South Sudan is not always a news headline for wars
Basketball Giants Bring Joy
Yasir Arman
On July 20, 2024, in a historic match, the basketball giants from South Sudan almost snatched a precious victory from the United States team, just as they had previously done with the Chinese team.
They truly represent both Sudans, Africa and the countries of the Global South, which are symbols of struggle, the quest for new societies and achieving human reconciliation in sports, creativity, and culture. What a delightful friendly match it was, embodying the nobility of sports in forging connections between societies.
Who told you that the South has nothing to offer the world? And who told you that the South’s stories are only those of wars, tribal conflicts, and complex issues of national building? These aren’t issues that concern the South alone, but also Africa, the Global South, and even the First World, albeit in different contexts and times. Who said that the malnutrition, lack of adequate healthcare, and the rural-urban divide would prevent the Southerner from standing tall, embracing the ebony and the sky, making his presence known on global television, and liberating basketball from belonging solely to the First World? Just as Africans have done time and again in various sports; like Manute Bol, who emerged from the neat narrow shoes of the village and our neglected countryside to the world stage. Manute Bol was a skyscraper and following his path, Luol Deng appeared.
The Nile existed before skyscrapers, and it was the Nile that provided humanity with sciences in the early days. Do not underestimate the Southerner, for in his long fight for rights, there is wisdom. On that day, we were present. Most Southerners respect their opponent after the wars end, they do not harbour grudges, they do not betray, they draw from the resources of generosity and courage, and they do not harm those who have been good to them. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
I was born and raised in North Sudan, but to me, the North and the South are just geographical labels that do not always give depth to their meanings. In my mind and heart, the South and the North occupy the same space. Fortunately, I met the martyrs who showed me the true image of the Southerner, beyond the mental images drawn by government news agencies and state institution files with agendas. I know what the South is going through and I follow its news, both good and bad. Never has a day come when my faith wavered that the Southerner will one day achieve what he desires with his usual resilience. The North and the South have another chance to correct the mistakes of the past and the pains of history, and they will draw a new portrait in a Sudanese union between two sovereign states. Unity comes in many forms; look at how Europe united after wars and retained its states, Kings, and republics side by side in a European Union.
Thank you to the Southerners for welcoming thousands of Northerners with open arms and thank you to the Northern professionals who chose to work in the South, they are a valuable moral capital. The poor are the ones who produce genuine and noble human values, so stick with the poor and you will gain. The basketball giants brought joy and pride to the Southerners, all Sudanese, and Africans. Sports is a space for love in this turbulent world. Thank you to our American brother LeBron James, who praised the youth and the South Sudan team, acknowledging the difficulty of the hard-fought victory in the last minute.
In sports, Southerners confirmed that the marginalized have the ability to compete with the monopolists and that the Global South has something to offer to bring joy and happiness to souls. This team deserves the state’s attention so their blood is not scattered in the ruthless globalization of sports, which has become a commodity that does not care about national symbols. The South has a promising future in sports, culture, and creativity, and culture is more precious and influential than minerals.
Last June, in Juba Stadium, in the match between Sudan and South Sudan, where Sudan’s team won over South Sudan’s team, I was struck by the love and solidarity of the Southerners towards the Sudan team, which is surrounded by war from all sides. I paused at what Deng Goc wrote with sharp sarcasm and the words of the kind-hearted young woman, Mashair Stephen, who said that she celebrates the joy that entered the hearts of Sudanese from the sorrow of war and gave them new hope. She added in the end, “We are one people.” This is true; despite our diversity, we draw from the same deep-rooted values and traditions. We are connected by culture, blood, communities, history, geography, and interests in an inseparable unity that we will strengthen on a new basis, no matter how long it takes. Disparaging Sudan’s history is what diminishes its geography.
If I leave this world someday, know that my love for you was boundless, without borders or stamps of passports and immigration. The North and the South will craft a new story between them, with their closest neighbours and with humanity, in search of brotherhood, love, equality, and a just and fair world for all without biases, injustices, or greed. The basketball team achieved one of the Southerners’ dreams, and until global broadcasting stops erasing South Sudan from its memory and mentions it without news of war, may South Sudan be blessed on earth and in the sky.