Insightful account of Roman Catholic life in The Republic of Sudan

My experiences in the Republic of Sudan

by Rebecca Mallinson

Up until March 2013 I was a volunteer with a British charity which has a partnership with the Sudanese government to help improve English teaching in government schools. My work was in four schools in two towns in River Nile State. The charity also asks its volunteers to look for extra voluntary work in the community.

The local Catholic church was built by the Comboni Missionaries in the 19^th century along with a school next door. The parishioners are either ethnically South Sudanese or displaced people from the Nuba Mountains civil war. They come from various tribes, but have drawn together and sometimes intermarried. Many South Sudanese parishioners have lived in the north for generations and regard it as their home. In spite of this, since the separation between north and south in July 2011 their passports have been confiscated and those with public service jobs have been sacked.

When I arrived at Mass for the first time I was very early. I sat and I talked to a young man who was keen to practise his English ahead of going to South Sudan. He told me a lot about his fears for the future, going to an unknown place where his parents came from, but he had never been. He was under no illusions that it would be easy. The South Sudanese government is anarchic, and there is a lot of inter-tribal conflict. Many people fear that South Sudan is turning into a second Somalia. He asked me if I could give him lessons as one of his many fears was the language barrier. I decided to ask the priest who was celebrating Mass if he would like me to hold a class for the whole parish, as my community work for the charity. The priest was very keen and so we agreed that I would teach classes every Friday, when the catechism classes were taking place in the Comboni School.

The next Friday I arrived and met the parish priest for the first time as the priest I had originally spoken to was away in Khartoum. The class hadn’t been organised yet, so instead he took me to visit the ghetto where most parishioners live. He told me that there was no electricity, and little water or sanitation and that the people live in fear as the security forces sometimes come in the middle of the night and arrest young men for no good reason. He had had to hold funerals recently for two of these people who had died through torture. He said that he faces a brick wall in any attempts to help improve things in the area. For example, he had tried to get official permission to start a school which had been denied.

I was told by one of the catechists that when children from the ghetto arrive for lessons at the Comboni School, some of them make use of the school water butts to wash as there is not enough water at home.

Teaching English at the Comboni School has been a very interesting experience and I have gained several friends who I hope to stay in touch with. The catechists are a mixture of Catholic, Anglican and Coptic. One of the Coptic catechists asked me to teach at the Coptic Church, which I have also done every week since then.

One of the non-Catholic catechists (from the Nuba Mountains) often shared breakfast with me and we had some interesting conversations. He has told me that under the current difficult circumstances the churches have drawn together to support each other. The teachings are carefully thought out to be truly ecumenical so that there are no specific Catholic, Protestant or Coptic doctrines which might cause problems. I think this is a very positive thing to come out of such bad times.

I was warned by the priests that after Christmas Mass everyone would have to stay in the church because there is always a visit from the state governor, who expects to see all those who attend Mass. This annual visit is feared by the congregation, who have so much cause to worry about what the government might do next.

Shortly before Christmas some churches in Khartoum were bulldozed and in other churches congregations were stoned. It should be noted that these were not Catholic churches. Their attitude has differed from the mainstream churches, who have an emphasis on peace and reconciliation. From talking to a member of one of these churches, I know that they are preparing for martyrdom.

In the run up to Christmas, one of my pupils at the Comboni School asked me what I would be doing for Christmas. He was very concerned that I had no family here and invited me to spend Christmas with his family. I was very touched and accepted the invitation. This is just one example of how parishioners have supported me and made me welcome.

This young man is a student and nearer to Christmas he told me that the university had told him that he had exams on Christmas Day. He said he wouldn’t be able to come to Mass and would be late getting home. I said that my understanding from my charity was that Christians have a legal right to take time off for a Holy Day such as Christmas. I had asked for the day off myself with no problem. He told me that this was true but he didn’t dare ask due to the problems going on at the moment. This was at the same time as the student riots in Khartoum over the torture and killing of some students from Darfur, who had queried university regulations.

In the event, I went to his home with his father and sisters after Christmas Mass, carrying a present and a dish I had prepared as my contribution to the meal. Their home is in the same ghetto that the parish priest had shown me. We went by taxi as there is no bus service. It is a long way out of town, so this must put a big financial burden on people.

The family is large, ranging from two young men in their 20s to five primary school aged daughters and another younger son. Their mother and the youngest child have already gone to South Sudan. Their parents are very keen for their children to have the benefit of good qualifications before they go south to give them some hope for the future. They find the separation of their family between north and south very difficult. It was very clear from our conversation how much the husband misses his wife.

