Every Day Is Special: Sudan

Showing posts with label Sudan. Show all posts

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

November 12 - Peace-Keeping Organizations: Leaving or Joining?

Posted on November 12, 2020

On this date in 1933, Germans voted on their nation's withdrawal from the League of Nations. The League of Nations had been created after World War I with the intent of using diplomatic talks to solve conflicts between countries.

In other words, it was an attempt to create a global peace-keeping organization.

Nazi Germany, of course, didn't value peace as much as some do - and their withdrawal from the League, a few years before they began to take over and/or attack other nations, was a signal of their disregard for peace.

There was some pressure on the German voters to "ratify" or approve the withdrawal with a referendum vote. Almost all of the voters showed up to the polls (more than 96% turnout!), and almost all of them (95%) voted to approve leaving the League of Nations.

On this date in 1956, Morocco and Sudan and Tunisia all joined the United Nations - the world's second, and more successful, attempt at a peacekeeping organization. On this date in 1968, Equatorial Guinea joined the U.N., and on this date in 1975, the Comoros joined. These five African nations joining on the November 12, but in different years - is that coincidence? Design?

Above, Morocco
Below, Sudan

Above, Tunisia
Below, Equatorial Guinea

Above, Comoros

Note that loads and loads of African nations joined the U.N. on different dates, from Togo's joining on 9/20/1960 to Namibia's on 4/23/1990.

Also on this date:

Chinese leader Sun Yat-sen's birthday

Birth of Baha'u'llah

Over and Under Day (a day to celebrate tunnels and bridges)

Anniversary of the first salvage operation in space

Anniversary of National Gaming Day

Birthday of gymnast Nadia Comăneci

Fancy Rat and Mouse Day

Birthday of women's rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Youth Day in East Timor

Anniversary of the showing of Alaine Delorme's Ephemeral Plastic Sculptures

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

November holidays
November birthdays
Historical anniversaries in November

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December holidays
December birthdays
Historical anniversaries in December

June 30 - Revolution Day in Sudan

Posted on June 30, 2019

Today is the anniversary of a bloodless coup in Sudan, in 1989.

I always like the sound of a "bloodless coup" - not as good as a peaceful transfer of power through an election, of course, but way better than a years-long, bloody civil war.

However, when Colonel Omar al-Bashir took over the government of Sudan, there was nothing but bad news for the Sudanese people. His military government suspended political parties and made the country into a dictatorship. The country became a theocracy, with Islamic law ruling everyone, including non-Muslims. Independent newspapers were gone, separate branches of government were gone, and political figures, journalists, and even officers in the army were imprisoned or executed.

There was more and more bad news, including the War in Darfur, a genocide, state-sponsored terrorism, repression of anyone who opposed the government. South Sudan broke away from the rest of the nation in 2011, and the economy - which was bad before all of this started, so long ago, became even worse.

This year, in April of 2019, al-Bashir's government was finally overthrown, and al-Bashir was arrested. A state of emergency was declared - and although al-Bashir is finally out of power, people still don't have what they need, and protesters are still being mistreated and arrested.

A protest has been called for today - we'll see what happens!