Love Is Blind

Just give me another chance…

He always knew the right words to say to her, and she always gave in to him. Every single time all he asks for is a second chance. She's already given him second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth chances… he kept on messing things up and asking for more, knowing that she would give him as many chances as he would ask for.

I’ve changed, I promise…

So many times she heard him repeat those very words… so many times she fell for his lies, his sugar-coated promises, promises he never kept. She was drowning in her own pain, and she knew she was the one inviting the pain into her life.

It’ll be different this time…

Was it her stupidity that kept forcing her back into his arms? Or was it the blind love she shared for him… the kind of love that made her overlook his flaws and blemishes the minute he spoke to her in the soft tone of voice he always lured her with.

Trust me…

This same trust she generously provided for him incessantly is exactly what kept sucking her into this tornado of a troubled relationship… though she knew one shouldn't trust more than once.

I love you…

The three words that rang in her ears like a sweet melody… words that repetitively echoed at the back of her head… words that made her feel that all was right with the universe… words that made her forget about her troubles, forget about all the mistreatment and abuse he was showering her with... words she desperately needed to hear.

In the end, she would pack her bags and return home with him, knowing exactly what's in store for her, but not wanting to acknowledge it. She lives in denial, she lives in fear… fear of abandonment, fear of never being loved again, fear of spending life alone.

He leads her to the car, places her bag at the back seat and once seated gives her a soft kiss on her forehead... he smiles at her, she forces a smile back at him. He drives her home and not a few hours later the cycle continues once again... Her face, body and whole figure bruised... he would apologize minutes later, and he would tell her that he loves her.

He loves me, she thinks to herself.
He cares about me, she tries to convince herself.
He's going through a great deal, she justifies to herself.

He wipes off the tears strolling down her cheeks, assuring her that this was the last time.

It's the last time he says, she thinks to herself.
He'll never do it again.. I know it.

I (L) Ummah Films

Haven't watched The Reminder vids yet? You're definitely missing out...
Baba Ali's spreading the message of Islam in a very non-conventional way. Check him out.

PS - search "ummahfilms" on youtube to watch subtitled Reminder videos.
PPS - subscribe to ummahfilms for updates.

It's been two months!

Man, I can't believe it's been almost two months since I last wrote anything on this blog. I've been dealing with sooo much, sometimes it felt like my brain's going to explode.
In two months I went through almost everything you can name, subhanAllah.

I hope everyone's doing good, and my apologies to all my readers.. I'll be done with finals in a week and inshAllah by then I'd have enough time to post as much as I used to.

Back!

I don't remember the last time I posted something on this blog.
Things have been pretty hectic, exams and uni life is getting to me.
But I'm back now, for a while at least! :)

Violent Explosions in Khartoum

Life in the city of Khartoum is getting more and more precarious, and the Sudanese citizens are beginning to feel even more uncertain and treacherous.

A little over 24 hours ago a series of extremely boisterous explosions took place in one of the military sites availed for storing ammo, in the Burri area of the capital of Sudan. The explosions occurred in three enormous gunnery-loaded trucks.

So this blast happened a few meters away from the University of Khartoum, students had to evacuate campus and basically run for their lives as they witnessed the thick, heavy black smoke approaching and heard the disturbing loud sounds of explosion.

The remnants of the exploded weapons flew and were scattered all over the place, at unusually large radii from the site of explosion, landing at various destinations.

I actually saw the grey-black thick smoke from my window, and I live in Khartoum North, Bahri, which is a few kilometers away from Burri.

My friend, and neighbor, informed that he was stopped by the police on his way back from work and was directed to change his route, apparently one piece landed half a kilometer away from home.

However, the reason for yesterday's explosions was diagnosed by the Sudanese government as, get this, "due to the increase in temperature".

I'm sure now that this sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Chaos, chaos, chaos. Should I just pack my bags and leave? It's getting ridiculous.

Arabic Source: Aljazeera

The Voices of Sudan's Slaves

Some horrific stories of the Sudanese slaves who survived the war between the north & the south.. An eye opener to the reality of slavery in Sudan, and the brutality of Arab militias.
The agony of the circumstances these people had to undergo & the pain they had to suffer is beyond imagineable.

Some 8,000 people are believed to be living as slaves in Sudan after being seized by Arab militias during the long war between north and south.

The war is now over and some ex-slaves have returned home. But most are finding life tough back in the devastated south.

Akuol Aguer Kuol arrived home in March 2007, after spending seven years in
the north. "I managed to escape with my children after I was beaten. My parents have died but I found my uncle. We had a big party."

Check out the source for more stories.

Discover Islam

Correct your information about Islam, the misunderstood religion..

A great website where both Muslims and non-Muslims can find many answers to their questions about Islam.

(Tip: sudani4eva from Elnadi II)

The Very Last Man

Yesterday my dad told me a story that shook me to the core..