I was struck by the outside of their home, which was graffiti-ed all over with ‘Happy Christmas 2012’ in large letters in Arabic and English. As I had been told previously, there was no electricity. However the family did have running water, unlike most of their neighbours who were constantly coming in to fill water containers. When I needed the toilet I had to go to a neighbour’s house.

It was a lovely day. My pupil’s father speaks reasonable English, so we were able to have a good conversation. He told me his life story, we showed each other family photos, ate a rather small meal (I was very glad I had brought a dish to share) and drank coffee.

There is a local Muslim couple in my local town who are supporters of my charity and always act as friends to volunteers such as myself. They were very supportive to me and my fellow volunteer. This family is highly respected locally as they are descended from the local Sufi holy man who founded the town and are also close relatives of an Arabic scholar who is famous throughout the Islamic world. They do a lot of charity work in their local area through their mosque and are in a good position to influence local opinion.

This couple (I shall call them Ali and Sumaya) asked about my Christmas and I described my experiences, as I do see them as totally trustworthy. They were very shocked and immediately and unhesitatingly said they were able to help. They told me that they are members of a local Islamic charity which provides resources such as electricity, water and sanitation to deprived areas. This charity is totally non-political. We agreed that I would discuss their offer with one of the priests and see what he thought.

I talked to the priest, who agreed it was a very good idea. Unfortunately he was then taken seriously ill and had to go to Khartoum. The parish priest was also away as he has more than one parish. Sumaya kept reminding me and asking me to move things forward, but I was unable to do this until there was a priest to discuss things with. When the parish priest finally arrived back, I talked to him. He told me that the bishops are keen for priests to build bridges with the local Islamic communities but they found it very hard to do under the circumstances. I put him in contact with Ali and Sumaya. I was unable to come, but both sides told me that the meeting went very well indeed. They all got on extremely well and were very keen to move things forward. They agreed to prioritise water and then sanitation before dealing with electricity. At the moment things are on hold while the charity applies for permission to dig a well. In the past, permission to carry out work in this ghetto has always been declined, but it will be much harder for the government to say no to a very prestigious local Islamic charity than to Christians of South Sudanese origin. I pray that this will be a good way to build bridges between the local Muslim community and the South Sudanese Christians.

I applied to spend a second academic year in Sudan. My charity agreed and applied to the Ministry of Education. Unfortunately my charity then received calls from the security police who said that I was spending too much time with the South Sudanese community. Much to my disappointment I was told that I could not stay on after the end of the originally agreed time.

The parish held a wonderful leaving celebration for me in which (among other things) I played music to them and they attempted to teach me to dance a tribal dance. It was a very moving and emotional send-off. I was given a lovely framed certificate to take back to England as a memento.

My own experiences of the local Muslim community

Religion is a hot topic in River Nile State. People often asked me what religion I am. When I said I am Christian, a few immediately replied very bluntly ‘Why aren’t you Muslim?’ and were very dogmatic that Islam is the true religion, but the vast majority of people were more interested in comparing religions, which I was always very happy to do. This tolerant attitude does not extend to the South Sudanese or Nuban communities, so I have to see their attitude as racist rather than just religious. I have been told all sorts of very prejudiced views, which come across as extremely narrow-minded and ignorant. As in the UK, I think it is fair to say that the less education and greater poverty and stress people suffer, the more racist they are likely to be. This is a poor and under-educated area as I know from my experiences teaching in local schools.

The local Sufi community takes a very different attitude. I became friends with a Sufi English teacher (he is one of those who are eager to compare religions) who took me to the Prophet Mohamed’s Birthday Celebration where I was introduced to his Sheikh. He also took me to the local shrine in the town where I lived. The Sheikh there asked me to join them in prayer at the shrine. I decided this was too good an opportunity to miss. Thinking of what the parish priest had said about building bridges, I prayed for a removal of barriers between Islam and Christianity. My prayer was addressed to God, who is the God of Muslims, Jews and Christians. When my prayer was translated, I was very relieved to see tears in the Sheikh’s eyes. I see this as very hopeful. I have also visited my friend’s Sheikh who is responsible for building a very modern women’s clinic in his remote village where he employs an obstetrician as well as an ordinary doctor. If the Sufis are capable to this, they may be capable of other things.

I should say that Ali and Sumaya are Sunni Muslims, like the majority of Sudanese Muslims and the government itself. The Sunnis have a reputation with Sudanese Christians as very hard-line and cruel. I think Ali and Sumaya’s attitude and the work of their Islamic charity demonstrate that this is not necessarily so.

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Rebecca Mallinson is a Roman Catholic from London with three adult children and two grandchildren. Last year she served in the Republic of Sudan as a volunteer English teacher.