The Waterstraut Waterspout: Banned Countries Week: Sudan

In light of recent current events, I threw together a quick 'Theme Week' for our next 7 countries. Never did I think I'd have to group a set of countries together like this, but I did keep open the possibility that I would move some around based on current events. I had 'Religion Week' ready to go and all prepped, but I felt like we needed to do this first, since it's so relevant. Religion week will be later this month.

If you're even a casual Waterstraut Waterspout reader, you know how I feel about our current administration. But look, whatever you think about the ban/not ban (and you can read about what we think here), I think it can't hurt to educate ourselves about these places (although I'm sure plenty of you know way more than me, I'm no expert!) So anyway, I moved the 7 countries with 'travel restrictions'/'no travel restrictions'(depending on the day, and the court ruling) next in line in the countries cue.

I didn't really plan those 7 in any particular order. Up first is Sudan, one of three African countries named on the Executive Order.

Now, it's a theme week country, so we'll be looking a little more into it. Besides our usual kitchen set up for our country, the chalkboard will give the boys some insight into why this country might have ended up on the Executive Order, and what life is like for the citizens there.

But, back to the kitchen! We did our usual stuff first. You know, all the stats: The capital is Khartoum (where the White & Blue Nile meat -- ha! I typed 'meat' just there because Asa was talking about bacon, of course I mean 'meet'). Along with the Nile comes some interesting wildlife, including the Nile Crocodile, the second largest reptile in the world! (In case you're wondering the largest, like the boys were, it's the Saltwater crocodile found in Australia and Southern Asia). The Port of Sudan, right along the Red Sea, isn't all that interesting, but sometimes scuba divers spot hammerhead sharks there!

Sudan was once home to the ancient Kingdom of Nubia, the oldest monarchy in the world. Today, some of the native Nuba people still live shal and houla (basically huts) in the remote (not to mention inaccessible) area in the Nuba Mountains.

It's the 15th biggest country in the world, but the 35th most populous, meaning you've got plenty of space to stretch out (if you like stretching out in the desert, that is). It's the third largest country in Africa, but you might want to go ahead and add a little asterisk to that one. Just 6 years ago, Sudan was the biggest country in Africa. having just over 125,000 square miles on Algeria. But, South Sudan formally split from Sudan in 2011 (and as such, South Sudan is the newest country in the world!), and Sudan dropped to number three on the list.

Everyone thinks of Egypt when they think of Pyramids, but Sudan is actually home to the most pyramids in the whole world! (It has twice as many as Egypt!) In the ancient city of Meroe, you can find more than 200 pyramids with tombs for hundreds of kings and queens from Nubian royalty.

Since it's a theme week, we have an activity! Today's was a nod to the often overlooked pyramids of Sudan, and the boys had to work together to move the pyramid from one coffee table to the other. All you need for this activity is a rubber band with a couple of strings attached, and some cups. Easy peasy.

Then they have to work together to move the cups without touching them. I took a bunch of pictures, and it might seem like overkill to post them all, but I feel like the sequencing can really give you an adequate picture of how this activity went.

And that's as far as they got with that. I do want to say, it is totally possible. Asa and I showed them how it was done, and totally killed it. Note to self: The boys need to work on their communication and problem solving skills.

I tried to break up the lecturing about Sudan with the activity, so after they all got mad at each other about the pyramid, we got to the chalkboard. (Ok, first of all, if you're looking for info, you probably can't read these- but also, I never spell checked my world file, so there was plenty of opportunities for the boys to make fun of me)

Anyway, first we talked about just how terrorist organizations become so prominent in countries (An unstable government makes it an easy prey, and/or the government contributes to the rise of these organizations).

So, let's talk Sudan.

Sudan has been listed as a 'state sponsor of terrorism' since 1993, mostly thanks to 'President' Omar al-Bashir. Basically this guy took power from a democratically elected leader (a real president, if you will) in a military coup. Since then he's been 're-elected' something like three times. If you want to talk about actual voter fraud and fake elections, this is what that looks like. Not like a few people registered in two states.

Sudan has basically been dealing with on and off civil wars for 40 years, and the current Darfur Conflict has been ongoing since 2003. The Conflict, named for the Darfur region (in the west, near the border with Chad), at it's very core comes from it's own religious discrimination and racism. After accusing the government of oppressing the Non-Arab population, rebel groups started fighting the government. And the government responded with carrying out an 'ethnic cleansing'.

Which brings me to ISIS/ISIL/Da'esh's presence in Sudan. The ethnic cleansing of non-Arabs is right up ISIS's alley, making it a prime area for recruiting new, young, members. While some people suggest that the government in Khartoum is ready to join the US in it's fight against ISIS/ISIL/Da'esh, it would be irresponsible not to be a bit skeptical given Al-Bashir's actions, not to mention the fact that he once openly invited Osama Bin Laden to his country, so he doesn't seem to have a great moral compass.

We also talked about the varying degrees of the official U.S. State Department's Travel Warnings. Each of the next 7 countries we do have their own warning. They range from something to the effect of 'be aware of the risks' to 'Don't go here, and if you are there, get out right now!'

The official warning on Sudan is over a year old, and I feel like a new one may be coming soon given the current state of things, but currently the U.S warns of 'the continued risks of travel to Sudan'. Travelers absolutely must stay away from the Darfur area, and the South Sudan area, and even then, you have to deal with sporadic violent crime and armed conflict.

People who live there\ have a lot to deal with. Depending on your source, anywhere from 2-3 million Sudanese have been internally displaced, so they're dealing with their own refugees. Most have been moved to the Khartoum area, where some sell tea and coffee on the street for money. They have an authoritarian ruler, no real access to internet or TV, and women are mostly expected to stay at home until they are married, while the men and boys can go out and about.

For those who have fled the country as refugees, most have gone to neighboring Chad.

That's just a snapshot of Sudan, obviously their situation is much more complicated, but a brief idea/description is better than none, right?

The boys made their postcards

For dinner we had bananas, African style rice, African-style peanut chicken, and Salata Ma Jibna (salad with Parmesan cheese)

Dinner earned two spoons up.

Asa and I both enjoyed it. (I know, I liked a rice dish!) The boys all liked the rice, hated the chicken, ate their bananas and picked at their salad.

Peyton colored in Sudan,