I don't know the particular hadith, but it's about the last man on earth to enter el-Jenna (Heaven).
Imagine, the very last man on earth to be granted el-Jenna.. how bad a person could he have been in his life to be the very last one to receive Allah's forgiveness & be blessed with eternal paradise?

So the hadith says that this man (a Muslim sinner) has served his time in Hell, Allah graced him with his forgiveness. Allah allowed him to walk his way towards heaven, but under no circumstance should he ask Allah any questions (that was the condition).
So the man agrees, but he can't resist not asking.. so he asks not once, not twice but three times, and Allah answers him all three times, tolerantly.
Then the man asks Allah to permit him to stand by the door of el-Jenna! It's all he'll ever ask, and it's all he ever wants (he realizes he has broken his promise to Allah three times).
So Allah replies that he will grant him what is 10 times worth el-dunya (life).

It got me thinking, if the very last man to enter el-Jenna is released from Hell and rewarded what is worth 10 times el-dunya, how generous is Allah? & how does Allah reward those who dedicated their lives to worshipping him?

& what is el-dunya worth when everything in it is mortal?

& why are we so blind to see that el-dunya we're living now is mortal?

& that one lifetime in el-dunya does not even equal a fraction of a second in the afterlife?

Subhan Allah!


PS

If any of you knows where I can find a source for the hadith please let me know.

Afghani-American Woman Condemning Islam

"Is it racist to condemn fanatisicm?" by Phyllis Chesler.

Another misled, troubled and confused Islamophobe.. her thoughts & conceptions are the fruit product of undergoing a series of unfortunate events.

The barbarity of Islam?
Islamic tyranny?

There's an obvious confusion between Islam the religion and its extreme practitioners.. ones you may refer to as 'Muslim tyrants'- unfortunately those exist multitudinously.. and people, especially those who are not aware of what Islam really is, automatically relate the actions of these tyrants to Islam & condemn it.

Polygamy is permitted in Islam, but it comes with its terms.
Incarcerating women in their own homes.. that's culture & Islam did not enforce it.
& for the gazillionth time, Islam and terrorism are not even remotely associated.

*Sigh* .. when will the world finally learn how to distinguish between cultural habits & religion?

Almost Done!

Hey all..

My semester break is just around the corner, thank god for that :)

I missed blogosphere!

Valentine's Day Sucks

I've always hated valentine's day.

If people want to celebrate the love they have for one another they could very much do so on any day of the week.. I don't get the point behind inventing a day where in alot of cases one of the two lovebirds feels forced to express what feelings he/she already has.
Why program someone to do something that's best done in a spontaneous fashion? I really don't get it.

On Valentine's day I was ticked off (I never said frustrated, but definitely ticked off) at the sight of all the girls wearing red to school, carrying bags with little hearts all over them.. and ughh.. the roses! What's up with selling red and white roses at universities on Valentine's day? What's happening to Khartoum? A few years ago if you as much as got caught just sitting next to someone who isn't your sibling in public you would have been in some deep trouble (sent to jail, get beaten and what not).. now everyone's holding hands in public and stuff.

I'm not bitter or anything.. I mean I love roses and hearts and bright colors and stuff, but I just hate valentine's day! I'm glad it's over, and on the 14th of February next year I'm going to be ticked off as well, and the year after.. until they decide to cancel it off the calendar.

It's Been a While

I honestly missed this place.. :)

I have to apologize for the light blogging, things have been pretty hectic on my side of the world.
I've already started my final semester exams, it's actually getting crazier by the day.. I can't wait to be done and take a long break.

So.. what's new?

Black Kush's been keeping me updated with what's going on in the world these days, and it's always interesting to read what Drima's posting about.
A warm welcome to a new Sudanese blogger, Zoya, hope you enjoy the blogosphere!

Me Wanna Goooo!!

I reallyyy wanna go again!
Maybe at the end of the academic year.
Cairo is especially beautiful at night.. I know the pic isn't that clear, but I have lots more I can upload later on inshallah.

Female Genital Mutilation

Did you know that there are 3 types of FGM?

Each one is worse than the other, in ascending order.

This website contains useful info on the clinical management of FGM, and you can see for yourself the level of damage on the female genitals before and after giving birth.. as well as have a clear view on how painful the procedures of infibulation & suturing are.

PS- some may find the images disturbing.

My Little Cousins are into Vandalism!

Yesterday my little cousins, Badreldine and el-Amin (3 and 5) were over at our house to spend the night.

It was only me, them and my older sister in the house.. so I was keeping an eye on them almost all the time to make sure they stayed away from trouble. Finally I needed a break, so I switched on the computer for them and they started playing games.. I left them in my room & headed to the living room, where I started watching TV with my sister.

We noticed Amin holding a small glass of water, and my sister asked him what he wanted to do with that, and he told her it was for Badr.

Twenty minutes later I check on them & they're still playing computer games.. so I tell myself, okay, everything seems fine.

