Juba: Random Observations
(I wrote this a couple of months back and did not get the time to complete it and publish it… here is the post as rough as it was..)
Complaining about the heat in Juba these last few days, I was told there are t-shirts in the market with the text ”Juba sukon, lakin top!” (Juba is hot, but it’s nice).
Juba is filled with contradictions… you can love it in the morning and by the evening, you’d hate it so much you’d promise to go the airport in the morning and just fly out of this place… when you wake up the next day, the circle would start all over again!
Driving or being driven in Juba…
If a car has seat belts, I make sure I put mine on whenever I am seated in a car. In Juba, driving or being driven can be scarely to say the least. If you are driving, you have to navigate the potholes, dodge the kids on motorbikes, give priority to the dogs and goats criss-crossing the road, mind the semi-blind and deaf pedallers, beware of SPLA trucks and stay on your side of the road…. When everyone does that simultanously, you can imagine how the traffic would flow!
Almost everyone I know who has had a car in the last 6 months or so has either hit something or was hit. In most cases, after an accident the drivers will get out and pick up a physical fight….
If you think this is nothing, try been riden on a ’senke’ (motorbike).
Domestic Violence…
Very first week in Juba and our neighbour to the left has already been beaten 4 times. The first day I felt bad because I thought there was something I could do like call the police or something, but I did not want to look stupid again for suggesting or stating what I pressume is the ordinary or the obvious.
By the second day, I kinda came to the conclusion the woman wanted a good whopping. I swear to Jah she asked for it as she went on for hours pushing this poor guy’s buttons. She was loud and every neighbour could hear her go on and on insulting her husband in ways that could only hurt best if said in Arabi-Juba and Bari language. The man was silent for the most of it, probably foaming with anger…. when he exploded, I don’t know what happened but she was screaming and I don’t know what…
The next day, I saw a women whose left side of the face was kinda thicker than the other and I guess it was her… I don’t see her these days.. I believe the husband did not kill her, but I guess she has been sent back to her mums to get some manners and learn how to still have a big month and not get beaten because of it!
(by the way, I am opposed to violence against women)
Juba is expensive…
There is a place, a business center to be precies called Home and Away. It’s so expensive! A glass of wine cost 20 SDPounds (10USD). A pakket of Benson (cigarettes) costs double the normal rate ie 10SDPounds. It’s situation close to where most ministers and the big guys stay… an area in Juba called Hai Amarat. This place has been closed down because the ministers complain they can’t sleep in the weekends when the disco happens…
Da Vinci (hotel, bar and resturant) and goats on my friends car
There are other places like Da Vinci, a very beautiful place close to the River Nile. A plate of Spagetti would cost you 54 SDPounds (that’s 27 USD). Next time I’ll scan the receipts and the excharge rate that day for you to believe…
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I just came across your blog last night and I want to let you know that your writing/experiences are intriguing and inspiring.
I have lived in SS and my wife and I anticipate heading over there sometime in the near future to work in education and economic development.
I am currently finishing my IMBA with 2 independent studies focused on micro-enterprise development in SS–and I could use your help/insight if you’re willing.
I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about your situation there in Juba-land.
Let me know if there is another avenue of communication we could use for personal exchanges.
Also, in quick response to the blog on oppression, we saw a very good documentary recently called “Sisters in Law” about the the role of women leaders in Cameroon–you should check it out.
Hope to catch you again soon.
[...] Returnee also shared his observations on Juba just as Drima, The Sudanese Thinker expressed his on calls by the president of Sudan to boycott [...]
Discos still happen in Juba?
For some reason the Disco jumped out at me more than the Domestic Violence case.
My mother used to tell me that if a man doesn’t beat his wife, the woman starts wondering if he is cheating on her (or stopped loving her all together), because he is not paying her enough attention (being beaten in a pulp, and we are not talking about being kinky here). Now, I would like to think my mother was kidding, she has a shady sense of humor like I do. But sometimes I do wonder about that…whenever I hear stories like you have just related….
Maybe some women have warped ideas of what marriage should be like. Maybe that’s the only way she can get her husband’s attention.
Because I am more attentive to some subjects, I tend to pick up more on cases of physical/verbal abuse in marriages especially amongst Sudanese folk (because oh hey, I’m Sudanese) and the prominent presence of expected and accepted abuse is…disconcerting to say the least.
You and I need to go to the Disco sometime, you better not be eying other women over there.
hi sudan i haave alot of ideas that can help aas
am sudanese to and i hope that we all untii as Africa
@dalu,
sorry for the late response, thought i replied you already, my bad.
Night clubs here are still called Discos even thought they don’t play that genre of music. You are welcome to Juba and I’ll take you to the best ones
.
Yes, one of these days I will brave my way to Sudan and take you up on that offer.
hi bro and sister i hope that all my people is right out there im sam an am very glad to find this web i alway gonna be around guz peace out send to me if ya find my mail is out there
We as community understand too well the gender inequality that exist in sudan. So was it a suprise as i read the article, no! But we certainly need a steer of different direction considering family voilence in south Sudan. Chang
I heard that SPLA trucks, especially those that drive around with the big guys hit people’s cars with impunity or even kill people including animals on daily basis. Seeing the president’s motorcade and all the unjust things I heard from folks who went to Juba, I couldn’t agree more.
Dear Budy,
Whoever you are, this is wonderful message that I enjoy to hear. Well, the question is has it ever been a city if you were to imagine centuries back? It has never been like that before. Also the CPA is only three years old in which that change you are seeing has been happening in three years time. Also transformation is still underdevelopment which is the reason why it is so busy for. They cannot be blame for it, but only to adjust to the current life you see right now.
Hi everyone
I’m a humanitarian worker and I’m about to go on a mission in Juba. Is there anyone to give me some information about the general life, good places to stay (hotels), places to eat and so on.
Thanks to all of you.
Take care
Is it true the hotels are $200/nite?
haw far is from Mombasa?
am sudanese too but need my homeland to be the best plce and wish to see juba a clear place and good envriments.sudan is a better plcae but people dont uesd it good and build it better.hope u all the good wisher juba
alot of childern dont wanted to go back to sudan now becasue something that is bad place and i understand why they said that becasue is not build like australia or other place they growth up in.i dont remember sudan but i wish to see it.
am a social worker and also a nurs and wish to work for my people in sudan but dont know if there is best place for it in sudan.if u think there is than send me messagd back thanks