children and education loss of future, lack of training, breaking of culture

O my God, I cry out but you do not answer.

In you our fathers put their trust and were not disappointed.

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned and despised.

Yet you brought me out of the womb,

and made me trust in you: do not be far from me,

for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Psa 22:2-11

A sound was heard in Ramah of weeping and much lament:

Rachel refusing all solace, because her children are gone.

Jer 31:15

children and education loss of future, lack of training, breaking of culture

They found him sitting among the teachers, listening to

them and asking them questions. And he went back to

Nazareth, and lived obediently with them, growing in

wisdom and stature, in favour with God and men.

Lk 2:46-52

People brought children to Jesus for him to place his

hands on them and pray for them. Mat 19:13

Who cares how we survive?

Many children, without education, condemned to be the underclass

Nuba schools were not grand, but at least there were schools

Children who have been traumatised have no hope for the future

children and education loss of future, lack of training, breaking of culture

Slaves are marketed for everything from

farm labour to domestic work. In most

cases, the children were given Arabic

names and taught to pray as Muslims.

“We are your new family,” ten-year-old

Teresa was told by the masters that bought

her from her nomadic captors. Her father

had been killed trying to save her from the

raiders. “You have lost your people, you

have no choice,” they said. “Either you

accept living with us or we’ll kill you.” Her

new family also insisted that she adopt the

Arabic name Zaara.

Unable to stop crying, Teresa cried out to

God, she told me. Later that night, she had

a dream in which she saw a cross. “A voice

came from the cross: ‘Why are you crying?

Aren’t you called Teresa? You are still who

you are.’”

The Right To Be Nuba - a Sudanese People's Struggle

for Survival ed. Suleiman Musa Rahhal

children and education loss of future, lack of training, breaking of culture

Army officers, when they return from

the south, often bring black children

back with them. They hand them out

to relatives for work around the house.

People don’t see this as slavery. But

that’s what it is.

The full impact of the slave trade

doesn't hit you until you talk to the

children. Many of the children have

lost whole families

As one would expect, sexual abuse is

common, and young boys and some

girls, especially those considered

marriageable among the latter, are

circumcised - this despite the fact that

the custom, widely practiced in some

Islamic contexts, is abhorrent among

the Nuba.

Branding is not uncommon. Bol Kir,

captured when he was five with his

younger sister, had an “11” carved on

his right cheek. He complained of

being beaten when he failed to account

for the goats his masters had sent him

to herd.

The Right To Be Nuba - a Sudanese People's Struggle

for Survival ed. Suleiman Musa Rahhal