WEEK 7: War and Refugee Cases - Sudan

"I speak to you because I cannot help it. It gives me strength, almost unbelievable strength, to know that you are there...How can I pretend that you do not exist? It would be almost as impossible as you pretending that I do not exist."

- Valentino Achak Deng (as written by Dave Eggers)

The conflict and displacement of the Sudanese people have become somewhat mainstream themes in the very limited realm of international events to which the average American is exposed.  Although many people can tell you something about Sudan, primarily concerning the Darfur region of the country, not many people understand the context in which this ongoing conflict is taking place.  The predominantly Arab and Muslim government has come into conflict with both citizens of Darfur and Southern Sudan; as a result, countless deaths have occured and displacement from one's native land has been commonplace. 

What is the What is the story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese man living in Atlanta who remembers his experiences as a child in Sudan.  Although intended as a biography, the book is actually written by author Dave Eggers, who depicts Valentino's struggles in a way that seems as if Valentino is sitting down at a coffee shop with you and telling you his entire story.


Southern Sudanese citizens cheering and raising the flag of
their soon-to-be newly independent country

The journey from Marial Bai (Valentino's hometown) to Pinyudo in Ethiopia and later to Kakuma in Kenya marked an unbelievably treacherous time in Valentino's life, but all the while Dave Eggers juxtaposes the children dying of Malaria by the Nile and Ethiopian soldiers gunning down refugees in Pinyudo with life in the United States for the Sudanese native...and depending on the moment, it can be difficult at times to perceive which scenario is worse.  The setting of the novel takes place initially in Valentino's apartment in Atlanta, where he is being robbed by two African Americans, Tonya and her counterpart Powder.  Valentino gets continously called a Nigerian by the assailant, who assaults him frequently (although seeming reluctant to do so most of the time).  As we see from Valentino's experience with the Atlanta police force and local hospital, the Sudanese man depicts life in the United States as less hopeful at times than Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.  When he was a child he had a goal, an achievement centered on fleeing Sudan and finding refuge in another country.  In the United States, his goals seem even more ellusive...finding the right woman, getting a good education, and making a decent living prove to be much harder than one normally thinks. 

I believe the real beauty of this type of post-colonial writing lies in two important concepts: the idea of reality as unbelievably true, sort of an "I couldn't make this up in my mind if I even tried!" type scenario.  The other concept is the reverse cultural lens with which we are almost forced to look at our own society.  Postcolonial authors such as Eggers, Phillips, and Dabydeen set the primary stage for their novels in places quite familiar to the western culture.  However, the way in which they portray these places are quite out of the ordinary and at times very grotesque.  In some ways, we learn more about our own societies than we do about the societies to which these authors are natives.  It is a remarkable style of writing that grips readers by representing an often unseen, yet undeniably factual western mindset.  Even as an American, you sort of become an outsider looking in when reading What is the What and you might even feel some shame.