Un pueblo festejando su historia

Three women found a place to make an exhibition of art. In a beautiful enviroment, in a prety neighborhood near Boston, they show fifty paintings and around ten sculpture. Susan and me enjoyed very much this relaxing activity.
After this we drive around and find a town that celebrate three hundred and fifty years. All people was dressed with costumes of seventeen century, the houses opened to show all kind of antiques, native people showing their dresses and tools. Also we went to a school that brought us a class like in seventeen century, with the teacher well dressed with his stick in his hand.He told us that only men could learn in the school, and as more sticks for the fire they brougth, more close to the hiring they stayed.

My Life on the Journey

My name is Dan William- a son of a chief leader and raised in a happier family before my life was on the journey. My life on the journey was like a dream: it was an unintentional experience. It was unreal. "Travel is the best medicine" is a phrase you often hea, but in my life's journey it was not. I was born in Sudan, a country that has been involved in a civil war for about two decades. The civil war in Sudan es the longest running war in the History of the Africa continent. In fact, the ongoing civil war in Sudan has been devastating to the lives of the Southern Sudanese. The economy of the region has been destroyed, people have been dying of starvation and disease: still others are gunned down by ground attacks of air bombardment and wounded people die a painful death without hospital treatment. These are just a few of the bad things, the list could continue.
The survivors of these attacks ran away in different directions. Some reached refugee camps in a neighboring country. A large number went to Ethiopia and took refuge there. Others remained in Southern Sudan and hid, sometimes moving from place to place for safety. This large movement of people had brought separation among family members. I ran away from my home at the age of eight years old becuse my village was attacked . Numerous people were killed, crops were looted, the village burned and much more.
I took to my heels and ran away into the bush, then met other people who had also ran away, including adults. We continued walking together for a couple of months. Following the path that others had taken earlier, and found our way to refugee camp inside Ethiopia. On our way we had faced many attacks from soldiers, militia, wild animals, and disease-bearing insects.
Another difficulty we had faced was a lack of water. We sometimes went up to the three days without water. An adult accompanying us carried water and helped us children beacause we were too small to carry the water. Most adults died on the way, however, in our Dinka culture the needs of the children have to be first, so an adult would give water first to any child, even to one who was not their own, before taking some themselves. Without this adult help, a large number of Dinka children would not survive.
In Ethiopia we had begun to lead relatively peaceful lives again. However, this did not last long. Shortly after a change in goverment in Ethiopia, we refugees were forced to flee again at the point of gun. This time the Journey occurred during the heavy rains and we were forced to cross heavy, swolen rivers. The Ethiopian soldiers, who were cooperating with Sudanese governmen soldiers, guned down the refugees and forced them back into Sudan. We had no choice but to jump into river and swim. But many of us could not swim, and not only were there crocodiles, but also soldiers shooting at us. Thousands drowned.
Once we were back along the border inside Sudan, the radical Muslins continued their forceful attacks upon us, even though we were back in "dispacement camps" within our own country. Because of this, we continued on our long trek to find a safe place, ending up in Northern Kenya. We were just children, with no parents or family, and only older children of ages 11-14 who helped us. This journey took several month of travel and there were no more attacks on us by soldiers as we walked. The Red Cross helped us by providing water and food along the way at six-hour intervals. Without the aid of the Red Cross, we would not be here today.
Along the way, we faced miserables conditions. I recall many of us fell victim to lethal deseased. Other children were so weakened by hunger adn lack of sleep that they could not go further and sometimes would sit by the path and become prey f0r lions. In fact, we were quite helpless as many of us were attacked by wild animals or soldiers during the journey. After several month of walking, we came to Kenya where we spent nine years in a UN refugee camp. The camp was located in North Kenyaa. It was one of the largest refugee camps that the UN ran in Kakuma, holding approximately 70000-80ooo refugees. Abpu 12000 were unaccompanied minors. Kakuma was a plce without fun: we had no mall, no computers, no movies, no school satationery and no play equipment to name a few.
Getting food was one of the main tasks. Usually between six and eight hours were spent waiting in the line in the hot sun. N ot onlyu waitin in line for six to eight hours, sometimes people went three to five days a week standuing in various line for food. The food was maize ( corn) 3 kilograms, cooking oil half a cup, salt 1 teaspoon, beans half a cup and sometimes a change from maize to flour. This was our food for 15 days and sometimes more if donors or trnspotation shortage occurred. We were sometimes given vegetables and we were given meat once a year at Christmas.
After you had received your ration, the next task was preparing food . We pounded corn with a wooden pestle. Then cooked over fire: we had to ccollect firewood though sometimes the UN proveded it.
We also fetched water at the water tap and group of people cooked together taking turns.
Sadly, the war in Sudan continues and is now being fought by children. This is one of the reasons young children run away to seek a safe place to live. The army would conscript any male children they could find . The government would kill young men of draft age. Kidnapping was also common, especially that of children ad young people. Kidnapped victims were forced to become slaves.
In Kenya, the United Sattes government decide to resetle the Sudanese children, which have become know as " the Sudanese lost boys & girls" This is the latest part of my Journey.
In 2001, I came to the United States and was settled in Worcester by the International Rescue Committee. In Ameruca, I was given three month to learn English, learn the culture, and find a job. I was also given medical treatment upon my arrival. But the problem is tat we have just been fast- forwarded into developed society. We are very rural from a deloping country with technologicallu primitive society and now placed in American society with zero knoledge of American life. Emotionally we felt very desperate because of culture shock. In adition we are new to a lot of things such as groceries, transprotation and a simple thing like an electrical stove is a mystery to us.
My arrival in this country took place shortly before September 11.
the country was friendly and welcoming , even getting a job was possible. But after September 11, the American spirit towards foreingners changed. Many of us were laid off from our jobs right after September 11, and refugees flights were suspended, leaving many of my friends traped in Kenya.
My life's journey has not priveded me with "good medicine". However, it has brought me to America where I can ger education if "God wiling" that can be considered "good medicine" in the future. Refugee life is not for weak.
Dan William

Escrito por un compañero de trabajo de Walter, fué distribuido entre todos en la imprenta y se allienta a los demás a que compartan sus propias experiencias.