Sunday, September 18, 2016

African or Arab?

Welcome back,
Today I will give you all more insight into my 'secluded' life (like I promised previously).

When it comes to culture, I wouldn't exactly say that I belong to a one culture solely, that is because I come from a country that I have no history with, therefore I would be more likely to identify with the country which I spent my entire life in, however that is not the case. Sudan is the country which holds my identity.

Now, to explain the title of this post. Many people from other Arab cultures identify us as 'Arabs', while people from non-Arab cultures identify us as 'Africans', only because Sudan is located in Africa. Yes, I know that it's location makes it an 'African' country, however it doesn't necessarily makes us 'Africans', as Sudan's first language is Arabic NOT Afrikaans. The frustrating thing about this is not the 'African' label, it's the fact that Egypt and Sudan are siblings, they share the nile river, and I've never witnessed an individual label Egyptians as 'Africans'.

Furthermore, it is very irritating how much Sudan is ignored not only in Africa, however in the whole world. On that point, I have noticed, while growing up, that Egypt seems to be more familiar to people. Yes, I know that this could be because of it's famous pyramids, however Sudan itself has a legendary history- Sudan was the largest country in Africa (7th largest in the world), until it split up in 2011.
Let me tell you something that really put me off a few months ago when I was researching a few things about Sudan for my history homework. I typed 'Sudan' into google and the first link I click on defines Sudan as 'A country in Africa, south of Egypt'. No, Sudan is: an Arab country located in Africa.


Fact: Sudan and the UAE flags are made up of the same colours. 

No comments:

Post a Comment