A few seconds after that, I hear my sister yelling and screaming, and calling my name.. FIRE!! FIIIIRE IN THE BALCONY!!!

I freaked out and ran to the balcony.. smoke was everywhere.. fire flames all over the place!!

One pot of water after the other, my sister and I finally managed to put the fire out.

The aftermath:

Unbelievable. I have NO idea when exactly they had the time to start a fire, those little arsonists!

Apparently, the little one got a hold on a matchbox, probably snuk to the kitchen at some point, lit a match and set the books on fire. When they noticed that the whole thing got out of control, the little one told his brother to go grab a glass of water.

So when the little devils realized that one glass of water wasn't going to do the trick, they decided to close the balcony door, which was inside my sister's room, and close the door to the room as well, return back to their computer game & leave the balcony go in flames.. as if nothing ever happened in the first place!

A Reminder

Soon it's going to be day of Judgement, and we're all going to be lined up, waiting for our turns to be questioned on what we have done in our lives.
Most of the time we forget the fact that this dunya is temporary, and give in to the devil's persistance for us to follow the paths of temptations.
And most of time we don't like to be reminded about mortality. How many times have you switched channels or turned off the TV whenever that commercial came up where they show the guy suddenly dying infront of his computer after neglecting all of his prayers?
And how many times have we skipped the Quran channel on the radio and tuned in to our favorite music show, not even letting the reciter finish his ayah?
Yes, it's the bitter truth. We don't like to be reminded that we're all going to die one day, and we're all going to stand infront of Allah to justify the things that have been recorded by the angels on our books. Every single last detail of our lives.
We don't like to be reminded, because we like doing things that are haram. We enjoy the haram more than we do the halal.
Praying is so easy and simple, yet we manage to neglect it. The question is, is not praying 5 times a day for Allah really worth having a huge snake wrapped around our bodies after we die? "3athab el-qubr". Ignorance is such a bliss.
Subhan Allah, Allah has showered us with the blessing of our inability to hear the dead being tormented from under their graves, yet animals can. Yes, we say that if only we could hear the screams of those who are suffering from 3athab el-qubr then we would do everything the right way.
No, that's not how it goes. Our inability to hear them is a blessing because unfortunately, even though we say otherwise, even if we do we'll never change our habits. It's the way humans are.
If the day of Judgement was today, right now, and we were all summoned infront of Allah and we begged Allah to return us back to the dunya, we would still make the same mistakes. It's because humans are like that, it's how Allah created us. We have to make mistakes.
We seem to insist on doing the haram things, but did we really sit and count the blessings that Allah has generously showered us with? The answer is, no.. we tend to focus on the bad things that Allah has allowed to happen to us. Like death of someone close.. or losing fortune. It could be anything.
It's easier to be angry at Allah than to thank him.
When you're dealing with a major problem it's a test from Allah.. If you lose a dear person, and you gather all the strength, patience and courage you have to overcome your loss then your reward is a great one.
How easy is it to read a few pages from the Quran every now and then? The hasana of reading one letter is equivalent to ten.
How easy is it to spare a few minutes off our busy schedule to pray for Allah?

Below is a reminder for all of us of some 70 sins that we should avoid.

The greates sin of all: 1) Associating partners with Allaah (Shirk)
2. Committing murder
3. Performing Sorcery
4. Not performing the Prayer
5. With holding the Zaka (Charity)
6. Breaking the fast of Ramadan or not fasting in that month without a valid excuse
7. Not performing the pilgrimage when one has the ability to do so
8. Disobeying one's parents
9. Cutting off the ties of relationships
10. Committing adultery or fornication
11. Committing sodomy
12. Taking or paying interest
13. Devouring the wealth of orphans
14. Forging statements concerning Allaah or forging Hadith
15. Fleeing from the battle
16. Wrongdoing, deception or oppression on the part of the ruler
17. Being arrogant, boastful, vain
18. Giving false testimony
19. Drinking alcoholic beverages
20. Gambling
21. Slandering innocent women
22. Misappropriating something from the booty
23. Stealing
24. Committing highway robbery
25. Making false oath
26. Committing oppression
27. Levying illegal taxes
28. Consuming forbidden wealth or taking it by any means
29. Committing suicide
30. Being a perpetual liar
31. Ruling by laws other than the laws of Islam
32. Engaging in bribery
33. Women appearing like men and vice-versa
34. Being a dayyouth
Dayyouth: is the one who approves the indecency of his womenfolk and who is void of jealousy or the pimp who facilitates indecency between two people
35. Marrying for the purpose of making a woman allowable for another
36. Not keeping clean from the remains of urine
37. Acting for show
38. Acquiring knowledge only for worldly gain or concealing knowledge
39. Breaching trusts
40. Reminding people of one's kindness
41. Denying predestination
42. Eavesdropping on other's private conversation
43. Spreading harmful tales
44. Cursing others
45. Not fulfilling one's promises
46. Believing in what soothsayers & astrologers
47. A wife being rebellious to her husband
48. Putting pictures of beings with souls on clothing, curtains, rocks and any other items
49. Striking one's self, wailing, tearing one's clothing, pulling one's hair & similar deeds as a form of mourning
50. Committing injustice
51. Being overbearing or taking advantage of the weak, slaves, wives or animals
52. Harming neighbors
53. Harming and abusing Muslims
54. Wearing one's clothes too long, i.e. below the ankles
55. Harming the slaves of Allah
56. Men wearing silk & gold
57. Running away of a slave
58. Sacrificing animals for other than Allah
59. Claiming that somebody is one's father while the claimant knows it is not true
60. Arguing or quarreling for show & not seeking the truth
61. Not allowing excess water to flow to others
62. Not measuring the weights properly
63. Thinking that one is safe from Allah's planning
64. Eating carrion, blood or pork meat
65. Not praying in the congregation & praying by one's self without a valid excuse
66. Continually not performing the Friday prayers and congregational prayers without any valid excuse
67. Harming others by manipulation one's bequests
68. Being deceitful or deceptive
69. Spying on the Muslims & pointing out their secrets
70. Abusing or reviling anyone of the Companions of the Prophet (saw)


