Blood of Oil: China + Sudan (follow up of last blog)

After researching so much about the industry of Oil in Sudan I found a video on youtube about the first evidence of China sending militia equipment to Sudan's president. Many research has been found but this video explains it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e922cLwhsM

"Sudan, with its vast oil reserves, sells most of its oil to Beijing. The Panorama team follows a trail through Chad and Darfur, tracking down Chinese military trucks, one of which with a mounted Chinese gun, had recently been used against civilians, according to local witnesses."

In order to get what they need they are using their own weapons as well if any conflict occurs. This problem alone has not costed an estimate of 300,000 lives.

Just added this year of July, the video shows what the deserts of Darfur really looks like. Many villages have been burned, all but erased from the face of the earth. From fighting the war, it destroys the land of these people.

I recommend everyone to watch this video. With up and close video and terrifying music, this video shows you facts and brings you in to what is really happening there.

Sudan's Oil Industry

http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:wumVe_Ai41MJ:www.ecosonline.org/back/pdf_reports/2008/dossier%2520final%2520groot%2520web.pdf+oil+in+sudan&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

“Problems began in 1991. The army began chasing the people without warning.
They came, they shot and they burned. Why? The SPLA was far away.
It was because the Government was greedy for oil and saw any southerner
as a threat, a possible supporter of the SPLA.”
Chief Chol Nul, Payuer, 25 April 2005

This article is explaining that after Africa's longest civil war and coming to agreement with a peace treaty, politically it changed the whole aftermath in Sudan as well. The country remained with a huge gap in society and with violence still at hand. Oil is just about their main source to different people and countries. This may help recover the land but also destroy it even more.

A part in the article says, "We believe that the natural richness of Africa, be it gold, diamonds,
oil or copper, can be a motor for development and growth instead of a source of conflict." I agree to this statement but unfortunately life does not happen this way. Many are greedy and are willing to get their hands on whatever they find to turn into money. This isn't only happening in Africa but other countries with the same supply. What will be done to keep this natural richness in the heart of these distinguished countries?

The Beautiful Sudan

Sudan is not only filled with torn down villages and sadness in peoples eyes. Sudan is filled with life through beautiful nature and beautiful people. Here are a small amount of pictures from the land of Sudan.

1. "Sudan ranges from the desert in the north to the tropical forest in the south. The whole is bisected by one of the greatest rivers in the world, the Nile."


2. Classic village of people from a Shulluk tribe in Southern Sudan; Renk city,Southern Sudan.


3. Humanitarian Assistance in Sudan. Women getting food at WFP food distribution, Kasab camp, N Darfur.
   
4. Children gathered up in front of camera; village in Sudan.


5. Cattle of Southern Sudan.


6. Sanganeb lagoon in Sudan.

Photos From:

Google.com image search-Sudan

Flickr.com image search-Sudan

Response to Owen Horwitz: Poor Whites Youtube Video

http://owenhorwitzafricablog.blogspot.com/ Here is the link to his blog,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFj0HdW2iDs and the link to the youtube video.

Is his blog Owen is explaining how this video doesn't specifically relate to the project on Africa he is doing in class but it still was interesting to watch. As it was once, the British ruled South Africa, the blacks are becoming more educated and are rising all the way up to the upper middle class. With great lives ahead of them many are starting their own businesses and living in areas with mostly whites. However, like Owen and the video explain the social statuses of different races are always changing. There are poor whites in South Africa and well as whites living in high class.

Just like Owen, I did not know a lot about how this was going on in South Africa. Gathering from the video, union rep Kallie Kriel states: "It's ironic that a government that fought racial laws is now doing exactly the same thing." So many poor whites feel they're being discriminated against but at the same time about 80% of these poor people are blacks. Each race have their own say but there's no saying in what will happen next.

I enjoyed finding this blog post and watching the video.

Interview Reflection

On the day of the interview our group was a little nervous but excited at the same time. When we got there we saw about three kids running all over the place and we heard other kids in another room. One of them called their mom. We asked for Dep Tuany but he was not there. She said he had asked someone else to do the interview with us because he knew he wouldn't be there. She sent us to a room with a bunch of girls and we sat down and talked with them so she could find out what was going on. Putting on makeup and talking really loud like any other girl, I got to know them a little bit. We found out what school they came from but in the back of our minds we were kind of getting worried about our interview. The lady then sent us to a room next door. This room looked like another classroom for the after school kids. After waiting there for about five minutes we saw her in the other room next door talking on the phone with someone. We were thinking, maybe our interviewee wasn't even here yet. A minute later she said someone would be coming in right now. We then asked her if we could video tape. She said, let me come back I'll ask. She never did come back but our we finally met our interviewee.

