Sudanese-Australians to celebrate Australia Day in Juba
By James Gatdet Dak
January 20, 2009 (JUBA) – Sudanese-Australians currently residing in the Southern Sudan capital, Juba, have announced to celebrate the Australia Day – the country’s biggest public holiday according to organizers – which will take place on January 26.
Australians on this day come together as a nation to celebrate what is great about Australia and being Australian.
The first ever Australia Day celebration in Juba under the theme: “Building Stronger Links” is being organized by a newly formed Juba-based civil society organization called ‘Sudanese-Australian Social Club.’
According to the Chief Executive Officer of an indigenous South Sudan Development Agency, Gatwech Peter Kulang – a Sudanese-Australian and Chairman of the Organizing Committee – the celebration in Juba aims at forging and building a stronger relationship between the people of Southern Sudan and the people of Australia towards mutual benefits.
Gatwech, who returned from Australia after several years in that country, explained that there are over 30,000 Southern Sudanese living in Australia who have built a friendship and connection that has developed and grown stronger both within the local Sudanese community and in the wider Australian community.
“On this day in Australia we celebrate the goodness of Australia; the people and volunteers who have dedicated their lives to others; the spirit of pulling together in hard times and achieving beyond expectations; and the eminent Australian from all walks of life,” he stated in a press release.
He said Southern Sudanese-Australians are happy to express their love and appreciation to the Australian people who had lent their support to the people of Southern Sudan during their hardship and have empowered the community in Australia.
“In this regard, we would like to continue to make a difference in the lives of our community both in Australia and Southern Sudan by strengthening ties between the two communities for mutual benefits,” he emphasized.
Many Sudanese-Australians have traveled thousands of miles from Australia to Juba to participate in this event.
The event which is scheduled to take place in the compound of Juba Bridge Hotel on the west bank of the River Nile is expected to draw participants from officials of the Government of Southern Sudan, Central Equatoria state, Church, UN, NGOs and the wider public. Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Minister for Regional Cooperation, is expected to be the Guest of Honor.
Gatwech further pointed out that the Juba celebration will also be about reflection on Southern Sudan. “It is also a day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation,” he added.
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junub
Sudanese-Australians to celebrate Australia Day in Juba
See, this are the symptoms illetracy other none sudanese are trying to say of us, and there are those who proving it. So what if you went to Australia? You needs to know that there’re many nationalities in Australia before you folks, and they back to their countries but never did they celebrate its National Day. What are You? You guys are not born there nor are you a generation just to say. Please stop embarrassing us in the eyes’ of the world as an idiots. Minister Marial shouldn’t attend that celebration unless he wants to degrade GoSS’s reputation and got nothing to do in his office or home
Mr Famous Big_Logic_Boy
Sudanese-Australians to celebrate Australia Day in Juba
Why in South? Australian did not do any thing to the whole suffering in South or Durfur why should we accept this to happen in South? this is not a common day for Commonwealth countries, its just for Australian people. accepting this celebration in South is a blind idea in my view. This raciest country should not be tolerated in Africa, because they reject African refugess into their land which is not really their own land. But claiming to dominate it for themselves. The people of Great Britians had left a worse impacts during their time of colonaising other countries, even now they are still fueling that spirit in a logically way. Robert Mugambe is the best African man to discipline such countries.
wang
Sudanese-Australians to celebrate Australia Day in Juba
I think that wrong ideas for those who proposed or declared to celebrate a Australia-day in Sudan. You know that we are not Commonweal Countries. We don’t want to embarrassing ourselves to the world to celebrtae an unknown holiday. How long you gonna be celebrating that shit holiday? There are lot of things we can building our strong relationship with Australia people without making them like those ordinary Sudanese people.