Allah is the most forgiving, and repenting sincerely requires only four simple steps:

1) Feeling bad for the sin
2) Firm commitment in intention not to repeat sin (whether it happens again is not a condition if one tried his best)
3) Make repentance to Allah by Du'a and asking or better crying for forgiveness
4) If some person has been wronged because of this sin then one needs to make up to this person.

Ashura's Shiite Children

Unbelievable!

Oh well...

Bashir lost his chance of becoming chairman of the African Union.

I'm not the least bit surprised.. Darfur- anyone?

Ashura pilgrims attacked in Iraq

Crazy world.

This whole Shiite-Sunni conflict is twisted.

Families Hail Execution of Medics in Libya

A Libyan court has sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with Aids, provoking a chorus of Western condemnation.

The ruling in a deeply politicised case could set back Libya's hopes of better ties with the West, which meant a deal that saves the six was still likely, analysts said.

The children's relatives broke down in tears and hailed the ruling that ended a seven-month retrial as a welcome act of defiance of the West.

"Justice has been done. We are happy," said Subhy Abdullah, whose daughter Mona, 7, died from Aids contracted at the hospital in the town of Benghazi where the medics worked. "They should be executed quickly," he said.

More


I understand that these people are upset, I mean it's not easy to lose a child.
But has it occurred to them that maybe -just maybe- there's a tiny possibility that the investigation has gone wrong, and the medics are not guilty?
According to the French doctor who first detected the HIV virus, these children were infected long before the medics arrived to Libya.
Another possibility is that perhaps the hospital had poor hygiene which in turn led to the infection of all these children?
I have yet to see the evidence proving the medics guilty as charged.
It just doesn't make sense that they would deliberately (or negligently) infect 500 something children with HIV.

Gaddafi has a mind of his own. He says that he himself cannot interfere with the law.

Sudanese Hijacker Held in Chad

Chadian forces have detained a lone hijacker who forced a Sudanese domestic flight to N'Djamena, the country's capital, agencies report.

The hijacker was held after the Air West Boeing 737 jet was surrounded by Chadian troops on the runway at N'Djamena airport on landing at 9:30am local time (08:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

Dozens of passengers were also seen disembarking from the aircraft. The jet had been on a domestic flight in Sudan when it was hijacked, government sources said.

Saif Omer, Air West's managing director, said the lone hijacker walked out of the aircraft after it landed in Chad and said he wanted asylum in Britain. Nobody was injured, he said.

The man had been holding a pistol to the pilot's head during the flight, Omer said.

Air West 612 took off from Khartoum, Sudan, for the western city of Al-Fasher when the pilot was forced to change direction to Chad, said Khartoum's airport manager, Yussuf Ibrahim.

Air West, based in Khartoum, is a privately owned company, and operates domestic passenger services and international cargo charters.

It is one of 95 airlines banned from landing at European airports because of its safety record.

It was not clear how the hijacker got on board the craft with a weapon, but Sudanese security is often lax, especially on internal flights.

_____________________

Heeeehehe.
I actually thought this was funny.
What was this guy thinking anyway?

Aljazeera

Stress

I feel 70.

Seriously.. there's too much stress in my life right now it's just unbearable.
Six days per week full of lectures, assignments, classworks, tests, researches, pop quizzes, field trips, homeworks and tutorials to name a few.
The seventh day is a day spent studying for the test the next day.

I can't blog or even surf the net very often for that matter. Plus, I have a severe case of writer's block.

Some of my female colleagues crack me up when they complain about the routine and decide that the only way out of this whole thing is -no, not graduating & earning a college degree- but actually getting married to a guy who's filthy rich (even if he's the age of my grandfather) OR a guy in possession of an American citizenship.. He doesn't have to be well mannered, educated or have a good personality. He doesn't have to be a businessman, a doctor or an engineer. He just have to have an American citizenship!!

