sacred status of the word “nation”, and try all they culd to plant it in the concious and subconcious of their followers, we in Sudan have miserably failed to follow suit. Why wars erupt among nations? Mostly because a sacred entity was misstreated or attacked. If people can put their very lives in the defence of their country’s honor then that will represent the ultimate price.
Successive government that ruled Sudan could be blamed for most of the current chaos but the ultimate blame falls in the fact that they failed to promote the respect of the nation among their own citizens. What’s going o now in Sudan, when a notable person calls publicly for the cessation of southern Sudan, is the bottom of the crime against our home country. The irony, again, is that no body in the government moved to condemn such behavior. Just imagine what would be the response if someone like that behaved similarly in another country? The government is sending the wrong message while it was expected to be the first defender for the honor of the nation which is ruled.
Will be back.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Welcome! Towards a New Sudan: (1) Sudan Independence Day (Re: WadalBalad)
|
Salam prof. Wad and Dr. Sawi and all--
Good topic.
However, I would like to cite one of my favored scholars, professor Drucker, he said, "governments will never make you love your country, you do." "The political independence," as brother Wad. puts it , convinced "not many" to love the independency as an event, but to love the land by diverse means. Our love to the land is, overwhelmingly, expressed through "un-organized" institutions if you would. We, the Sudanese LOVE our land like no other love. When we celebrate October, we celebrate our land that creates October. Many view October as the “dream-independency.” And why not? Moreover, and with respect, to our heroes who paved the road to our "political independency", I also, solute the ones who are enduring the struggle toward the true "independence”.....Don’t you think ya prof. we have unfinished job a head of us?
Wa happy Independence Day
Kostawi
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
WadalBalad
Foetus
Kostawi
ولياب
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست