March 3 - Unity Day in Sudan - Wait! - But...!

    Posted on March 3, 2022

This is an update of my post published on March 3, 2011:

Refugees from Darfur, now in Chad

In the past, March 3 was celebrated as Unity Day, a day for the people in the North and South regions of Sudan to celebrate peace and unity with parades and cultural shows.

That's what the internet claims.

However, there were decades-long civil wars between the largely Arab/Islamic north and the non-Arab/animist and Christian south. And since 2011, South Sudan became its own independent nation. Still, the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and also in a part of Sudan called Darfur continues, even now. Well over a million people died in all the unrest and famine, and millions and millions of people were driven from their homes. As of July 2021, almost 3 million Darfuris were STILL displaced and living in camps. 

Peace is a nice thing to celebrate but has been unfortunately all-too-difficult to achieve.

As for unity, with the southern portion of Sudan gone, and Darfur still in terrible disarray, I'm pretty sure that Unity Day has not been celebrated in Sudan for years.

Learn more...

Here is an article about Sudan and South Sudan. 

Also on this date:

 Princess Day 

 Liberation Day in Bulgaria

 National Anthem Day

 Physicist Brian Cox's birthday

 Vasaloppet in Sweden

 Statehood Day for Florida

 Martyrs Day in Malawi

Hina Matsuri in Japan

Losar in Tibet

(date varies)

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• March holidays
• March birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in March

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• April holidays
• April birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in April
  
  

March 3, 2011

Refugees from Darfur, now in Chad.

Unity Day in Sudan – But....

In the past, March 3 has been celebrated as Unity Day, a day for the people in the North and South regions of Sudan, according to some internet sources, to celebrate peace and unity with parades and cultural shows.

However, there have been decades-long civil wars between the largely Arab/Islamic north and the non-Arab/animist and Christian south, and civil war continues in Darfur, in the western part of the country, even now. Well over a million people have died in the unrest, and two million people have been driven from their homes. Peace is a nice thing to celebrate but has been unfortunately all-too-difficult to achieve.

As for unity, the southern portion of the nation has voted overwhelmingly (almost unanimously) to break off from the north, and the split is planned to take place on July 9 of this year.

I'm pretty sure that Unity Day will not be celebrated today in Sudan, or perhaps ever again.

Learn more...

Kidz Zone has a feature called “Life in a Sudanese village.” 

The Australian Lutheran World Service website has info on Sudan and activity suggestions for primary and upper elementary kids. 

(Some content is Christian / Lutheran.)

Here is an African puzzle that you can play at easy or hard levels. (Notice that Sudan is the largest country on the continent—but after it splits, it won't be!)