Yeah, I remember this story about this Sudanese girl my family knows. This Sudanese American guy, whom she has never seen before in her life, and who was at the time still in the States, has asked his mother to find him a bride 'cause he was coming home soon to get married (and yeah, what's up with guys doing that?)
Anywho.. his mom picked (yes literally picked) this specific girl for him. And the minute the girl heard the words 'lives in America' she approved immediately, and by the way she hasn't seen him yet.
So a few months later, the bride is all set for her wedding.. the groom arrives and she finally sees him. I don't know whether he was okay looking or not, but anyway they carry on with their wedding preparations.
Later on she discovers he's a pizza delivery guy. Not that there's anything wrong with being one, just the fact that the girl was shocked since it's common for people like her to think that Sudanese Americans are loaded & living THE life. So the gold digger is sentenced to live with him for the rest of her life, since divorce in Sudan is a taboo & unthinkable, and her family would feel ashamed and might even disown her.

Heeehehe. I guess I deviated a little bit. But ranting is always good :)

It Happens Again

Guess what..

I had to go to school today on yet another announced official holiday.

I hate my life.. *sigh*

Happy New Hijra Year everyone.

Artificial Devices & Orthotics in Sudan

I was really shocked when we made a visit to the Artificial Limbs' Centre in Khartoum. Basically since it's a charity centre the only material they are working on for orthotics & prosthetics is plastic polypropylene.. which isn't that bad, though there's lots of better material out there.

What shook me to the core was that the people over there had no clue what they were doing. Most of the bracings and orthotic devices for patients with disabilities, handicaps or impairments were completely flawed.

The actual result of these flawed orthotic devices is, the patient will eventually wear them, clueless & unaware of the defect, and he/she will earn themselves a new deformity. Same applies for the prosthetic devices. It's completely twisted.

The technicians & engineers, which I should add, were mostly foreigners, were not taking any proper measurements.. they were mostly working randomly hoping the final cast will be suitable.

Believe that most of the disabled people living in Sudan have been wearing defected orthotic/prosthetic devices for many years.

Wake up people! Sudan is definitely not going forward.

Yes.. one more year and I'll be paying them more than just one visit!!

I'm Back... for a while

I missed this place!

Things have been extremely hectic for me this past week, and will be for at least the coming week as well.

At school we're taking this 'intensive course' for 2 weeks, we should be covering two subjects in those 2 weeks. So yeah, the whole schedule from 8-3 every single day is composed of these 2 subjects. Every single friggin day.

Seriously, how is someone supposed to comprehend two entire courses in a period of 2 weeks? I have no idea.. it's only making everyone stressed out to their brains.

It's all because the college has flown in these two professors from Syria to teach those subjects, since the subjects are entirely new to the Sudanese world & there are no current professors who can teach them in Sudan.

Oh well.. One more week left!

Iran Invites Sudan to Boost Military Cooperation

Jan 13, 2007 (TEHRAN) — Iran has invited Sudan to boost military cooperation between the two countries, saying that such cooperation among Islamic countries could lead to the progress and development of Islamic countries.

During a meeting held Saturday in Tehran with the visiting Sudanese Defence minister, the Iranian Defence minister expressed the readiness to share its military experience and abilities with the Sudan. The minister urged to promote military cooperation between the two countries as a mean to consolidate the Islamic World.

“Tehran is prepared to share its defence experiences and capabilities with all Muslim states,” Iranian Defence Minister Mustafa Mohammad-Najjar told his Sudanese counterpart Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein here on Saturday, the Iranian Mehr News Agency reported.
Mohammad-Najjar said unity is the main vehicle for the development of the Islamic world.
The minister highlighted the need to promote defence relations between Tehran and Khartoum.

“As one of Iran’s old friends, Sudan has a special place in the Islamic Republic’s foreign and defence policies,” he noted.

“Iran’s strategic situation in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf and Sudan’s situation in Africa and the Red Sea greatly impacts developments in these two regions,” the Iranian defence official commented.

He announced that Iran is prepared to participate in reconstruction projects in south and west Sudan.

The Sudanese minister also called for the promotion of ties between the two countries in all areas, especially in defence field.

Hussein said, “The United States is hindering the Islamic world’s development through different tactics.”

He added that Iranian people have absolute right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Unity of Shiites and Sunnis is very essential to foil plots against Islamic world, he added.

Source

So Much for the Truce

We should've known better!

Lion Hug

This freaked me out..loool!

Darfur Rebels Agree to 60-day Truce

Good news!

Sudan's government and Darfur rebels have agreed to a 60-day cease-fire and a peace summit sponsored by the African Union and United Nations as steps toward stopping the violence in west Sudan, a visiting U.S. official said Wednesday.

"President [Omar al-]Bashir agreed to the start of a peace process that includes a 60-day cessation of hostilities," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while visiting Sudan.

