It has been three weeks since I
have arrived in South Sudan and I can’t believe how fast the time went by. I
spend most of the week days in the rural communities talking to people and
learning about their lives. In the evenings and in the weekends I am in Wau,
but I don’t go out much. At first I was fascinated by the city, but now it really
can be emotionally draining. I found that I will often go back to my place and
won’t be able to stop thinking of all the street children I didn’t give money
to. Life in the village seems to be somehow better. I guess people have less,
they live in simple straw huts and mostly live of what they grow in their plot
of land, but they also seem to have a sense of community, they have each other,
also the kids appear to be well looked after. In Wau, there is a large gap
between those who have and those who don’t, while some people live in house and
even have electricity, there are also many street children with warn out dirty
cloths, collecting rubbish and plastic bottles to sale. The village seems to
have a more egalitarian society. In one of my visits to a school I saw a young
girl with one leg missing playing with the rest of the kids. In a society where
being handicapped implies that you are less worthy, as you are not able to work,
her being in school means that despite her disability, she as well has chance.
In one of my field trips I was
quite lucky to arrive in Kuajiena, as by chance, on that day the minster of
preliminary affairs was there to announce the building of a new health
facility. It was nice to watch all the
school kids in perfect lines singing, and all the speeches. It was also interesting to watch the soldiers dancing,
they were dancing in circles with their guns up in the air while the women were
dancing behind them making some sort noise, some kind of screams and yells.
This was also the day I got to eat a goat, with my hands. It was an interesting
experience, though I’m not sure I would like to repeat it. I found it quite difficult
to eat hot rice full of watery sauce with my hands and as for the goat, I know
here it is considered as a delicacy, but it is not really for me…
As for my research, it is going
slow but it is progressing. With each interview I learn more and more about
both the social and political structures that make this society. Issues of
gender inequality, conflicts between different tribes and matters of power
relation within the community, as well as people relations with the government
are surfacing. I am particularly amazed by the different views of people,
especially regarding their ability to take part and to influence. This research
is really challenging my perceptions about so many things. I used to think that
empowerment is an empty buzz word but slowly I’m starting to realize that
actually it means something. I have interviewed quite a number of people so far
and I have come to an interim conclusion that although factors such as social
structure and education are important, the substantial difference between people
who take active part in the community and those who don’t is that the some
simply believe in their ability to do so. I guess there is much more to
discover.
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