David, our interviewee came in with a smile but looked very tired. He came in thinking he was supposed to teach us a whole lesson on Sudan and said that maybe it wont be so long because he just came from work and was very tired. My partners and I were thinking of just asking him at least half of the questions and we could come back in a couple days. Sooner or later the interview was leading to a great start. We asked him if we could video tape it and he said he wasn't really dressed nicely. Chelsea's mom convinced him to be video tape; she said he looked fine.
The interview began with David telling us a lot of information about Sudan with a posterboard and all. After that we realized he answered a lot of our questions. The conversation led to all of us: Chelsea's mom, Danika, Chelsea and I being so fascinated about his life. In the beginning my partners and I realized that he spoke very soft but as the interview kept going he got more comfortable and talked louder. The fact that he was a lost boy fleeing from Sudan to Kenya, I believe and having to fight in the army at the age of twelve was really devastating. I wasn't even close to thinking about those thinks at twelve years old. One thing that really struck me was that he barely cries anymore and its the same for most people in Sudan as well. Seeing so many people die a day, you get used to it and have no reason to cry.

I love the fact that he made me realize that Africa in general is a really beautiful place and I feel others need to realize that as well. Many other countries are just using Sudan for their oil and land, giving only two percent of what is theirs. He told us about how every summer a group of kids go to Sudan and visit the life, the culture and it really got me thinking. To experience a whole different life would help me not take what I have for granted; be thankful and I would love to meet all the kids there. When many go there to help out the lives of these people, some of them use all their money to help themselves out there. Spending money in hotels, getting fresh water and food for their needs. From this I discovered that maybe now or later after high school one of the things I want to do is visit Africa or any other foreign country and experience something out of my realm. Not only to explore but to love different cultures around this world and enjoy the life I'm creating for myself.

notes gathered from interview: Sudan and David's life

• people are in great need of medicine, water, and a school
• Arabs take oil to China; Sudan gets 2% and guns
• left from hometown to ethiopia; became a lost boy
• born in southern sudan, flee to ethiopia then to kenya, to the U.S.
• trained to go to war
• 1994: came to the U.S. and wasnt allowed to go to a refugee camp
• spoke Arabic all throughout his life
• rivers were the water source filled with crocodiles
• Sudan means two black men
• the water Sudanese people have now has been poisoned by oil being pumped for war effort: purification needed rather than destalation
• Father was shot-mother sold food; tradition for mothers
• Southern Sudan wants independence
• many are still in training because they say the war isn't over.
• left as a lost boy with many others. 2,000 boys died in the river alone
• carrying gallons of water on their head everyda, no good food, no medical
• his mother became a christian and was baptized in 1923. his other brother/leader.
• had 7 siblings, youngest out of all. older brother killed in war/sister died before he was born
• his father had three wives
• in 1979 (12 years old) got marks on his forehead to signify manhood
• lived a "kill or to be killed" society
• rulers of Sudan are muslim against blacks
• Nuer vs. Dinka tribal wars are still going on to prepare for actual war
• All over Sudan there are mangoes in the bushes; everywhere in southern Sudan
• nothern Sudan is all desert
• Came to minnesota in 1996 and from now he's still in school

Pre-interview Reflection

On friday September 5th my group and I had a pre-interview with Dep Tuany at the Southern Sudanese Community Center. In order or Dep to find exactly what we were doing he asked us to come over and visit him. The community center was very cultural with paintings of animals and Sudan on the walls. The center had a computer room and other rooms for the students who need tutoring, all the way up to 12th grade. The man was very welcome and nice. we can't wait to come back and fully interview him and possibly his co-director of the community center.

After researching the website I found this awesome article from last year that I would love to ask him about during our interview. http://www.ssccsd.org/sac.html. I encourage anyone to read this, its very optimistic and makes me want to help them reach any goal.

“In America, you can be all you want to be, but you can also be the worst person in the world. If you don’t do it right, you can be worse off than you were in Sudan,” Tuany said.