Saying the temporary truce provides a "cooling-off period," Richardson told CNN that "I think it is a step in the right direction. ... I'm very excited about this breakthrough."

"What we were able to do is set up a political process that puts pressure on both sides to reach an agreement, not just on a cease-fire, but to have United Nations peacekeeping troops, to secure the borders, to stop some of the killing and the famine, " he said in the CNN interview.

Experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing the government of neglect. Khartoum rejects Washington's description of the violence as genocide.

The African Union-U.N. peace summit is to be held no later than March 15.

Sudan also has agreed to let foreign journalists visit Darfur after a two-month ban and to remove a requirement for exit visas for aid workers, one of the biggest bureaucratic obstacles to the world's largest aid operation in Darfur.

Source

Happy Peace Day

Today is the anniversary of the signing of the CPA.

The whole country took the day off as an official holiday (except my university, we were the only ones working today, attending lectures normally as though we live in a separate island or something).

UN So-called Peace Keepers

I hate them.

They're abusing the children they should be aiding.

Peace keepers my foot! They might as well join the Janjaweed.

Depressed, Disgusted & Disturbed

It's almost 4 am and I'm still up.

Why? Because I can't sleep.
Why? Because I've been looking at disturbing pictures over the internet all morning.
Why? Because I thought I could handle it.

Apparently, I can't handle it.

It will probably take me some time to get these images off my head. I'm already feeling shaken (for 2 days now), thanks to youtube for featuring Saddam's full execution.

It wasn't intentional, I was googling the web and I came across this website that had some really graphic photos of Abu Ghraib prisoners as well as the bodies of Qusai and Uday Hussein.
They were horrible photos.. I wish I never saw them.

I've been watching cartoons & sitcoms ever since, but I still can't chase the memory of these pictures off my head.

And then I thought.. okay, I'll -image- google Khartoum.. my beautiful city.. & then I'll create a folder and save some cool pictures of Khartoum, maybe add some on my blog.
And what do I find?.. a picture of a urinal.
Yes, a urinal.
It was the nastiest thing I have seen since 2006.
Did you know there was a website for urinals? They have a top 10 and everything. And there's commentary section as well.
And the urinal I saw (unfortunately) was the one at Khartoum International Airport.

That's what happens when you have too much time in your hands.

PS - I'm not adding any links. If you're interested in looking at urinals, image google "Khartoum".

The Drama Following Saddam's Execution

And subject of the year award goes to...

Apparenty, the US tried to delay Saddam's hanging.

I guess now we know who really wanted him dead on the morning of Eid al-Adha.

Also.. a Kuwaiti businessman wants, umm.. Saddam's rope!

From Big Pharaoah:

Al Arabiya is reporting that a Kuwaiti businessman offered any amount in order to buy the rope that hanged Saddam Hussein. The businessman was told that he has to negotiate with the person who now owns the rope: Muqtada Sadr!

Question: What does he want to do with that rope? Huh??
We've established that Saddam was the bad guy, and for alot of people he got what he deserved. & we know that the guy is a Kuwaiti, and that he probably suffered thanks to Saddam.
But what's the deal with wanting to possess the rope that was wrapped around the man's neck seconds before he died? It seems a bit sadistic to me.

Oh, brother. The endless drama!

Please god, let people move on with their lives... What's done is done.

New Sudanese Currency

Ughh.

A 100 SD note is already confusing for alot of people.. but hey, if changing the currency is part of the CPA plan then, whatever. Sudan's got bigger problems than that.
It's effective as of January 9th.

PS - what the hell is Bank of New Sudan?

September 28, 2006

Sudan is to start the circulation of a new currency all over the country to symbolize its unity within the next few months, local newspaper Akhbaralyoum reported on Thursday.
This comes as another step to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed by the Sudanese government with the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in January, 2005 to end the country's north-south conflict.
Governor of the Bank of Sudan Sabir Mohamed al-Hassan was quoted by the Arabic-language daily as saying that the cost of the Sudanese currency change amounted to 150 million U.S. dollars.
One pound of the new currency will be equal to 100 dinars (0.48 U.S. dollar) of the old currency, according to the governor.
He expected that the exchange of the currency would begin in south Sudan in December and would continue for three months, and the same procedure would start in the north in January next year.
He said that the design of the new currency was intended to reflect the unity, cultural diversity, peace and industrial development in Sudan.

Update:

My Visited Countries Map

Wow.. I've been to 2% of the countries in the world (that's the red marked areas).
Heeeehehe.

Make your own map of the countries you've visited.

No School Till Saturday!

Thank you God!!

I don't have to go to school until Saturday.. what a relief.

School was supposed to resume today, but I really wasn't ready for that. I was prepared to give myself two days off to kick back, chill and relaaaaaax.



It's been very stressful this semester.. I barely knew the names of the subjects I was taking before my mid-semester exams.. I know, but what the hell? They expected us to start the academic year the last ten days of Ramadan. & with this overwhelming Sudanese heat in the middle of October it was definitely out of the question. Fasting + heat + Sudan = major disaster.

I only missed 10 days of school, and when I got back it was soon time for exams. Arrrgh.



Anyway, I really hope I'm going somewhere with this major. Biomedical Engineering is a new field here in Sudan, and I'm only in the second batch majoring in my college. One more year left for me & I'm done.. I can't wait!! I'm tired of studying for exams every couple of months and I'm tired of having a 4 week vacation at the end of the year.. it's all just too much to handle, and I've been doing it for three dreadful years. I feel old and worn out, I seriously do.



But when I ask myself what I'm going to do after I'm done with school, my mind goes blank. Really.. what am I going to do?? Thing is, here in Sudan it's very VERY common that you major in something and end up working in something totally irrelevant to what you majored in.

A friend once told me that if you want to work in Sudan all you need to have is an English speaking tongue and a knowledge of how to use the computer.

It's also very sad that it's very normal for you to have a Bachelor's degree in something and end up driving a "reksha".

The Rape of Darfur

The heartbreaking story of Halima Bashir, a gang-rape and torture survivor that spoke out about an attack on primary school children in Darfur.

Her crime was to tell people that a group of Janjaweed militia and government soldiers had attacked the primary school for girls, raping pupils as young as eight. She paid a terrible personal price.

"They were aged between 8 and 13," she said. "They were in shock, bleeding, screaming and crying. It was horrific. Because I told people what happened, the authorities arrested me. They said, 'We will show you what rape is'. They beat me severely. At night, three men raped me.
"The following day the same thing, different men. Torture and rape, every day, torture and rape."

Read more on this article.

A New Reality in Somalia

A new reality in Somalia
The current has shifted again in the capital, and backers of the defeated Islamists are adrift.

By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer
January 2, 2007

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — Their leaders slipped out of this capital under cover of darkness. Their plum jobs are gone. Their former offices were the first looted in a spasm of vandalism last week.

On Monday, these mid-level officials and fighters of Somalia's now-defunct Islamic Courts Union got a renewed offer of amnesty from Somalian Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi, who also set a three-day deadline for residents of Mogadishu to turn in their guns.

But for the Islamists left behind in Somalia's long-troubled capital, the ordeal was not over. While top Islamic officials escaped south toward Kenya last week, thousands of employees, fighters and other Islamic courts supporters remained trapped in Mogadishu, struggling to comprehend the new reality.

Once part of the city's elite, many of the Islamist militias' backers have gone into hiding, fearful of retribution or worried that enemies might finger them as Islamic courts collaborators to newly arrived Somalian soldiers or Ethiopian troops allied with the 2-year-old transitional government — or the warlord-led clan militias reasserting control in the city.

Weary Mogadishu residents Monday tried to return to normality after a week of turmoil and a three-day Eid al-Adha holiday. Shops and offices reopened. People ventured out on the streets.

Only a few soldiers could be seen patrolling the congested roads or guarding government buildings. Ethiopian troops seen in public generally drew large crowds of Somalian onlookers, who stood in groups, observing the foreign soldiers from afar.

Most of the city was quickly adapting to the fall of the Islamists, with residents resuming activities once discouraged. Cinemas reopened. Children played soccer again on the beach. Vendors of khat, a leafy stimulant, resumed daily deliveries in the marketplace.

But ongoing and onetime supporters of the Islamic courts remained largely in the background. Some still defended the courts and predicted a resurgence of the once-powerful alliance of Islamic leaders. However, others, former backers, insisted that they had been misled and exploited by an organization that fell victim to infighting and greed.

"It was a black day for Somalia," said one mid-level courts official, referring to Thursday, when Islamist fighters abandoned Mogadishu to advancing troops from Ethiopia and Somalia's transitional government.

"I'm still not sure what happened," he said, afraid to have his name or former position revealed.


Read more on this article.

Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?

(Hat tip: Nubianq from shamarat)

Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?
By JEFF STEIN
Published: October 17, 2006

Washington

FOR the past several months, I’ve been wrapping up lengthy interviews with Washington counterterrorism officials with a fundamental question: “Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?”
A “gotcha” question? Perhaps. But if knowing your enemy is the most basic rule of war, I don’t think it’s out of bounds. And as I quickly explain to my subjects, I’m not looking for theological explanations, just the basics: Who’s on what side today, and what does each want?
After all, wouldn’t British counterterrorism officials responsible for Northern Ireland know the difference between Catholics and Protestants? In a remotely similar but far more lethal vein, the 1,400-year Sunni-Shiite rivalry is playing out in the streets of Baghdad, raising the specter of a breakup of Iraq into antagonistic states, one backed by Shiite Iran and the other by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states.
A complete collapse in Iraq could provide a haven for Al Qaeda operatives within striking distance of Israel, even Europe. And the nature of the threat from Iran, a potential nuclear power with protégés in the Gulf states, northern Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, is entirely different from that of Al Qaeda. It seems silly to have to argue that officials responsible for counterterrorism should be able to recognize opportunities for pitting these rivals against each other.
But so far, most American officials I’ve interviewed don’t have a clue. That includes not just intelligence and law enforcement officials, but also members of Congress who have important roles overseeing our spy agencies. How can they do their jobs without knowing the basics?
My curiosity about our policymakers’ grasp of Islam’s two major branches was piqued in 2005, when Jon Stewart and other TV comedians made hash out of depositions, taken in a whistleblower case, in which top F.B.I. officials drew blanks when asked basic questions about Islam. One of the bemused officials was Gary Bald, then the bureau’s counterterrorism chief. Such expertise, Mr. Bald maintained, wasn’t as important as being a good manager.
A few months later, I asked the F.B.I.’s spokesman, John Miller, about Mr. Bald’s comments. “A leader needs to drive the organization forward,” Mr. Miller told me. “If he is the executive in a counterterrorism operation in the post-9/11 world, he does not need to memorize the collected statements of Osama bin Laden, or be able to read Urdu to be effective. ... Playing ‘Islamic Trivial Pursuit’ was a cheap shot for the lawyers and a cheaper shot for the journalist. It’s just a gimmick.”
Of course, I hadn’t asked about reading Urdu or Mr. bin Laden’s writings.
A few weeks ago, I took the F.B.I.’s temperature again. At the end of a long interview, I asked Willie Hulon, chief of the bureau’s new national security branch, whether he thought that it was important for a man in his position to know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. “Yes, sure, it’s right to know the difference,” he said. “It’s important to know who your targets are.”
That was a big advance over 2005. So next I asked him if he could tell me the difference. He was flummoxed. “The basics goes back to their beliefs and who they were following,” he said. “And the conflicts between the Sunnis and the Shia and the difference between who they were following.”
O.K., I asked, trying to help, what about today? Which one is Iran — Sunni or Shiite? He thought for a second. “Iran and Hezbollah,” I prompted. “Which are they?”
He took a stab: “Sunni.”
Wrong.
Al Qaeda? “Sunni.”
Right.
AND to his credit, Mr. Hulon, a distinguished agent who is up nights worrying about Al Qaeda while we safely sleep, did at least know that the vicious struggle between Islam’s Abel and Cain was driving Iraq into civil war. But then we pay him to know things like that, the same as some members of Congress.
Take Representative Terry Everett, a seven-term Alabama Republican who is vice chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence.
“Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?” I asked him a few weeks ago.
Mr. Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: “One’s in one location, another’s in another location. No, to be honest with you, I don’t know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.”
To his credit, he asked me to explain the differences. I told him briefly about the schism that developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and how Iraq and Iran are majority Shiite nations while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. “Now that you’ve explained it to me,” he replied, “what occurs to me is that it makes what we’re doing over there extremely difficult, not only in Iraq but that whole area.”
Representative Jo Ann Davis, a Virginia Republican who heads a House intelligence subcommittee charged with overseeing the C.I.A.’s performance in recruiting Islamic spies and analyzing information, was similarly dumbfounded when I asked her if she knew the difference between Sunnis and Shiites.
“Do I?” she asked me. A look of concentration came over her face. “You know, I should.” She took a stab at it: “It’s a difference in their fundamental religious beliefs. The Sunni are more radical than the Shia. Or vice versa. But I think it’s the Sunnis who’re more radical than the Shia.”
Did she know which branch Al Qaeda’s leaders follow?
“Al Qaeda is the one that’s most radical, so I think they’re Sunni,” she replied. “I may be wrong, but I think that’s right.”
Did she think that it was important, I asked, for members of Congress charged with oversight of the intelligence agencies, to know the answer to such questions, so they can cut through officials’ puffery when they came up to the Hill?
“Oh, I think it’s very important,” said Ms. Davis, “because Al Qaeda’s whole reason for being is based on their beliefs. And you’ve got to understand, and to know your enemy.”
It’s not all so grimly humorous. Some agency officials and members of Congress have easily handled my “gotcha” question. But as I keep asking it around Capitol Hill and the agencies, I get more and more blank stares. Too many officials in charge of the war on terrorism just don’t care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy we’re fighting. And that’s enough to keep anybody up at night.
Jeff Stein is the national security editor at Congressional Quarterly.

One of the site members commented: I believe every calamity starts by ignorance, then it evolves into arrogance. This very ignorance is the reason behind their prejudice.

I strongly agree with him.. the writer himself stated that "Too many officials in charge of the war on terrorism just don’t care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy we’re fighting."

Below is the map showing the Muslim distribution of Shi'a and Sunni in Africa, Asia and Europe:

Sunni is the first largest domination of Islamic faith, Shi'a is the second.

See:

Sunni Islam

Shiite Islam